Archives

It is easy to get disillusioned, feel defeated or beat yourself up when things don’t go as planned when, in the face of obstacles, you need to do the exact opposite. You need to admit to your frustrations and negative emotions, be kind to yourself, re-group, and if necessary, change your strategy. You need to get practical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual support to keep you going and moving forward.

Some managers are more likely than others to develop the climate of trust with employees which is needed for them to develop. These managers consider their people to be inherently ambitious, self-motivated and able to exercise self-control. They are also thought to enjoy their mental and physical work. Given the proper conditions, employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and to exercise self-direction in accomplishing assigned goals or targets. This approach assumes that most people will want to do well at work and job satisfaction is a strong motivator.

Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits are a simple set of rules for life – interrelated and synergistic, and yet each one powerful and worthy of adopting and following in its own right. For many people, reading Covey’s work, or listening to him speak, literally changes their lives. We think this is incredibly powerful and recommend it highly.

A solid coaching relationship flows from the right combination of autonomy, shared responsibility and building new skills. Do you shy away from coaching because you’re worried about not having all the answers, and you think you should? Interestingly, employees say they don’t want answers. They want probing questions that make them explore solutions on their own and understand more fully the situations facing them.

Do you live two lives? Why do you work? Is it simply to make money or does your job help your community and society? You might very well split your time between “working” and “providing service” to your community. But you might not be able to see how your day-to-day work provides a great service …

As a leader, it’s your job to spot what’s going right. To do that, you must habitually make it your business to find out. So what should you do if something has gone right? Start by finding out precisely what the person did that resulted in a good outcome

In the work environment, it’s easy to do something because it’s expected of you, rather than because you believe it’s right. Perhaps you’ve backed away from taking a decision or saying something because it seemed easier? It’s all too easy to be caught up in ways of behaving that we feel at odds with – it can be lack of self-confidence, fear of not being seen as a ‘team player’, or the ethos of the organisation in which we work.

What is it that makes some people natural leaders, and some not – and is it possible to learn how to lead? Leadership means guiding your life and activities toward achieving your vision, in the process finding personal fulfilment and meaning. It means transforming your vision and purpose into reality.

Stepping up to being a leader is a ‘state change’. It’s not – as many believe – a question of steps being put in place before it happens. It’s not a ‘tipping point’ from which a manager, armed with the right experience and the right circumstances, suddenly becomes a leader.

How do people become great leaders? Is it a natural gift, or something you can learn? And if you can learn it, why are there not more inspirational and successful leaders? We accept that great leadership is key to long-term organisational success, but we can probably name only a few, even internationally. How come there seems to be such a shortage?