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How to Define Success in Any Job

By Ron Price

In my own experience as an executive, I sought to put as much power as possible into hands of those I supervised. I wanted them to “own” their jobs and to always know how to accurately evaluate their performance. Once I retired from corporate management and started supporting other leaders, I discovered they are equally interested in providing clarity to their subordinates and nurturing a higher level of accountability. This led to formalizing a process for defining and measuring executive performance.

We start by asking our clients, “What are the three to five key results that will reflect superior performance in a job?” They often answer, “if we’re making money or if we’re growing, that hits the mark”.

Are We Solving the Right Problem?

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.

Legitimate Leadership Authenticity: The Great Debate

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

Opposites That Feed Each Other

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.

A Direct Approach to Resolve Conflict with a Coworker

By Whit Mitchell

It probably won’t surprise you that in my line of work, I tend to do a lot of team conflict resolution. Coworker disagreements and conflict are common in most workplaces, as we attempt to blend a variety of personalities, preferences and behaviors into a single team.

When I get a call that two colleagues are not working well together, I have a process that I follow—and it’s produced successful results over the years. I start by having both parties complete the TTI Success Talent Insights Assessment, which measures their behaviors (the “how” they do something) and their driving forces (the “why” they do something). I have each of them take this assessment before I even meet them. I take a look at those two reports, and I can pinpoint with accuracy what’s going on, even before I hear the whole story.

An Aware Team is an Effective Team

By Dr. Francis Eberle

One of my clients recently asked for help improving the effectiveness of his team. He reported that the team was not readily sharing information, not treating each other with respect, and not pitching in when one member was unable to complete his or her work.

These concerns probably sound familiar. I see them, or some version of them, often in the companies I work with. So how can you overcome issues like this and create an effective team?

The ADP Research Institute recently completed a study of teams, and discovered that the key to increased engagement is not in the perks, but in people. Data continues to report that effective teams have several things in common: a clear sense of purpose, a commonly held notion of what’s important, feelings of psychological safety, and confidence about the future (The Power Hidden Teams, Harvard Business Review 2019).

My Personal Civil War: What Happens When Behaviors or Motivators Clash

By Dave Clark

Some people call it an internal struggle. Others call it a “me-me” conflict. I like to call it my personal civil war. Many of us have one (or more) of these internal conflicts and they tend to cause us mental anguish, often on a daily basis.

This “me-me” conflict comes when either primary behaviors or motivators are contradictory to each other and clash. These conflicts make us want to go in more than one direction at the same time, creating internal discord. Learning to manage these internal conflicts is necessary in order for us to maintain our sanity, let alone be productive.

These conflicts explain why some people want to win the lottery but won’t buy a ticket. Or, why others who pledge to get in shape in the morning are spotted at the donut shop and fast food restaurant by lunchtime. With these opposing mental forces pushing and pulling us in different directions, we often concede to the behavior or driver that is strongest.

Take Ownership with Accountability Questions

By Steve and Jill Morris

Organizational Accountability is owning the consequences of your choices in delivering the agreed-to results that everyone owns but no one person controls, and helping other people do the same.

This definition requires that you to set up clear accountabilities based on agreed-to results, otherwise you are leaving accountability to chance.

Are you taking the time to define, in the appropriate detail, exactly what you want others to agree to and deliver?
Are you asking for agreements or are you just assuming that they exist?
Are you confirming those agreements?
Are you tracking agreements people make with you?
Are you following up in a timely way to hold people accountable for the agreements they made with you?

There is nothing you have to learn to implement these ideas. To quote Yoda: “There is only do, or don’t do.” They just take practice.

How to Define Success Daily

By Lori McNeill

How often do we go throughout our days without truly thinking about how we can create success that day? Many of us simply live our lives day-by-day, going through the motions, without really considering what we want to accomplish. It’s easy to do this, especially in a world that is moving nonstop. You may get to the end of the week, only to look back and think, “How is it Friday already?” with no clear idea of what you accomplished—or if you succeeded. It’s easy to get in the habit of being busy and not taking time to reflect.

Why is it that many of us simply shuffle through life? It’s almost as though we get into a routine and don’t consider that there’s any other way. I have a client whose calendar is absolutely packed with back-to-back meetings. He attends so many meetings that he has little time to manage his team, think strategically, or manage his own task list. Many busy professionals can relate. Often I hear leaders say they never have time to eat lunch or get any kind of break in their day. Read More

Does Your Culture Need Help?

7 indications of a broken culture

By Lisa Aldisert

Culture is a common buzzword these days. Many articles tout the importance of a good culture. There are even awards that celebrate companies where employees love to work. Experts talk about defining, transforming, and fixing your culture. But how do you even know if your company’s culture needs help? Or what aspects to fix if it has some cracks?

It is possible for a culture to be mostly good and have only a few blemishes. In fact, that’s the way that most cultures are. Even idealized cultures you see showcased in the media, with inventive perks and fun break rooms, still have issues.

Every culture has its challenges. There is no Oz, nor any magic bullet. Because companies and people evolve, keeping a healthy culture in check requires constant maintenance before a variety of factors can throw it off.

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