If you’re like most people trying to decide who to assign a task to, you start by identifying who is best equipped to do the job. They’ve done it before, they’ll get it done quicker, and it will take you less time to explain what needs done. It’s a natural starting point, but not necessarily the best ending point for deciding who does what. Continue reading Deciding Who Does What
Our guest blogger, Scott Vandeventer, is Founder of Empathic Inc, an executive coaching firm and a collaborator with enLumen on leadership training projects.
Every organization is strengthened or weakened to the degree a common set of values are held mutually by its participants. Values are the rails on which an organization runs. The same is true for individuals.
All of us are keepers of a set of values – from the infant to the eldest. They are our own. There’s one primary way we recognize those values in ourselves and in others: Behaviors. Continue reading Virtuous Blending
We love having the answers. It’s an ego boost to know what to do when others don’t. But just because you know the answer, doesn’t mean you should give it when someone asks.
Chris is Brett’s boss. Brett’s working on a project and encounters a problem. So Brett goes to Chris and asks what he should do. Chris, having been in similar circumstances, gives Brett a great answer. Brett take Chris’ advice and successfully solves the problem. What will Brett do the next time he has a problem? He’ll think, “I know, I’ll ask Chris!”. And Chris will probably give him another great answer.
What’s wrong with this scenario? Nothing, as long as Chris wants to continue to be the organization’s bottleneck, making all the decisions. Brett (and undoubtedly, many other Bretts in the organization) is being programmed to push every decision up to Chris.
Let’s try another approach. Continue reading Don’t Answer That!
Leaders tend to be busy people. A corollary is that leaders tend to be bottlenecks in most organizations. Good leaders learn to delegate – not just to get the tasks done, but because they see delegation as a tool for developing people.
So let’s say you’ve mastered delegating tasks and are seeing people rise up to do things that you used to think could only be done by you. Much to your surprise, some have proven better at those tasks than you ever were. You’re no longer a bottleneck, right? Continue reading The Decisions You Shouldn’t Make
Even if your organization’s balance sheet shows no debts, it’s a safe bet you have some. If you’re not aware of that debt, you can’t be managing it well.
The debts I’m referring to aren’t generally tracked in dollars. But the financial toll of their impact on your organization’s resilience, flexibility, responsiveness, ability to grow, and overall health is huge. Continue reading Debt Beyond Dollars
We all love the stories of the great visionary leaders who forge their way against all odds into a future no one else thought possible. Some people are gifted that way. If that’s you, use that gifting well! Be warned there are pitfalls you’ll need to navigate to avoid being one of the many visionaries who never achieve their vision. While some highly driven visionaries accomplish amazing things, many leave a trail of abused and broken people in their wake. Our goal as leaders is to achieve a future vision AND enable those we lead to reach their full potential. The primary measure of our success as leaders is the success of those we lead. 
But what if you’re a leader who lacks that visionary gift? You still have the responsibility to inspire your followers to reach beyond themselves to achieve some as-yet-unrealized future state. Continue reading A Leader’s Vision
Having just written about the 3 C’s of Strategy, I guess I have C’s on the brain. Even scarier is that two of the C’s of Strategy are the same as two of the C’s of Execution!
Whether you’re a boss, coach, or head of a household, you’ve undoubtedly struggled with someone with a task that just stays on the to-do list forever. Maybe it’s even you who can’t get it in gear!
Let’s look at three potential causes of that execution logjam. Continue reading The 3 C’s of Execution
Do you ever secretly wonder why you really need a strategy? The business gurus all say you should have one. But come on, you know what you want to accomplish, just jump in and get it done! Why go through the effort to gather the team, hash through it all, get something written down, then keep revisiting it in meeting after meeting all year?
You may get a measure of success by just throwing the team in the lake and saying, “swim that way!”. They’re likely to move in the general direction you pointed. But it takes more if you want the level of success that comes from everyone rowing together at the same time toward the same objectives.
Here are three C’s that you’ll get from a well-crafted and well-executed strategic process… Continue reading The 3 C’s of Good Strategy
As hard as I’ve tried, I’ve never been able to master Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi mind trick to get someone to say what you want them to say. But there are things we can do to stack the odds in our favor, hopefully avoiding a “no” response to our ideas. Continue reading Avoiding a “No” From the Boss
Get me talking about one of my passions and I can bore you to tears in minutes. But that doesn’t mean I won’t ramble on for hours! Whether you’re in a one-on-one meeting, presenting to the board of directors, or addressing a large audience, how do you decide how much to say when sharing your expertise?
Unless you’re the one who called the meeting and set the agenda, it’s a safe bet the organizer invited you to provide some information or perspective that the audience lacks and needs. It’s your responsibility to find out – preferably ahead of time – exactly what need you’re expected to meet. Clarity sets you up for success. Making assumptions sets you up for failure. Rarely is an audience satisfied just by you rambling on to demonstrate the breadth of your knowledge. Continue reading Deciding How Much to Say…
