The Unique Dynamics of Senior Leadership Teams
Leaders, The Senior Leadership Team have the most overt power in any organization. Their decisions have implications for everyone else in the organization as well as for the future of the organization itself. Many people strive for admittance to that elite table. 95% of top managers are alpha people who made it to the top through absolute determination for performance. These alphas are deeply confident about their superior rationality, which is a great asset for their organization. Yet, under pressure they develop behavioral patterns that can prevent or destroy collaboration. Alphas then exhibit dominance, actionism, and rivalry. Senior Leadership Teams are solely connected via an abstract mission statement or financial goals. Their priority is the success of their own silos or functions. Their effectiveness is challenged by conflicts (some lasting for years), jealousies, reservations to participation, and various kinds of back- (and front-) stabbing. Alphas need to make a conscious [...]
Developing Strengths
Leaders, How much time and effort do you devote to developing your own and others’ strengths? And, conversely, how much time do you invest in fixing your own and others’ shortcomings? Does your staff have the opportunity to do what they do best every day? All leaders have their own unique talents, which they use in different ways to bring out the best in themselves and others. To lead high-achieving teams, you need to be able to recognize the unique strengths of each team member, optimize all those natural gifts, and bring them to work. Concentrating on your strengths leads to a better sense of fulfillment and forward progress. Research by the Gallup Organization found that building on employee strengths is much more effective in raising performance than trying to improve weaknesses. Gallup also found that when employees become aware of their strengths, they become 7.8 % more productive. Teams that [...]
High-Impact Leadership to Develop Winning Teams
Leaders, Are you continuously aligning the tasks and goals of your team with the overall vision and objectives of your organization? How important is team development in your organization? Are you creating an environment that allows people to be all they can be? The subject of high-achieving teams is nothing new. The output of organizations large and small is still driven by collective effort. More than ever before, collaboration is the crucial element leading to success in today’s fast-growing companies. Every day brings new challenges and no one person, however smart and educated, can possess the complete solution. Teams must form, innovate, execute and deliver complex solutions at continually increasing speeds to meet market demands. While the underlying key values of team performance – trust, commitment, engagement, communication, accountability, and results – remain unchanged, the environment that surrounds and influences team performance has changed a great deal. In any company, there [...]
Taking Charge: Managing and Overcoming Fear
Leaders, Fear is one of the biggest stumbling blocks people encounter in managing change and moving forward. It heightens your stress level, activates your fight and flight instinct, and can cause you to wake up at night worrying. Your capacity and ability to pay attention is being limited or shut down. You have probably experienced frightening situations yourself and observed your staff trying to stay safe, thus, not fulfilling their potential. Fear rears its head when people attempt to move beyond their comfort zones. Each of us has a comfort zone – a set of boundaries within which we live. These are the situations and circumstances that we know that give us a sense of security because they represent what’s familiar. Fear can paralyze us, keep us safe or from our dreams, and fear tells us we are in danger. Fear can either shut you down or help propel you [...]
Leadership Excellence: Inspiring Performance and Sustaining Success
Leaders, A few days ago, I returned from Lisbon / Portugal where I delivered a speech on Leadership Excellence at the regional EMEA conference of the CFA Institute (cfainstitute.org); attendees came from 43 different countries – something that is otherwise only found at the United Nations. Here are the key messages of my plenary address: Leadership excellence can be found in day-to-day activities. I had the best lessons on leadership excellence on the dance floor , and this is what I want to see so much more of in the business world: Know who you are: Dancing and leadership means being aware of your own style, what you’re passionate about, and then expressing exactly that. Emphasize self-leadership: The way my dance partner holds himself leads me to effortlessly do my part and follow him well. Focus on implementation: Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, just start moving. Both dancing and doing business can only be [...]
Authentic, Influential Leadership Unveiled: The What, Why, and How of Executive Presence
Leaders, Jim Keene, CFA, Atherton Consulting Group, and Annette Czernik, PCC, Inspired Executives, recently designed and delivered a webinar and wrote an article on Executive Presence for the CFA Institute. For us, Executive Presence is a crucial skill set for every leader. We define Executive Presence as follows: „Executives with Presence have deep domain knowledge and are characterized by confidence, calmness under stress, ability to connect with and change others, decisiveness and emotional intelligence. Executive Presence is observed through how people act, communicate and look. Executive Presence is the result of your individual energy management, the way you impress and influence people or situations, and your ability to connect and engage with others in the moment. Authenticity is the core of Executive Presence. People can sense your genuiness and will follow you if they believe you. That‘s how you exert influence. Executive Presence is the integration and full engagement of [...]