3 Things Strong Leaders Never Do

Posted by & filed under Active Listening, Communication, Conflict, Employee Development, Leadership, Performance Management.

The strength and effectiveness of an organization depend on team members at all levels, but these qualities start at the top. Strong leaders are in high demand! These people must motivate and inspire their teams but still maintain high expectations for performance. While it’s easy to find qualities that strong leaders share, some behaviors mean… Read more »

A to C Blog Series: Making Changes Last

Posted by & filed under Change Management, Corporate Culture, Leadership, teamwork.

In our “Adapting to Change” blog series, we’ve discussed all the important steps to bringing fundamental shifts to your organization. We’ve highlighted the importance of recognizing when there is a need for change, communicating the need for change and inspiring employees, maintaining momentum, and setting attainable benchmarks to induce progress. To close out our series, it’s time to… Read more »

A to C Blog Series: Keep the Fires Burning

Posted by & filed under Change Management, Leadership, Personal Effectiveness.

As anyone who has undergone a substantial transition knows, true adaptation is a marathon and not a sprint. If you’re facing a significant change within your organization, there will be good days and bad days. Some weeks will seem as if nothing is accomplished, and other weeks will follow where demands on your team’s energy will be at a fever… Read more »

A to C Blog Series: Inspiring New Directions for Employees

Posted by & filed under Employee Development, innovation, Leadership.

Once you’ve decided a change needs to be made, it’s time for the hard work to begin. Whether the change is a shift in leadership structure or a new policy or something else, sustainably inspiring employees doesn’t happen overnight. Work itself represents stability: knowing what actions and behaviors will produce the expected results. Upset that delicate balance and employees… Read more »

Three Steps for Managing Extroverts

Posted by & filed under Communicating To Manage Performance, Conflict, DISC Personality Styles, Leadership, Performance Management.

At first glance, extroverts can seem like ideal employees. They’re affable, personable, and love being at the forefront of any issue to be discussed or problem to be solved. But at times, extroverts can come across as domineering or reckless, jumping into situations or conversations and possibly intimidating more introverted clients and colleagues. What are the best… Read more »

Do Leaders Need to Be Extroverts?

Posted by & filed under Communication, DISC Personality Styles, Leadership.

Every so often we’ll see blogs featuring the Myers-Briggs personalities of famous CEOs. This well-known personality inventory evaluates personality types on the basis of four main variables: Introversion (I) versus Extroversion (E); Intuition (N) versus Sensing (S); Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F); and Perceiving (P) versus Judging (J). This begs the question: does being an… Read more »

Practice Innovation to Foster Leadership Credibility

Posted by & filed under Communicating To Manage Performance, innovation, Leadership.

When we think of leadership credibility, the first qualities that often come to mind are trust, honesty, and respect. And with good reason: these qualities are the bedrock of any strong relationship between a leader and his or her team. But another important characteristic of credible leadership is the ability to anticipate and adapt to change…. Read more »

Instead of Developing Leaders, Foster a Leadership Culture

Posted by & filed under Corporate Culture, Employee Development, increasing personal effectiveness, Leadership, Personal Effectiveness.

It takes an extremely “talented” leader to drive an already successful business into the ground. Think of all the times a Fortune 500 business names a new CEO; it happens more often than you’d think. Just in the past week or two, Time Inc., Weight Watchers, Etrade, and several other large corporations announced either the… Read more »

Leadership Style Series, Part 3: Transactional Leaders as Managers

Posted by & filed under Communicating To Manage Performance, Leadership.

Transactional leaders are those who are more focused on the immediate, day-to-day goals of a group and its members. Rather than focusing too far in the future or inspiring team members to “think outside the box,” these leaders are less concerned with strategy or innovation than meeting benchmarks and maintaining the status quo. The Traits… Read more »

Leadership Style Series, Part 1: Two Types of Leaders

Posted by & filed under Leadership.

In this three-part blog series on leadership style, we investigate the differences between transformational and transactional leadership: two styles that are both integral to the success of any functional business. A transformational leader is someone who moves a group forward, bringing change and evolving the group to a mutual goal. In comparison, the transactional leader… Read more »