Devonbrn

Disrupting Purpose to Become a Better Leader

I am fascinated by the blending of purpose of the bike described in the recent Fast Company post–This Ingenious Bike Doubles as its own Lock. The article points out that any bike lock is breakable with the right tools and amount of time, so the designers have developed a bike that partially comes apart toContinue reading “Disrupting Purpose to Become a Better Leader”

No, your dog is not nice!!

This morning I went for a run and witnessed and interesting encounter between two dog owners that got me thinking about personal responsibility and accountability. On my run I watched two dog owners—one walking and one jogging approach each other. As the jogger and her dog got close to the walker, the walker’s dog (noContinue reading “No, your dog is not nice!!”

Do you really know what you really want?

Earlier today I finished up a communication workshop with a great client, @AgStar, and was struck by one key point of the workshop that received a lot of attention. The first thing you must do, when engaging in a critical, crucial, difficult, significant…conversation is clarify what you really want. Not what you are acting likeContinue reading “Do you really know what you really want?”

The Art & Science of Leadership Transition–Part 2

Thinking Strategically to Fuel Smart Decision Thinking strategically is consistently identified as an essential skill for managers and leaders in business today, yet it is also recognized as a skill that is lacking in most. One reason for this lack is that strategic thinking isn’t broadly understood. Thinking strategically is not the same thing asContinue reading “The Art & Science of Leadership Transition–Part 2”

Leadership Crash Course

Historically, people spent many years in an organization (or at least an industry) rising through the ranks–honing and adjusting their skill set as the rose. With Boomer retirements, a relatively small GenX talent pool to replace retiring senior leaders, increasingly organizations are facing the reality of having to promote leaders in their late 20s andContinue reading “Leadership Crash Course”

Are you Fueling or Steering Your Employees?

Earlier this week I was listening to a webinar on parenting adolescence and the speaker suggested and interesting concept that for parenting tweens and teens that I believe has great application to working with employees. When parenting and leading people at work, it is critical to manage the balance between steering and fueling. By usingContinue reading “Are you Fueling or Steering Your Employees?”

How Emotionally Intelligent are You?

I was recently sent this article, 9 Things Emotionally Intelligent People Won’t Do (thanks Janet Bartel) about emotional intelligence, and thought that it was worthy of sharing. The author does a nice job of bypassing the theory and focusing on the 9 critical behaviors (or what they won’t do) of emotionally intelligent people. #emotionalintelligence #leadership Continue reading “How Emotionally Intelligent are You?”

The Art & Science of Leadership Transition

Part 1 of 5 In a recent analysis of 360-assessments data (focused financial institutions) that we gathered from our Leadership Development Program and our Leadership Coaching Practice, we discovered some interesting trends in leadership strengths and opportunities for development. Not surprisingly, behaviors and competencies that are strengths or need developing in individual contributors, also showContinue reading “The Art & Science of Leadership Transition”

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT STRATEGY

This is a great article (_20 Essential Questions) about strategy, specifically, what directors are looking for and the questions they need to have answered by management teams. We recently used this article with a group of agricultural cooperative executives, who found it very valuable. I particular like the emphasis on the interrelatedness between management andContinue reading “ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT STRATEGY”

People Who Suck At Multitasking Don’t Realize They Suck

Many of the clients I get to coach and work with will regularly argue for the value and necessity of multitasking, despite the extensive research on the impact of doing multiple things at once on quality. This article, People Who Suck At Multitasking Don’t Realize They Suck, does a nice job of reminding us of theContinue reading “People Who Suck At Multitasking Don’t Realize They Suck”