June 2010
BP CEO Tony Hayward didn’t get June off to a great start. In an interview with Fox News, Hayward said, “There’s no one who wants this thing over more than I do. I would love my life back.”
To his credit, Hayward started off well at the beginning of the oil spill crisis by apologizing for the situation. He should have quit then.
There’s a great quote about leadership that says, “Leadership is about them, not you.” Somebody should read this quote to Hayward every time before he goes on camera.
Was Hayward’s gaffe serious or just (oil-slicked) water under the bridge?
December 2009
Ah, the end of the year. Time for those all-important performance reviews and planning for 2010.
The strength of an organization is proportional to the strength of its people to lead — first themselves, then critical functions of the organization, and, ultimately, the organization itself.
The following are five levels of leadership that any company can consider when developing 2010 performance plans.
| Level |
What it involves |
Applies to |
| Personal |
- Managing promises
- Being a good team player
- Accountability
- Respect for others
- Being an ambassador for the company
|
Everyone in the organization |
| Project |
- Managing multiple responsibilities
- Coordinating actions among multiple employees
|
Project leaders. This can be anyone in the organization assigned to lead a specific project. |
| Client |
- Fostering a deep client relationship
- Annual client planning
- Managing a team of people
- Setting and managing priorities
- Industry perspective, especially trends and competition
- Business development
|
Client team leaders |
| Organizational |
- Managing an organizational function (e.g. HR, IT, marketing, etc.)
- Balancing organizational priorities with client priorities
|
Leadership or associates being groomed for leadership |
| Strategic |
- Protecting mission and vision
- Charting the future for the organization
- Building an engaging culture
- Annual organization planning
- Maintaining financial soundness
- Developing new business
|
CEO, president, and other top leaders |
December 2009
Fearless Leadership by Dr. Loretta Malandro
In October, we wrote about leadership expert Dr. Loretta Malandro and her belief every business leader has blindspots. We decided to delve further with Malandro’s book Fearless Leadership.
Malandro defines a blindspot as an unproductive behavior that undermines success and business relationships.
Fearless Leadership explores the top 10 blindspots that Malandro and her team have identified through extensive research. They are:
- Going it alone
- Being insensitive to your impact on others
- Having an “I know” attitude
- Avoiding difficult conversations
- Blaming others or circumstances
- Treating commitments casually
- Conspiring against others
- Withholding emotional commitment
- Not taking a stand
- Tolerating “good enough”
Malandro believes that solving blindspots are critical to organizational success. She provides convincing evidence from her work with professionals around the world that organization change does not happen until leadership changes. The book provides detail on each blindspot, excellent examples from Malandro’s practice, and strategies that leaders can use to diagnose and overcome their own blindspots.
October 2009
Dr. Loretta Malandro specializes in executive communication. She is an expert on the blind spots – those automatic behaviors that can trap many leaders.
Malandro points out that these behaviors are not flaws, but they can influence decision-making, sabotage results, and have other unintended consequences.
Every executive is susceptible to blind spots. The following are the most common blind spots Malandro find in executives:
- Trying to do too much, a.k.a going it alone.
- Insensitivity to their impact on others.
- Avoiding difficult conversations.
Read more from Malandro at BusinessWeek or on her company’s website. Her new book, Fearless Leadership, is now available at Amazon.com.
October 2009
SmartBrief produces daily newsletters for 100+ business associations in more than 25 industries, including business, education, health care, and travel. The website makes free subscriptions available to anyone. SmartBrief also produces its own daily newsletters about leadership, workforce, entrepreneurs, social media, technology, and sustainability.
October 2009
Six Disciplines for Excellence by Gary Harpst
Author Gary Harpst found that less than 5 percent of businesses are high-impact companies, those that produce significant revenue growth and expanded employment. Likewise, he found companies that do become high impact rarely sustain their momentum more than three or four years.
Six Disciplines for Excellence is a collection of Harpst’s lessons from building several companies in his career. At the same time, Harpst takes the extra step beyond stories about those businesses and key decisions to a complete blueprint that executives can use to build organizations that achieve and sustain success over time.
The six disciplines are a set of interconnected practices that ensure employees in the organization know what they have to accomplish today to make the organizations successful. The disciplines are:
- Decide What’s Important
- Set Goals That Lead
- Align Systems
- Work The Plan
- Innovate Purposefully
- Step Back
For each discipline, Harpst provides step-by-step recommendations and insights that any company can use to implement a new strategic direction.
