By David Quinlan

Imagine an iceberg floating in the middle of the sea. Above the surface sits the impressive tip and rugged edges. What you do not see is what rests below the surface – a massive glacier with peaks and valleys and mass that comprises 90 percent of the entire body.

Defining a problem is like an iceberg. Many organizations make the mistake of trying to fix what they can see above the surface and ignore the root of a problem that sits below the surface.

Just like an iceberg, the deeper we go into the world of innovation, the more we discover. And as leaders, it’s our job to find the truth and identify a problem for what it really is versus what we think it is.

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By Dr. Evans Baiya, allbusiness.com, July 2019

Are you looking for the next big thing? Searching for an idea that will attract new customers, improve your offerings, or simply give you a leg up on your competition? The good news is you probably have most of what you need already at your fingertips: Your employees will be the defining factor to your success. And creating new value can be easier than you think if you get the right tools and processes in place.

You may have the inspiration or the original idea, but it is your employees who will execute that vision—and maybe even improve upon it—if you give them the right tools. It is impossible for a leader to single-handedly transform a company, thus the adage: “Leadership is the art of getting things done through people.” Large-scale change requires the work of a team.Read More

By Chip Scholz

I hear a lot of buzz around the words “authentic leadership”. Some demand more, while others debate its meaning. Regardless, smart leaders recognize the cries of dissatisfaction and seek ways to engage others with passion, authenticity and long-term value.

Legitimate leadership authenticity begins with self-knowledge: your values, thoughts, and actions. It carries with it a set of moral obligations. Leaders must avoid deception, contradiction, hidden agendas and ulterior motives. 

Leadership experts like Bill George, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School, have studied how authenticity impacts organizations—and how a lack of it destroys them. Distant and insincere leadership repels people, causing multiple dysfunctions. Only legitimate authenticity works.Read More

Tips to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Be More Productive

By Jalene Case

Bring to mind your last off-the-grid, disconnected-style vacation. If you can’t think of one, you’re not alone. Even though we know (somewhere deep down!) that taking a complete break from work will increase our work productivity, we often resist.

I recently returned from a one-week vacation during which I fasted from email and social media. The urge to check-check-check was mighty. It reminded me of a chicken’s endless drive to peck-peck-peck its food. The problem was that my habit of continually checking was not nourishing me! Instead, I was doing a great job of sustaining a constant level of alertness mixed with anxiety, which was depleting my energy.

My coach wisely challenged me to leave my phone at home. I involuntarily gasped and wondered to myself, Could I do that? After negotiating, I agreed to take my phone so I could use the travel apps, and hide the email and social media apps so I wouldn’t check them for a week.

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