Although the importance of building trust as a leadership tool is discussed in any number of books, many managers do not view trust as a problem-solving tool because of two factors: workplace priorities and pressure
In today’s complex and fast-paced business world, the ethics of the leader cannot be overstated. A leader’s ability to inspire trust and integrity is not only crucial for the success of their organization but also for the overall well-being of their team and stakeholders. Ethical leadership goes beyond merely following rules and regulations; it encompasses
Goal setting is an essential skill that separates exceptional leaders from the average ones. It is the art of envisioning a future outcome and then strategically planning the steps to achieve it. But mastering this art is no easy task. It requires a combination of clarity, focus, and determination. In this fast-paced world, where distractions
Increase Team Accountability Increasing team accountability is easier than you might think. It’s worth the effort considering how often most leaders are frustrated because people on their team are not practicing it. The chatter in the breakroom is that people are in disbelief the manager is not holding people accountable. And why aren’t they? Isn’t
I’ve had the opportunity to work with several leaders on having candid conversations and their overall leadership skills. One of the trends that I have noticed is there’s a tendency for leaders to put off having crucial conversations with people that are critical to organizational success. Examples include: If you are experiencing some of these
I get the opportunity to help people develop their decision-making and leadership skills across a broad spectrum of industries. Their jobs are different, and their responsibilities are diverse, but one thing is the same everywhere I go: Leaders want more guidance on effective decision-making. Avoid Extremes The decisions we make and how we communicate in
Communicating effectively when interacting with customers, people at work, and family members, you want to communicate with them in the style of communication language they process and understand. But how are you supposed to know which communication approach to use to improve your results? In How to Get People to Understand Your Message, we reviewed the
The success story of an effective team is one where the members operate as a self-managing team. The leader allows the members of the team to establish teamwork, modify their own work processes, and serve as a communication channel to the rest of the organization. I followed up with one of our customers to see first-hand what
It’s essential to understand that all leaders’ communication styles are not their personality; it’s simply the way they deliver and process messages. One of these four communication styles is your language. Can you spot it? The 4 Communication Styles Usually, only two out of ten people are fluent in all four communication styles. Most of us tend
Effective leadership is all about being consistent, both in what you say and what you do. Do you ever get frustrated with those around you being inconsistent? Recently, I was visiting with several employees about the changes that they would like to see in their organization. They said, “I would just like to come to
I once talked to a group of employees about the one leadership skill they felt was absolutely essential to be an effective leader. They said, “Handling the tough stuff – the situations that keep us from doing our job.” This immediate feedback was amazing. I was thinking, okay, the tough stuff, as the challenges managers
Do you have leadership skills? Are you a know-it-all? I hope so because people that are really good at what they do have a passion for learning and sharing information about what they know. We, know-it-alls, love to tell others what we just discovered and the latest tip or secret that would make their life
In a previous article, I introduced an upcoming article series titled the Top 10 Barriers to Leadership. This first installment is about Listening Strategies. By minimizing and/or eliminating the most common barriers to leadership, we can easily accelerate the growth of our personal and professional leadership skills and leadership qualities. With this goal in mind, here is
Each of you, as a leader, has a passion for achieving your leadership goals and aspirations. As a member of the About Leaders community, you see the importance of taking the time to learn about other leaders and how to refine your leadership skills. With this in mind, I want to share some of the extremely
Think of a time when you just read a great leadership book or attended a fantastic leadership workshop and immediately put into action what you learned. Isn’t it a great feeling to uncover a solution to a problem or situation and then take action? Yes, it is fun to continuously learn and improve as leaders!
Getting buy-in on tough decisions from team members is a challenge for many leaders when the change initiatives may be unpopular. For example, let’s say that a company’s owners have made a tough decision to change their employees’ health insurance carriers. This could be a real hassle for many workers—it might mean having to change
The game of life rules provide a key and immediate benefit—one that many people do not realize—is that increasing your leadership skills will help you win. And I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like to win! It doesn’t matter what you do for a living – if you exude leadership qualities, you will outperform others.
There will always be employees whom you cannot reach—team members with goals that do not match those of the organization and who are unwilling or unable to change. What is a Saboteur? It’s important to point out here that a saboteur is not an employee with bad habits such as chronic lateness or inconsistent follow-through