Coaching is like dancing
Leaders*, Have you ever been accused of being top-heavy, data-driven or too analytical? Have you ever ruminated to the extent that you couldn’t fall asleep? How often have you been involved in arguments that basically were about being right or wrong? Have you dreamed about something for a long time and never acted on it? Did you find yourself numbing your senses by drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, watching too much TV or just not focusing on the right priorities? If one or all of the above is true for you, it is high time to get out of your head! “If you get in your head, you’re dead.” Tony Robbins (*1960), American motivational speaker When our energy is low, we have a tendency to move into our fearful head. To keep our energy high, we need to get into our hearts and passion instead, and do what it [...]
Coaching is the language of innovation
Leaders, We live in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) in times of unheard-of turbulence. It is an era of ever-increasing competition and technology that changes at speeds unimaginable a few years ago. Surviving and thriving in this environment requires a unique approach to accelerating innovation, catalyzing discovery, and tapping emerging opportunities. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”. Leaders need to develop the capacity to navigate these waters with new thinking, skill, talent and character to create new processes, products, and services that have value for their customers. Today, innovation is not a choice – it’s a must for every organization! Source: MRVULCANO Transforming an organization’s culture into an environment that welcomes innovation requires more than just generating a slew of creative ideas. It’s about following-through on the good ideas, which calls for a very different [...]
FeMale Leadership is Beautiful
Leaders, In preparation for the “Inspired Women Development Series” that I will be launching together with LFM Coaching, Buenos Aires/Argentina, I have asked a few colleagues and experts in the field of leadership development and diversity & inclusion about their views on characteristics of male and female leadership and the most effective approach to developing women leaders. Here is what they came up with: 1. From your experience, what are the key differentiators in the male/female approach to leadership in general? Women tend to be more approachable on a personal level; they provide others with a sense of being seen and being relevant. The female communication style seems more diplomatic and sensitive, whereas men tend to communicate more directly and in a matter-of-fact fashion. Followers feel validated and motivated to do even more when those female traits are exhibited well. When something is not working, women tend to step up [...]
What the best leaders need to know about teams: Safety first!
Leaders, Imagine you accepted a new challenging position that created as much apprehension as it did excitement. Of course, you are aware that more and more of today’s work is powered by teams and the execution of the company’s long-term goals heavily relies on effective collaboration. As the newbie in the organization, what can you do to start off on the right foot? Photo Credit: Otmar Brettschneider Our brains are wired for connection, helping us create meaningful bonds and distinguish friend from foe. But how we build and manage teams can activate those brain structures for either trust and collaboration or conflict and competition. Observe the interactions and collaboration amongst team members and teams. As the new leader strive to ensure that no one is afraid of sharing ideas and asking questions. Some of the following indicators assist you in identifying a fear-based environment that can kill [...]
Why Vague Feedback is Holding Women Back
Leaders, The number of women in executive roles has not changed largely in the last decade despite of significant investments in corporate advancement programs for women leaders. Women only hold 23% of senior management positions, and 35% of management positions. One major reason why women are not rising to executive ranks is the feedback they receive. There is a major gender disparity when it comes to receiving feedback, and it is women who are coming off worse. Source: Fotolia / BillionPhotos.com The Center for Talent Innovation reports: Women are 32% less likely to receive any feedback from male superiors. When they do get feedback, 81% of women say they have trouble responding to it, because it is so “distressingly contradictory”. When women make up less than 25% of an applicant pool, they are more likely to be negatively evaluated. Men and women are assessed very differently at work. [...]
How to Overcome Barriers to Effective Feedback [with Download]
Leaders, In today‘s fast-moving world, we are always under pressure to act now, rather than spend time reasoning things through and thinking about the true facts. Not only can this lead us to a wrong conclusion, it can also cause conflict with other people who may have drawn quite different conclusions on the same matter. To understand what makes giving and delivering effective feedback difficult, we need to shed some light on the challenges and barriers, that is predominantly the process of human interaction, perception and how our brains process information. Source: Fotolia / User: adogslifephoto The information out in the world comes in through our senses. We select what we will pay attention to by running that information through filters. We all have a unique way of selecting what we pay attention to and what we ignore. In order to deal with the multitude of sensory [...]