To say being a great leader is hard would be an understatement. That’s exactly why the saying “people leave managers, not companies” became not just popular, but true. People are fed up with leaders who make their professional lives harder or downright miserable. They desire people who contribute value to their life not just take value from them. The leader/employee relationship is important because it impacts pay increases, job movement, skill development, and engagement at work. MORE
It’s always been important to me to have good values, and I try to show them by making good decisions, giving to others, and sharing my talents. As human beings, that’s just what we are supposed to do, right? Well, what about businesses? Can businesses have values that that make a difference in the world and propel them to higher levels of success? I recently saw a quote that says: “Corporations don’t have values, the people that run them do.”. MORE
When I think back to my first few months leading a group of people, it makes me cringe. I was learning as I went and my team had to go through that period of time as guinea pigs. Of course, I sought out the advice and guidance of those who came before me, but it was well after I had taken the role. To save others the heartache and missteps, here is a summary of the knowledge I wish I had when I started as a leader: Have a Purpose Beyond Money. MORE
Every professional has struggled being fulfilled in his or her profession at one point or another. A recent report by The Conference Board showed that 53% of Americans are unhappy in their work and a Gallup report showed 71% of millennials are not engaged (or actively disengaged) at work. MORE
I assumed I knew what it took to be an effective leader. My first six months of leading a team consistently proved my assumptions to be wrong. I made mistake after mistake. MORE
I’ve never stopped learning and striving to improve my professional development. The most difficult challenge is that I cannot rely solely on self-awareness to identify and modify behaviors that may be holding me back. MORE
I have always been enamored with companies that blatantly outperform the competition. I marvel in everything from their CEO’s decision making, habits of their leadership team, marketing, strategy, all the way down to their execution. What’s even more fascinating is for companies to separate themselves in industries that have an equal playing field like food and beverage. Enter Chick-fil-A. The company generates more revenue per location than any other fast food chain in the U.S. MORE
In many ways the current beliefs and thinking around leadership seem amazing compared to the leadership beliefs of prior generations. No longer does it feel like leaders have to rule with an iron fist, not care about the people being lead, or are afraid to show vulnerability in front of those people. Instead it is encouraged to be a servant leader, to be committed to the development of people, and to try and create more leaders, not more followers. MORE
Barry Bonds played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, was a 14 time all-star, holds the all-time home run mark for a career (762), holds the record for most home runs in a season (73), and yet he isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Now if you know anything about his story you probably know he has been linked to many reports of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED’s) which is why even with all his great accomplishments, the people who vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame have not elected him. MORE
As I walked down the hall, cruising through pods, the only acknowledgment of my existence were simple hand gestures. A few people people gave me a wave, others threw up an air fist pump, and a few ignored me. What was interesting was each and every person I passed was doing the exact same thing. They were all wearing headphones and listening to music. If your office is anything like mine, you are used to this environment. MORE
It was all I dreamed about and the opportunity had finally arrived. I was stepping outside of my comfort zone to lead a team of people professionally. It was surreal. In an instant, a wave of fear rushed over me that I had only felt a few times in my life. The best way I can describe it was uncertainty, doubt, and unworthiness. I had been around long enough to know these feelings would pass, but in the back of my mind, I could never forget them. MORE
I knew the first time I heard the Tim Ferriss Podcast, the world of professional development had changed forever. I was blown away by the idea that content creators would be willing share this much value for free. All this in an effort to help professionals be better versions of themselves as long as they are willing to put in the effort to listen and be curious. MORE
Whether you’ve just come off a huge project that ended with a thud or are running at full pace in repetitive execution mode, there comes a time where you take a step back and ask yourself, “Why am I doing this? I don’t have anything else to give!”. We’ve all been there. Stuck in a rut. I have a feeling creatives, more than others, fall into ruts because we are asked, on a day-to-day basis, to use our minds to make something from nothing – and that will be put out there to be judged by everyone. MORE
It didn’t take long to realize that morale was at 3 on a 1-10 scale. The team had been beat up by poor business performance, selfish leadership, and unrealistic expectations. My first reaction was to jump right in and try to start solving problems, but I knew from my mentors that solving problems was only part of the equation. What everyone needed was hope and confidence about the future. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the exact definition of optimism. MORE
