Leadership profile

Leadership is not that complicated. There. I said it. Did you feel a heavy weight lift from your shoulders? Or do you prefer basking in the mystique and prestige of having the most intricate job in the world? Well, I do not intend to insult your pride, nor to diminish the value of true leadership, but your job (at least the leadership aspect of it) is actually quite simple – not easy, but simple.

According to Gallup, seventy percent of a team’s engagement is dependent upon their manager. If you’re a CEO or senior executive, you likely see the difference managers make in your organization—and you see what fails when your managers struggle.

We all know that the big bad wolf is a fictional character appearing in several Disney tales but this wolf has become a generic archetype for a menacing predator. Unfortunately, many leaders are seen as the big bad wolf or the big bad boss who leads by fear and negativity and who is seen as looking to devour and punish those they’ve been entrusted to lead. The question for all leaders is do we want to be seen as predators? As a leader do you want to be seen as someone who looks to devour those who are there to support you?

What if we, as leaders, don’t have all of the answers? Working with executives in the C-Suite has revealed an interesting fact. One of the greatest fears leaders hold is that someone will find out they don’t know what they are doing or they don’t have all of the answers. This leads to a lack of confidence in their decision making or downplaying their achievements. All of this can produce a self-fulfilling prophecy. Others feel the self-doubt and question their conclusions. The energy behind the decision is not as strong or inspiring as it could be.

For current CEOs, the challenges keep mounting. Two recent coaching conversations included: • “It’s 8:04 am and my inbox has 67 unread emails. It’s like this every day. Can you help me stay on top of my email?” • “I signed off on acquiring another asphalt plant. The culture of the group we absorbed is just coming to light- and it’s not good. On top of that, the manager in charge is awful with people despite having a good grasp of the industry. I’m driving up there every few weeks to put out fires. This isn’t sustainable.”

In today's fast-paced and competitive business environment, leaders play a crucial role in providing feedback to their team members. Feedback can be formal or informal. Its primary purpose is to identify areas of improvement or acknowledge positive performance. However, many leaders struggle when it comes to delivering effective feedback. In this article, we will explore the importance of feedback, the misconceptions surrounding feedback, and how leaders can foster a culture of growth in their teams.

On the second day of a recent consulting engagement, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation workshop by the division head of the company’s business strategy and a discussion of progress from all business units. One of the new “values” of this group was to focus on “agile/rapid work practices”. Apparently in the past, work took too long – they needed to operate more quickly. After several presentations by team leaders, the division head concluded the meeting by excoriating the group for spelling and grammar errors in the presentation materials.

Leadership occurs one conversation at a time. Effective communication lies at the heart of successful leadership. As a manager or team leader, your ability to connect with and inspire your team members can have a profound impact on their beliefs, behaviors, and overall performance.

According to the latest Women in the Workplace Study done by McKinsey & Company, women are leaving the workforce in greater numbers than ever before. It's important to understand that they are not necessarily leaving the workforce entirely but are actively seeking better companies and opportunities to have their needs and desires met.

How do you define success? Do you do it by markers that others celebrate, such as passion, power, money and the like? Or do you do it by internal markers such as deep feelings of well-being, joy and sense of purpose? ~Srikumar Rao, Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, my teachers nominated me to participate in the Hugh O’Brian Leadership seminar. Why me? What did they see in me that would suggest a leader?