The first and most important behavior for developing a high-functioning, cohesive team is to build trust. According to Patrick Lencioni, author of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, team trust is all about vulnerability.* Team members who trust one another are comfortable being open to one another regarding their failures, weaknesses, and fears. Vulnerability-based trust […]
Read MoreThose of us who have had the experience of being a member of a high-performing team know firsthand of the benefits. It is seen in the quantity and quality of results the team produces and in the high levels of satisfaction experienced by its members. Others of us have seen the opposite – teams that […]
Read MoreMore than 36,000 people participated in the 2014 Boston Marathon, making it the second-highest number of runners in the marathon’s history. This year’s race, however, had less to do with winning or competition; it became a “national symbol of resiliency and determination to take back the finish line”, as CNN’s Ashley Fantz phrased it. Leadership has […]
Read MorePartnerships that Work High levels of communication, cooperation, and teamwork are all by-products of partnerships that work. Relationships are important; we know this. But, have you ever wondered why working with some people is easier for us than with others? With some, we work seamlessly together without a hitch, and it’s mutually productive and satisfying. With others, we […]
Read MoreShorter deadlines, competing priorities, countless meetings, and spur-of-the-moment interruptions are some of the challenges facing leaders today. Without an internal drive for accomplishment, some of us are especially pressed to get things done. For many, the culprit is procrastination! It afflicts us all. More projects go unfinished and more time is squandered by procrastination than […]
Read MoreOver time leaders can lose their effectiveness if they don't renew and enhance their skills. What we did and how we did things in the past may have yielded good results then, but maintaining the same flight plan won't necessarily get us to where we need to go in the future. Leaders have to be continuous […]
Read MoreIf your new to DiSC, you probably already discovered that there are different types of DiSC assessments. Perhaps now you're having trouble deciding whether a DiSC assessment will fit your need, and if so, which one to use? If these are your questions, then this post will help. If, however, you're looking for background information about the DiSC model, then I'd suggest […]
Read MoreRecently, I had the pleasure of working with an executive team of a large non-profit, to design a process for succession planning and leadership development. This is an organization that has its eye on the future. They wanted to go beyond generating simple replacement lists and instead, take a closer look at defining the type of leadership they will need going forward. Naturally, this led to looking at their strategic goals, business plans, and shifts they expect to make over the next three to five years. Below is an outline of a 5-step process that we used. The questions guided our discussions, and we created worksheets to capture the answers.
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