October, 2012

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Get Real: Take Your Developmental Conversations to the Next Level

Let's Grow Leaders

For a variety of reasons, many manager/employee relationships stay formal, cordial, and don’t realize their full potential. The conversation stays focused on the work at hand, and hopefully there is some discussion of strengths and development needs, along with a plan to improve on them. There is often real reluctance to go deeper. Why? Choices, [.

Planning 438
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No Excuses = Real Leadership

N2Growth Blog

By Mike Myatt , Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth . Leaders don’t offer, nor do they accept excuses. True leadership demands the character to demonstrate personal responsibility for one’s actions, and the courage to hold others accountable for theirs. Excuses attempt to conceal personal or professional insecurities, laziness, and/or lack of ability.

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Bring It: 7 Keys To A Great 3 Minute Startup Pitch

Terry Starbucker

For the last 10 months I’ve been an investor in the Oregon Angel Fund (OAF). We invest in startups and early-stage growth companies in the Pacific Northwest, and as you can imagine, we hear a lot of pitches. Because there are many interested companies and applicants, and only a small number of actual annual investments (just a handful), that first 3 minute summation of “ why you should invest in us ” is absolutely critical.

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Playing the Part of Leader

Lead Change Blog

Posted in Leadership Coaching Leadership Development “Don’t just act like the character. Be the character.” I’ve heard these words from theater directors many times, and so have countless other actors and actresses on stage and screen. The best actors are the ones who cause you to forget that you’re watching a movie or attending a live play, who can convince you [.].

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Reduce Bias in Hiring: Structured Interview Questions for Employers

Structured interview questions are a valuable tool for reducing bias in hiring. They help: Ensure all candidates are asked the same questions in the same way Level the playing field so all candidates have a fair chance of being successful Improve credibility, reliability, and validity Download the guide to get the most out of your interview questions!

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Walk the Talk: Four Tips to be an Extraordinary Leader

Great Leadership By Dan

Guest post by Thomas J. Walter: It’s common knowledge that there are two kinds of leaders, those who speak and those who do. Those who speak are referred to as “vocal leaders,” and those who do are referred to as “servant leaders,” though the title of the latter is frequently off-putting to business leaders of self-proclaimed high stature. While leaders with excellent communication and motivational skills are often praised for these skills, they’re not the only component to being an effective le

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What is Unethical Leadership?

Leading in Context

Exploring "Unethical Leadership" How do we define unethical leadership? While there are hundreds of stories that illustrate examples of unethical leadership in the news, those stories taken together still do not clearly define the boundaries of what unethical leadership includes.

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Why Your Leadership Is Overrated

N2Growth Blog

By Mike Myatt , Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth . How are your leadership skills? Likely not as good as you think. There’s no shortage of independent empirical data generated over the years supporting the fact most people tend to overrate their leadership ability. The best leaders the world has ever known had room for improvement – so do you. I’ve always said leaders need to get over themselves and get on to the practice of leadership.

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The Truth About “If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It”

Terry Starbucker

“How did you KNOW it was a success?” I asked that question several times last week in a forum that I participated in with a group of business people. We were trading best practices about process and training initiatives that had been considered “successful” I have a problem with using that kind of word without some facts to back it up.

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A Character-Based Leader Leaves a Powerful Legacy

Lead Change Blog

Posted in Character Based Leader Book Leadership Development When you look back on your career, how will you gauge your leadership success? Being a leader can be a thankless job. Some days, it’s hard to feel like anything positive is being accomplished, isn’t it? It can be tempting to think that nobody notices and that your actions don’t really amount to much.

Power 369
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Disconnection at the Heart of Corporate Failure

Great Leadership By Dan

Guest post by Debbie Nicol: Have you ever watched TV with the volume down and the radio on in the background? Some may describe that as crazy, some call it multi-tasking whilst others may sadly say ‘oh we have that all the time at work, everyone talking at once, no one listening, saying one thing and doing another’, creating confusion, misalignment and disconnection, and even at times manifesting as corruption and unethical practice.

Open-book 276
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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Being Quiet

Persuasive Powerhouse

. “Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.” ~ Napoleon Hill. . Many of us are continually re-learning the wisdom that tells us when it’s important to stay quiet. Yet that is what important conversations should strive for – lots of pauses and silence ripe with thought and ideas.

