Organizational Effectiveness – Page 3

9 Reasons Your Leadership Development Program is Failing

October 19, 2015 Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness

A recent Bersin study reported that U.S. companies invest over $2,000 in leadership development initiatives per company leader. That’s great news. But is it worth the investment? Just because an organization has a leadership development program doesn’t mean it’s successful, does it? I’ve been privileged to help develop several leadership development…

How to Influence When You’re Not in Charge

How do you lead when you’re not the boss? It’s hard enough to lead when you are in charge. What are the other options? If you’ve wondered this, I’ve got good news for you. It’s a lot easier than it sounds. And you can get started today. Here’s a game…

What Should I Get Mentoring For?

July 20, 2015 Coaching Learning Organizational Effectiveness Personal Effectiveness

Congratulations – you’ve just been selected to participate in a corporate mentoring program. Or maybe you took the initiative and enlisted a mentor yourself. Or perhaps, a seasoned pro has begun to formally or informally take you under his wing. Whatever the case, way to go! Now comes the tricky part:…

Organizational Problem-Solving Made Simple

July 6, 2015 Organizational Effectiveness

If you have a leadership role at work, solving problems is just part of the equation. It doesn’t take long to realize that problem-solving can be pretty complicated. What type of problem is it? What caused it? What is the best action to take? And on top of all that, often…

3 Continuous Improvement Questions You Ought to Consider

June 15, 2015 Organizational Effectiveness Strategic Thinking

What comes to mind when you think about continuous improvement? Hopefully you believe it’s a leadership responsibility we all share each and every day. “CI” doesn’t discriminate based on seniority, title, pay grade or job function. Good ideas can come from everywhere. And in a changing environment where what worked…

Is Your Organization Playing Chess or Checkers?

May 4, 2015 Communication Leadership Organizational Effectiveness

Is complexity leaving your organization behind? That’s a question we considered at a workshop I attended recently. Author Mark Miller and a team of facilitators walked a large group through the content of his new book Chess Not Checkers. The boardgame imagery? It’s symbolic for what happens as organizations grow.…

7 Types of Waste Productivity Leaders Eradicate

March 16, 2015 Organizational Effectiveness

How much is waste costing your organization? It’s possible you may not have thought much about it before. After all, things are busier than they’ve ever been and we all have our jobs to do. As long as we can get the work done and enough funds are coming in…

Thank God for Bosses!

March 2, 2015 Engagement Organizational Effectiveness

You don’t have to look far to look far to see the verbal abuse bosses take. Whether it’s water cooler gossip, happy hour banter or social media posts, people aren’t happy with their leader and don’t hold back when telling why. Some are more politically savvy and only think what others say…

Getting the Most from the Human Element

February 16, 2015 Communication Culture Engagement Influence Organizational Effectiveness

If you’ve been responsible for delivering business results for any length of time, you’ve probably hit a wall once or twice with people. Someone’s feelings got hurt, another manager is difficult to work with, company politics create unseen landmines, some colleagues disagrees with you and a couple may be out…

Stop it with the Interview Bias!

January 19, 2015 Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness

I was asked to sit in on a large group interview several years ago that a group of managers was conducting. There were a handful of openings and they wanted to efficiently select several candidates to move to the next level. I was supposed to provide input after the fact. In hindsight, I…

Who All Gets to Be a Leader?

December 1, 2014 Change Influence Leadership Organizational Effectiveness Personal Effectiveness

Who gets to be a leader? From time to time, I hear an someone admonish a group of individuals by saying “you are all leaders.” Other times, I see organizational messaging indicating “leadership” is reserved for a small group of individuals who occupy certain positions. Which is it? Are we all leaders,…

Is Leadership Easy or Difficult?

November 3, 2014 Leadership Organizational Effectiveness perspective

One of the things that disappoints me the most is hearing someone tell me they don’t want to be a leader. It’s unfortunate because I believe that everyone not only has the ability to be leader but also the responsibility to make a leadership contribution in the role they are in. But…