Between the Lines

Bull & Bear Essentials offers an excellent list of top ten tips for success in life. These tips were consolidated from a series of interviews which Barbara Walters conducted with four billionaires. Those who have heard me speak over the past few years and/or read my blogs will recognize some familiar themes. I have highlighted those which resonate with a few key points from my recently published book, “Is This Seat Taken?”

Recently I was asked by an organizational client to solicit feedback on several of their key leaders, as part of their leadership development effort for these individuals. The question was raised: “What do you think has more impact on developing our leaders: peer feedback, manager feedback, or employee feedback?”

In today’s post, I briefly discuss my thoughts.

Newsweek published a fabulous article on Steve Jobs’ creative genius a few months ago. The top 10 tips from his playbook follow. They are very insightful, and can be helpful for any of us embarking upon a opportunity which commands “out of box” thinking and management of a creative process. These tips are not for every situation within an organization; however, when trying to stimulate and inspire new “green field” ideas, they are spot on…

Whether you are the CEO, a product manager, a team leader, or an individual contributor, I have found the most successful individuals are those that actively and sincerely solicit input, help and ideas from others in their organizations. Now, this is not the proverbial “obligated ask” – I am referring to those individuals that seek out and get additional heads and hands on board with their initiatives.

This takes time, effort, patience and a true desire to BUILD A TEAM from all levels of the organization. Many attempt to do this, perhaps because they have been told they “need to.” However, the leaders who master the art of true inclusiveness will build a network which will become a tremendous asset in their careers if done with purity of intention. A few tips:

Lack of trust appears to be a common challenge among teams. Why is this? Competition within the organization, overzealous individual ambitions, and prior historical experiences all factor into this being the case. Yet, when we look this harsh reality in the eye, can we move forward. We must work to understand and appreciate our differences, and our experiences up until now. We must reveal our individual and collective vulnerabilities. Only through a conscious process of building trust, can our teams optimize their effectiveness.

Our world is facing indisputable and daunting challenges. When we bring these issues home – to our own organizations, teams, and personal scenarios – they become even more real. Our security, on every level – our freedoms, our financial well being, the future for our children, and our own professional directions – stands at risk. Today I talk about how passionate curiosity, battling hardened confidence, team smarts, a simple mindset, and fearlessness play a role in leading change and achieving success.

One word can make all the difference. Have you ever had someone introduce you with the phrase: “He works for me?” How does it make you feel? Smaller? Subordinate? As if you are their pawn? Then think about a time when someone introduced you with: “He works with me.”  How does that make you feel? On a [...]

I have been working with a few executives who are faced with leading very challenging, and in one case, very dysfunctional teams. It is obviously hard on the executives who are driving toward execution and results. Teams are critical to success – regardless of what we are trying to accomplish: school reformation,  30% year over year [...]