The old expression that still carries a lot of weight in the world of business. What gets measured gets done’. If you can measure something, you can work on it and you can improve it. The problems come when you measure the wrong thing. It sounds like an amateur mistake but is surprisingly easy to do. Most management information focuses on historic performance. In fact most organizations often concentrate on revenue, costs and profit as indicators of success. MORE
The feeling in my stomach was sickening. At first, I sat there in slight disbelief with the simple thought running through my head over and over, “How in the world could my team possibly rate me like this?” MORE
When I joined the 10 million people who have discovered their strengths through the Gallup Assessment , I wasn’t all that surprised to see my results. Strategic. Command. Belief. Responsibility. Maximizer. MORE
When you see a red light on the stove, you assume the stovetop is hot, and therefore, don’t place your hand on it. In this case your assumption is correct and it protects you from harm. MORE
Everybody loves to focus on the things you must do to be a great leader. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it’s often our weaknesses or things we don’t know that end up hurting us the most. Out of all the information out there in the world, there are things you know (<1%) and things you know you don’t know (max 5%). An then there are things you don’t know that you don’t know (more than 95%.) MORE
Ever wonder why there is a growing divide between the C-suite and first-line management? Between corporate America and Millennials? Between an engaged work force and an unengaged work force? Take Marissa Mayer, current CEO of Yahoo, for instance. Mayer will leave with a $186 million payout as a result of the upcoming transaction between Verizon and Yahoo. MORE
In one of my first jobs my boss said to me one day, “You know deep down everyone’s motives are only for themselves, they only truly want what is going to benefit them the most, it is not success of the organization but success of oneself.” MORE
You aren’t a perfect leader. You probably don’t claim to be because you know you never will be. You know this because leadership is a skill that can be improved but never truly mastered. Similar to golf, just when you think you’ve improved, it brings you to your knees and humbles you. So it’s simple, leadership isn’t a destination, it’s a journey because economies evolve, the competition gets better, people change, and life happens. MORE
Listening. In my humble opinion is one of the most undervalued aspects of leadership, yet most important. There’s nothing more frustrating and downright rude than talking to someone who can’t or won’t listen. Maybe you have a leader that constantly interrupts. MORE
It was like he was playing a mean joke. I had sent him three different versions of the proposal and every time he came back with the same answer, “You Can Do Better.” Nothing more, nothing less. It was really starting to get to me as he wasn’t providing any coaching or direction just 4 simple words: you can do better. It wasn’t until my 6th version and 20+ hours of work that he gave it his blessing to send to the client. MORE
In many ways, the current beliefs and thinking around leadership are amazing compared to the leadership beliefs of prior generations. No longer does it feel like leaders have to rule with an iron fist, not care about their people, or be afraid to show vulnerability in front of those people. MORE
Have you ever had an experience that changed the way you viewed the world? Last week, I had one when I watched a video from AARP titled ‘Millennials Show Us What Old Looks Like’. In just a couple weeks, the video received over 375,000 views on YouTube. MORE
After surveying thousands of organizational leaders, interviewing hundreds of leaders on the “Follow My Lead” Podcast and being a true student of leadership for many years, it’s beyond evident to me there is an upper echelon of leaders. So much so, it forced us to come up with a name where these leaders stay called the ‘Welding zone.’ MORE
Life is made up of many choices. We make massive choices like where we go to college, who we marry, where we live, what profession we pursue, or what kind of parent we are. We make small choices like what we eat, what car we drive, how we respond to an event, or what show we pick out on Netflix. MORE
We are the worst judges of ourselves. Whether we are talking about strengths or deficits, especially our deficits. It’s scientifically proven. Don’t believe me? Look up the Dunning-Kruger effect. No one sets out to be a bad leader and bad leaders don’t believe they’re bad leaders. MORE
This post originally appeared on the Leadership Forces Blog. Perseverance is a good thing. It is a value that drives us towards success and achievement helping us to overcome challenges along the way. But it has the potential to trap us in mental prisons. MORE
Everybody loves a top 100 list. It could be the best dog breeds, best cities to live in, or in this case, the highest rated CEOs. I love Glassdoor’s annual list of the top 100 highest rated CEOs because it’s based on how the employees of major corporations value their most senior leader. This year the highest-rated CEO was Benno Dorer from the Clorox Company. MORE
Learnloft
JULY 5, 2017
In one of my first jobs my boss said to me one day, “You know deep down everyone’s motives are only for themselves, they only truly want what is going to benefit them the most, it is not success of the organization but success of oneself.”
Learnloft
APRIL 18, 2017
I’ve never stopped learning and striving to improve my professional development. The most difficult challenge is that I cannot rely solely on self-awareness to identify and modify behaviors that may be holding me back.
Learnloft
APRIL 12, 2017
The feeling in my stomach was sickening. At first, I sat there in slight disbelief with the simple thought running through my head over and over, “How in the world could my team possibly rate me like this?”
