“I know I have to work for him,” complains a young executive. “He runs our company but he seems so judgmental. Whenever we talk he just looks at me levelly as if waiting for me just to go away. That’s a problem when I need him to approve the restructuring of our group.” “What do you think is going on for him?” … Continued
Your job as a leader is to make things better, think beyond the status quo, and move people towards that new reality. That means you need your innovative strategic initiatives to succeed. Often critically needed initiatives fail for the same avoidable reasons. Here’s an example: Jim knows that his company needs to adopt a new customer centric program in order to be … Continued
Jason has many breakthrough ideas for streamlining processes within his company, but often doesn’t share them. He prefers to think things through thoroughly before he speaks. When challenged, he needs time to prepare his responses. It’s not because he isn’t bright. Quite the contrary, he is actually brilliant, and may be the most talented person for process implementation in his entire multi-national organization. He grew up in a family … Continued
How often are strategic decisions affecting your business being made without you? Why are some in the “inner circle” and some are not, who may be at the same or even a lower level than you? An example: Jan is a really smart Senior Director, works incredible hours, delivers projects on time and under budget with crazy deadlines and scarce resources. She … Continued
Influencing successfully on a daily basis is one of those must do, challenging, and sometimes dreaded “job description” items for leaders. What’s the best approach to take when we are trying to influence someone? We tend to knee-jerk into our tried and true patterns around influence style which can be ultimately ineffective. Here’s an example: Jim is a senior leader that has … Continued