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The 3 Gifts: Grateful for Growing

Let's Grow Leaders

They say “feedback is a gift,” but much of the time it does not feel that way. So, what was different this time? It was a cool, crisp night. The warmth of the make-shift spotlight was both frightening and friendly as I stood ready to give my final speech at the SCORRE conference. Frightening because [.] The post The 3 Gifts: Grateful for Growing appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

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Are Your Actions Setting Up Your Employees To Succeed?

Tanveer Naseer

At one time or another, we’ve all had to deal with a customer service department whose response and actions left much to be desired. A recent experience my wife and I had with the customer service department for a major retailer also illustrated how a leader shows up in those moments can influence their employees’ perceptions of their roles and consequently, impact their organization’s ability to turn a problem into an opportunity to succeed.

Goal 276
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Disabled Women Succeeding as Entrepreneurs

Women on Business

Many women have found that in order to have the lifestyle they want working in the corporate world is simply too restrictive. Set hours requiring you to commute to an office, clock in and out, then ask for permission to slightly change your schedule – is simply not conducive to an active and busy life. Women with children find the regular work schedule to be even more difficult to manage.

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5 Ways to Improve DE&I in the Workplace

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical for an organization’s success. And companies that take bold action to help ensure an inclusive workplace will win every time. Discover how your company can create a culture that celebrates DE&I while achieving higher revenue and growth.

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The Transparency Debate: How Much Should Leaders Share?

Lead Change Blog

Posted in Leadership Development As leaders grow in levels of responsibility, scope and scale, the issue of “transparency” becomes more significant. Executives have insights into confidential strategy, complex nuances, and serious situations. They also have large teams and a customer base watching every move. It’s common practice for leaders to pull back more as they rise in the [.].

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5 Ways to Make Sure You Don’t Fall off the Fast-track

Great Leadership By Dan

Most organizations have some kind of formal or informal succession planning process to identify their high potential (HIPO), or “fast track” talent. Some will come right out and tell you you’re part of a high potential pool, and some let you know in a more indirect way. Either way, what they don’t always tell you is that these lists are fluid. Each year, people are added and dropped.

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Common Objections and Misconceptions of SERVANT Leadership

Modern Servant Leader

Many executives wrestle with the term SERVANT Leadership. The term servant, itself, disturbs many people otherwise advocating these principles. For example, in the landmark work “ Good to Great ” Jim Collins explained his team almost used the term “Servant Leader” instead of “Level 5 Leader” but feared it would be misinterpreted.

Objective 274
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A Matter of Trust: Why I Trust You, Why I Don’t

Let's Grow Leaders

Developing real trust takes time. The people we lead come to us with history, memories, and experiences–they recall times of trust inspired and trust betrayed. When we are in a new gig, our teams watch even more closely. “Can I trust you?” “Are you like the last guy?” When we have been with a [.] The post A Matter of Trust: Why I Trust You, Why I Don’t appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

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No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Drama, End Entitlement and Drive Big Results

Speaker: Cy Wakeman, M.S., CSP, President, Reality-Based Leadership

Most HR leadership philosophies are grounded in two completely faulty assumptions — “change is hard” and “engagement drives results.” Those beliefs have inspired expensive attempts to keep change from being disruptive to employees. What these engagement programs actually do is create and reinforce feelings of victim-hood and leave employees unprepared to adapt to real changes that are necessary for the health and profitability of their enterprises.

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How to encourage healthy conflict

Persuasive Powerhouse

I’ve come to believe in the value of conflict as I see leaders struggle with it. It wasn’t always that way for me; early in my career I viewed conflict as a negative thing. I worked at a company for many years where conflict was avoided. Employees tended to agree in public meetings, but have one-to-one meetings afterwards where they vented their real opinions.

How To 274
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50 Inspiring Startup Quotes from Successful Entrepreneurs Includes Women

Women on Business

NEWS AND INSIGHTS UPDATE: A number of women entrepreneurs are included in the list of 50 of the most inspiring startup quotes from successful entrepreneurs that was published on Lifed.com. However, all of the quotes are worth reading. Some of the quotes from business women are: “Having a partner definitely allows you to take more risks.” - Arianna Huffington, Co-founder, The Huffington Post. “Don’t limit yourself.

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Leadership Perspectives: What Is Your Intention?

Lead Change Blog

Posted in Leadership Development What does it mean to be a character-based leader? Isn’t that a deep and probing question? There are so many avenues we could take in this conversation, and The Lead Change Group has done that in their new book, The Character Based Leader: Instigating a Leadership Revolution….One Person at a Time, written by 21 authors [.].