Learnloft
APRIL 6, 2017
We are the worst judges of ourselves. Whether we are talking about strengths or deficits, especially our deficits. It’s scientifically proven. Don’t believe me? Look up the Dunning-Kruger effect. No one sets out to be a bad leader and bad leaders don’t believe they’re bad leaders.
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Learnloft
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Listening. In my humble opinion is one of the most undervalued aspects of leadership, yet most important. There’s nothing more frustrating and downright rude than talking to someone who can’t or won’t listen. Maybe you have a leader that constantly interrupts.
Learnloft
MAY 22, 2017
Ever wonder why there is a growing divide between the C-suite and first-line management? Between corporate America and Millennials? Between an engaged work force and an unengaged work force? Take Marissa Mayer, current CEO of Yahoo, for instance. Mayer will leave with a $186 million payout as a result of the upcoming transaction between Verizon and Yahoo.
Learnloft
MAY 16, 2017
In many ways, the current beliefs and thinking around leadership are amazing compared to the leadership beliefs of prior generations. No longer does it feel like leaders have to rule with an iron fist, not care about their people, or be afraid to show vulnerability in front of those people.
Learnloft
MAY 8, 2017
I have always been enamored with companies that blatantly outperform the competition. I marvel in everything from their CEO’s decision making, habits of their leadership team, marketing, strategy, all the way down to their execution. What’s even more fascinating is for companies to separate themselves in industries that have an equal playing field like food and beverage. Enter Chick-fil-A. The company generates more revenue per location than any other fast food chain in the U.S.
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Learnloft
JULY 3, 2017
I knew the first time I heard the Tim Ferriss Podcast, the world of professional development had changed forever. I was blown away by the idea that content creators would be willing share this much value for free. All this in an effort to help professionals be better versions of themselves as long as they are willing to put in the effort to listen and be curious.
Learnloft
OCTOBER 5, 2016
Life is made up of many choices. We make massive choices like where we go to college, who we marry, where we live, what profession we pursue, or what kind of parent we are. We make small choices like what we eat, what car we drive, how we respond to an event, or what show we pick out on Netflix.
Learnloft
MARCH 8, 2017
This post originally appeared on the Leadership Forces Blog. Perseverance is a good thing. It is a value that drives us towards success and achievement helping us to overcome challenges along the way. But it has the potential to trap us in mental prisons.
Learnloft
JUNE 19, 2017
Everybody loves to focus on the things you must do to be a great leader. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it’s often our weaknesses or things we don’t know that end up hurting us the most. Out of all the information out there in the world, there are things you know (<1%) and things you know you don’t know (max 5%). An then there are things you don’t know that you don’t know (more than 95%.)
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Off-the-shelf elearning is applicable for a wide audience, but it won’t address your organization’s unique situations or distinctive content. So are these courses all that helpful? For sure! Read on for 7 secrets to make off-the-self learning your own.
Learnloft
JANUARY 2, 2017
To say being a great leader is hard would be an understatement. That’s exactly why the saying “people leave managers, not companies” became not just popular, but true. People are fed up with leaders who make their professional lives harder or downright miserable. They desire people who contribute value to their life not just take value from them. The leader/employee relationship is important because it impacts pay increases, job movement, skill development, and engagement at work.
Learnloft
APRIL 27, 2016
Have you ever had an experience that changed the way you viewed the world? Last week, I had one when I watched a video from AARP titled ‘Millennials Show Us What Old Looks Like’. In just a couple weeks, the video received over 375,000 views on YouTube.
Learnloft
JULY 13, 2016
When I joined the 10 million people who have discovered their strengths through the Gallup Assessment , I wasn’t all that surprised to see my results. Strategic. Command. Belief. Responsibility. Maximizer.
Learnloft
JULY 20, 2016
The old expression that still carries a lot of weight in the world of business. What gets measured gets done’. If you can measure something, you can work on it and you can improve it. The problems come when you measure the wrong thing. It sounds like an amateur mistake but is surprisingly easy to do. Most management information focuses on historic performance. In fact most organizations often concentrate on revenue, costs and profit as indicators of success.
Advertisement
Do you struggle to achieve measurable results with your learning solutions? If so, you’re not alone. According to CEB, traditional training only creates 37% learning transfer. This guide explores the causes of poor transfer and concrete steps to achieving better outcomes.
Learnloft
MARCH 20, 2017
Barry Bonds played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, was a 14 time all-star, holds the all-time home run mark for a career (762), holds the record for most home runs in a season (73), and yet he isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Now if you know anything about his story you probably know he has been linked to many reports of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED’s) which is why even with all his great accomplishments, the people who vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame have not elected him.
