Leadership lessons from my trip to South Africa
I just returned from South Africa, a country of extremes. Extreme beauty, extreme wealth, extreme poverty and cultural divides. It took the extreme skills of leadership of many but particularly Nelson Mandela to have transformed it from an apartheid culture. What can we learn? In trying to understand more, I found a copy of Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, I was struck by the importance he attributed to the lessons he learned as a child because he was the heir to...
Read MoreTake the Shape Quiz to learn about yourself and colleagues
This fun quiz is designed to get you thinking about how different we are. It’s important to understand that you approach your work with a style and perspective that varies from your colleagues. Understanding and appreciating the strengths within those differences allows you to become more successful. You can start to work with the differences rather than against them. It’s not meant to be a label – people are far too interesting and multi-dimensional for that. Still,...
Read MoreKnow when to hold ‘em; Know when to fold ‘em
Why is it so hard to let go? One leader had to let go of an employee that they’d really hoped would work out. Another leader had to make a decision to pull the plug on a project in which significant resources had been invested. In both cases, they admitted they’d waited too long. The office where the employee should have been let go many months ago was already contaminated with pessimism and negativity. There was a drop in revenue and lost opportunity because of mis-aligned...
Read MoreBest Style for a Leader
Like a piano, we all have many ways to sound. How do you sound at meetings? Black keys, white keys, do you play them by choice, or by default? Different keys when stressed? This week, I was asked by a client to help them prepare for a difficult meeting. We reviewed agenda, data that would be needed. Then I asked, “how do you want to show up?” “What do you mean?” they asked. “What part of you will be needed? What kind of energy?” They still didn’t get it, so I gave...
Read MoreHow compromise might prolong conflict
Can compromise get in the way of listening? I was talking with a leader a few days ago about how to bring together two “warring” factions. Apparently there were two important divisions with extremely divergent perceptions of a major problem the organization was facing, Not only were they proposing opposite solutions but they characterized the problem entirely differently. Each time she brought them together they ended up trying to disprove the position of the other, and thereby...
Read MoreHardening Your Heart – Boundaries and Accountability
HARDENING THE HEART – Setting boundaries, managing accountability Having a softer side serves you well in building relationships, being able to be empathetic, to be sensitive and responsive to others When does having a hard heart serve you, in personal life and in work? When it comes to setting and enforcing appropriate boundaries in a compassionate way, you have to be hard, but you have to have heart. The burden of caring for elderly relatives with varying levels of disability is...
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