Most of us are familiar with the philosophy of “having the right folks in the right seats on the bus” when we are building our teams and organizations. We all have the intention of hiring good folks; yet, I would wager that all of us have made poor “people choices” at some point in our career. What can we learn from a highly successful entrepreneur about this charge for aspiring leaders?
Most of my clients work in organizations which are highly matrixed. This often translates into the harsh reality of organizational politics. How do we deal with this?
Let’s face it: businesses are run by people in power. And we know power comes from many origins. This reality allows those wielding it to use very different approaches and methods to get what they want and need. Much has been written and proclaimed about the various types of power in business. In this post, I offer a few of my own experiences and observations of how power can surface in business – and life.
Thank you to our clients for taking the time to share your feedback with us at Alignment, Inc. As promised, we will be posting this information to our website for those who are interested in the details. The high-level results are included in this post.
Who will inherit the future? As corporate leaders, non-profit stewards, teachers, and parents of our next generations, is this question even relevant? After all, what impact do we have on the future and who actually will inherit it?
Recently, I heard a compelling speech on the topic of how to achieve ‘power’ in business. The perspective was relevant to me. I am interested in hearing your perspectives……
One aspect of my work at Alignment, Inc. consists of working with individual leaders and their teams when they face uber challenges and obstacles. For the most part, my clients show a tremendous level of resiliency and tenacity when navigating rough waters. We may be learning from these hard times, yet that does not make them any easier to endure. So, today, a little over one week after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, I wanted to highlight a few heroic stories of everyday people from which we may muster new hope and inspiration. Many unsung heroes inspire me – especially when we are all facing tough economic challenges.
Recently I was having dinner with two very dear and special friends at my favorite Dallas neighborhood bistro, Parigi. As always, we launched into an open, authentic and passionate conversation. We were bantering about how strong personal and business relationships thrive and survive, in an increasingly turbulent, competitive and stressful world. We were wondering…is there 1 quality that makes the difference?
Have you ever been dressed down by someone seemingly smarter than you just so that person could make a point? Have you ever been called out – or even worse – dismissed because you were behind the learning curve on a particular issue? Have you ever been interrupted or talked over, implying that your opinion or perspective was not worthy of even being heard? I have; and it is the worst feeling in the world.
A number of my clients are working alongside mentors. Some of these mentors have been chosen by the leader. With others, the mentors have singled out the leader as a high-potential individual with whom they want to partner; and still others have been assigned a mentor through a formalized mentoring program sponsored within their organization. Often I am asked, how do I make the most of this relationship?