Do soldiers make better CEOs? There is no doubt that the hands-on leadership lessons learned in combat — or in preparation for combat — can seldom be matched by any corresponding leadership learning from business school or a typical corporate environment. Given the stress of war or training for war, ex-military business leaders may be […]
Subject: Leadership
How Procrastination Undermines Pro-Active Leadership
Being able to make the right decisions at the right time is a crucial part of leadership. Too often, however, lack of a proactive attitude gets in the way, causing not only decisions getting delayed but leaders failing to effectively resolve key business challenges. Ultimately, a lack of proactive leadership can have profound effects on […]
Read More… from How Procrastination Undermines Pro-Active Leadership
Rapid Response Teams: Strategic Renewal for Organizations
Strategic renewal is not an easy process to begin, fund, or lead, because it entails making changes before disruption occurs. The problem for many businesses, stretched as they are by myriad pressures and mounting costs, is they don’t want to go ‘looking for trouble’. Yet recent research suggests that is exactly what they need to […]
Read More… from Rapid Response Teams: Strategic Renewal for Organizations
Diversity in Teams: Tasks, Not Relationships Drive Performance
Social category diversity — diversity of race, gender or political leanings, for example — has been shown to enhance creative thinking in groups, and leads to more effective decision-making that takes into account a wider range of perspectives. The downside, according to previous research, is that the relationships among members of diverse groups are not […]
Read More… from Diversity in Teams: Tasks, Not Relationships Drive Performance
Is Othello Boss Syndrome Affecting Your Organization?
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the eponymous lead’s passionate jealousy motivates all of his actions, including ultimately the murder of his own wife. Similarly, in the corporate world, there exist executives whose quest for power or professional success can generate jealousy that consciously or unconsciously affects their decisions. In an article published in the European Business Review, […]
Read More… from Is Othello Boss Syndrome Affecting Your Organization?
Can Stress Improve Experiential Learning for Leaders?
Research suggests that executives tend to learn more from negative work and life experiences than positive ones, as failures and the threat of failure may force an individual to revisit the way they do things; positive experiences and successes, on the other hand, may lead to complacency. So what happens in your brain during such […]
Read More… from Can Stress Improve Experiential Learning for Leaders?
Coaching Chemistry: Building a Collaborative Relationship
Leaders cannot succeed in isolation. By definition, leadership is about getting the best from other people throughout the organization. The cumulative improvement leaders can generate in their teams through successful coaching will have far more impact than any efforts as an individual. It is therefore vital to foster the best in your people by embedding […]
Read More… from Coaching Chemistry: Building a Collaborative Relationship
The Role of Cultural Self-awareness in Global Leadership
A successful global leader is someone who can operate effectively across national boundaries and cultures, defining goals that will appeal to a diverse set of people, whether individuals in their own company or external groups and organizations. And although many skills are equally relevant to domestic leadership (i.e. business acumen, flexibility, interpersonal skills) there are […]
Read More… from The Role of Cultural Self-awareness in Global Leadership
Leaders’ Charisma, Team Performance and Organizational Change
‘Charismatic leadership’ has received much attention from researchers over the past few decades, lending support to theories that it is capable of fostering higher levels of employee and team performance in organizations. The term was first used in the 1940s by German sociologist Max Weber, who envisioned ‘charismatic leaders’ as leaders able to inspire passionate […]
Read More… from Leaders’ Charisma, Team Performance and Organizational Change
Leading Dynamic Teams: Alignment, Capability, Autonomy
Trans-ocean sailing fits the organizational team/leadership metaphor well, as in order to achieve the basic goal of getting from A to B, the team needs to function effectively in handling the boat as well as navigating successfully. Furthermore the unpredictable element of weather conditions simulates the unpredictable nature of business environments, requiring team focus to […]
Read More… from Leading Dynamic Teams: Alignment, Capability, Autonomy