Learnloft
JULY 10, 2017
Everybody loves a top 100 list. It could be the best dog breeds, best cities to live in, or in this case, the highest rated CEOs. I love Glassdoor’s annual list of the top 100 highest rated CEOs because it’s based on how the employees of major corporations value their most senior leader. This year the highest-rated CEO was Benno Dorer from the Clorox Company.
Learnloft
FEBRUARY 20, 2017
As I walked down the hall, cruising through pods, the only acknowledgment of my existence were simple hand gestures. A few people people gave me a wave, others threw up an air fist pump, and a few ignored me. What was interesting was each and every person I passed was doing the exact same thing. They were all wearing headphones and listening to music. If your office is anything like mine, you are used to this environment.
Learnloft
JANUARY 23, 2017
It was all I dreamed about and the opportunity had finally arrived. I was stepping outside of my comfort zone to lead a team of people professionally. It was surreal. In an instant, a wave of fear rushed over me that I had only felt a few times in my life. The best way I can describe it was uncertainty, doubt, and unworthiness. I had been around long enough to know these feelings would pass, but in the back of my mind, I could never forget them.
Advertisement
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Learnloft
SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
It’s always been important to me to have good values, and I try to show them by making good decisions, giving to others, and sharing my talents. As human beings, that’s just what we are supposed to do, right? Well, what about businesses? Can businesses have values that that make a difference in the world and propel them to higher levels of success? I recently saw a quote that says: “Corporations don’t have values, the people that run them do.”.
Learnloft
SEPTEMBER 5, 2016
You aren’t a perfect leader. You probably don’t claim to be because you know you never will be. You know this because leadership is a skill that can be improved but never truly mastered. Similar to golf, just when you think you’ve improved, it brings you to your knees and humbles you. So it’s simple, leadership isn’t a destination, it’s a journey because economies evolve, the competition gets better, people change, and life happens.
Learnloft
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
It was like he was playing a mean joke. I had sent him three different versions of the proposal and every time he came back with the same answer, “You Can Do Better.” Nothing more, nothing less. It was really starting to get to me as he wasn’t providing any coaching or direction just 4 simple words: you can do better. It wasn’t until my 6th version and 20+ hours of work that he gave it his blessing to send to the client.
Learnloft
OCTOBER 10, 2016
Whether you’ve just come off a huge project that ended with a thud or are running at full pace in repetitive execution mode, there comes a time where you take a step back and ask yourself, “Why am I doing this? I don’t have anything else to give!”. We’ve all been there. Stuck in a rut. I have a feeling creatives, more than others, fall into ruts because we are asked, on a day-to-day basis, to use our minds to make something from nothing – and that will be put out there to be judged by everyone.
Advertisement
As an eLearning designer wouldn’t it be great if you could take charge of your eLearning environment right from storyboarding your ideas to generating responsive eLearning courses to being able to effectively deploy and track your learners’ performance?
Learnloft
FEBRUARY 7, 2017
When I think back to my first few months leading a group of people, it makes me cringe. I was learning as I went and my team had to go through that period of time as guinea pigs. Of course, I sought out the advice and guidance of those who came before me, but it was well after I had taken the role. To save others the heartache and missteps, here is a summary of the knowledge I wish I had when I started as a leader: Have a Purpose Beyond Money.
Learnloft
APRIL 3, 2017
I assumed I knew what it took to be an effective leader. My first six months of leading a team consistently proved my assumptions to be wrong. I made mistake after mistake.
Learnloft
AUGUST 22, 2016
In many ways the current beliefs and thinking around leadership seem amazing compared to the leadership beliefs of prior generations. No longer does it feel like leaders have to rule with an iron fist, not care about the people being lead, or are afraid to show vulnerability in front of those people. Instead it is encouraged to be a servant leader, to be committed to the development of people, and to try and create more leaders, not more followers.
Learnloft
JUNE 22, 2016
It didn’t take long to realize that morale was at 3 on a 1-10 scale. The team had been beat up by poor business performance, selfish leadership, and unrealistic expectations. My first reaction was to jump right in and try to start solving problems, but I knew from my mentors that solving problems was only part of the equation. What everyone needed was hope and confidence about the future. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the exact definition of optimism.
Advertisement
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Learnloft
MAY 25, 2016
Every professional has struggled being fulfilled in his or her profession at one point or another. A recent report by The Conference Board showed that 53% of Americans are unhappy in their work and a Gallup report showed 71% of millennials are not engaged (or actively disengaged) at work.
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