In Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future, Peter Senge and his co-authors write: “We’ve come to believe that the core capacity needed for accessing the field of the future is presence. We first thought of presence as being fully … [Read more...]
The Problem with Performance Reviews
I’ve always been troubled by performance reviews. I didn’t like them when I was working inside an organization. I don’t like them now that I consult with organizations. There, I’ve said it. I have two problems with performance reviews. One, they … [Read more...]
6 Vital Skills for Strategic Thinking
(NOTE: This post is an excerpt from a longer White Paper on Strategic Thinking.) Lead Change Leaders change things. At least we’re supposed to. We’re supposed to drive the business from A to B, move people from groups to teams, and develop … [Read more...]
Lead Without Holding On
The path of leadership is not about experiencing comfort or certainty. Wanting to get the business or the team to a place of equilibrium is what keeps us miserable as leaders. There is no autopilot. If we are constantly seeking to find pleasure or … [Read more...]
3 Skills of Transformative Leadership
Transformative Leadership is the capacity to impact and engage others in an important work that causes forward movement with positive effect. There are three skills that enable strong transformative leadership. Transformative leaders must be able to … [Read more...]
Remembering MLK
Today in the US we fittingly remember and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Time and circumstance called to a generation; and, Martin Luther King, Jr. in a courageous act of leadership, answered the call. Dr. King’s work was an ongoing … [Read more...]
How Healthy are You?
In their new book, Beyond Performance: How Great Organizations Build Ultimate Competitive Advantage (Wiley, 2011), Scott Keller and Colin Price make the case that organizational health is vital for sustaining high performance. They posit that … [Read more...]
When Leading Change, There is No End Zone
Doing change work there always comes a point early on, when structural changes have been announced and are almost complete, that someone will say, “Okay, the change is done. Now let’s get back to business.” This is the moment when I tell them (after … [Read more...]
Don’t Empower. Lead.
In our work we hear the word ‘empowerment’ a lot. I have to confess I’m not a big fan of this word. It is over-used and perpetuates a hierarchical, “I have power and if you’re good I’ll share some with you” view of leadership. In a business … [Read more...]
Change Leadership
I had an exchange with a leader a while back in which he stated, “I can’t wait until things get back to normal around here.” I asked him what he meant. He said, “Well, once we get done with all this ‘change stuff’ and get back to our jobs.” If there … [Read more...]