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The 12 Toughest Challenges of Leadership

Leadership Freak

The challenges of leadership are inside leaders. Stop blaming organizations and others for your shortfalls and failures. Take the bull by the horns. You are the bull. The 12 Toughest Challenges of Leadership: Humility during success. Confidence during setbacks. Stepping back so others can step up. Putting plans into action – Follow through. Experience shows [.].

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Innovation: Five Signs You Might Be Faking It

Every company wants to be a leader in innovation, but how can you tell if your company is really innovating or just going through the motions? See the 5 signs you might be faking innovation and what to do if you are.

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Leadership Horror Stories

Modern Servant Leader

There are plenty of horror story compilations on ghosts, goblins and monsters, but what about all those leadership horror stories? Here are some of the greatest Leadership Horrors of all time: Headless Horseman, CC license by Josh Gross. Headless Horseman. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the headless horseman is the ghost of a decapitated soldier who seeks his head and is willing to take yours, as a substitute.

Licensing 272
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Cheer in the Next Gear: How to Make Your Support Count

Let's Grow Leaders

Each time a cyclist peddled past our corner at the Ironman triathlon , the woman sitting next to me on the curb would clang her large cowbell. No words. No sign of emotion. This went on for hours. It was almost a Pavlovian response. See bike, ring bell. She was committed. She never missed an [.] The post Cheer in the Next Gear: How to Make Your Support Count appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

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3 Principles For Creating Team Harmony In Today’s Fast-Paced Workplaces

Tanveer Naseer

A leader’s ability to create a collaborative environment through open communication and mutual understanding is undoubtedly becoming a critical leadership skill in today’s faster-paced, increasingly interconnected world. But how do you establish and maintain team harmony if those team dynamics are in constant flux? As team life spans continue to shrink in response to faster industry/market changes, how can leaders not only ensure team cohesion, but adapt to the changing team and pers

Team 270
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Qualities of a Good Business Leader

Lead on Purpose

Guest post by William Lewis. A sound education in business is just one component of being a good leader; to truly take your company to the next level, you must also possess certain qualities that come from within. Think about some of the business leaders you admire – maybe it’s someone famous who has changed the world with their product or service; maybe it’s your own father or mother, someone you’ve grown up with in close proximity and had years to study.

Quality 268
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Tough Comp Conversations: A Guide For Doing Them Right

Speaker: Rusty Lindquist, VP Strategic HR Insights at Bamboo HR

Compensation can be tricky, few things carry as much emotional weight as comp. And with the increased transparency in the market, combined with our collective propensity to rate ourselves against others, the frequency of these very difficult conversations is increasing. In this webinar, we will deconstruct some of the psychology around comp. We’ll take an analytic look at comp’s role in the employee experience, and then we’ll get really tactical with guidance on very specific compensation conver

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6 Things That Make Someone A Great Leader

Lead Change Blog

Posted in Leadership Development There are a lot of good leaders in business today. But what separates the good from the great leaders? In golf, the difference between making the PGA tour and playing on a mini-tour can be less than a stroke average. The margin is very slim. That’s true of most professions. Those that put in [.].

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Your 10 Worst Days as a Leader?

Great Leadership By Dan

Bad things happen to good people, including good leaders. Stuff happens – you deal with it, learn from it, and move on. Reflecting back over my own career as a leader, there were some days I’d just assume forget and never have to repeat. Having worked in various HR and leadership development roles, I also had a chance to hear about some serious bad hair days from leaders on the front lines.

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Laws of Attraction – Attracting the People You Want

Women on Business

What kind of people are you attracting? Are you attracting the kind of people you want to work with? Or the contractors you want working for you? When writing on your website, twitter, help wanted ads, whatever it may be; it’s important to write for the people you want to read it. If you have everything written in very professional language with a very professional website, those are the sort of people that will be attracted to your ad, or website etc.

Quality 266
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Want Great Customer Service? Call A Vampire

Let's Grow Leaders

If you need to contact a customer service call center, today would be a good day. You will likely get great customer service. Employees will be happy, spirits will be high. Oh, and the pictures will be fantastic. From my experience and in talking to leaders in call centers across the industry, today the phones [.] The post Want Great Customer Service?

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The HR Leader’s Survival Guide

HR leaders drowning in paperwork struggle to meet C-suite's strategic expectations. Burnout and high turnover plague the field, with 95% feeling overwhelmed. This guide explores how the right tools can free HR from admin tasks and empower them to become the strategic leaders they’re meant to be.