When clients describe the leader they want me to coach, they invariable use the word “smart” or “genius.” Assuming your leaders really are smart, do they also bring out the best in others? If your employees were both intellectually gifted and effective managers, your employer should be outmaneuvering competitors. Is that consistently happening? The late Stephen Covey succinctly put his finger on the conundrum: Some corporations have made hiring the most intelligent individuals a core … [Read more...]
Why Do Leaders Deceive Themselves?
The secret of rulership is to combine a belief in one’s own infallibility with the power to learn from past mistakes. ~ George Orwell As much as we'd like to believe that we're rational human beings, we can all too easily mislead ourselves. Self-deception is a process that encourages us to justify our false and invalid beliefs. Individuals, organizations and communities experience self-deception — the root of most problems, according to the Arbinger Institute, a Utah-based consulting … [Read more...]
How Do Executives Contribute to Conflict?
Question: How do executives contribute to conflict? Answer: Executives contribute to conflict by communicating ambiguously, either intentionally or unintentionally. Most of us want to avoid conflict, but we can sometimes “talk out of both sides of our mouths” and give mixed messages. In optimal circumstances, issues may be resolved, but such communication fosters an organizational climate that discourages commitment (at best) and promotes conflicts (at worst). When executives stand up and … [Read more...]
Focus on Strengths or Weaknesses?
Question: How important is it to focus on employee strengths or weaknesses? Which works best? Answer: There’s a reason why managers’ focus on strengths and weaknesses is so important. Most organizations are obsessed with fixing weaknesses. They consequently conduct performance reviews, 360-degree assessments and they like to evaluate how well employees and managers are measuring up to predefined goals and competencies. Managers are instructed to look at an employee’s assessed gap and coach … [Read more...]
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A Manager’s Recurring Nightmare: Conflict’s Complexity
Charlie Sheen may be our new “model” for how to effortlessly embarrass yourself and undermine your career by instigating turmoil and conflict (and he made over $1 million per episode). As he and others are publicized, it’s no wonder the concept of conflict is associated with something that is inevitable and invariably bad. On the company front, managers spend an inordinate amount of time putting out fires, particularly interpersonal ones. In my executive coaching practice, I’d guess that at … [Read more...]