Insights

One of the most important capabilities that any strong leader needs to demonstrate is their ability to build effective relationships . And one of the most critical relationships, which doesn’t get enough attention, is a leader’s relationship with their boss — whether that be one person or a board. Your relationship with your boss could be pivotal to your success or failure as a leader. You can leverage that relationship in several ways, from obtaining valuable information and

In today’s VUCA world, leaders are under pressure to continuously evolve and transform their organizations unlike we’ve seen in the past. The expectations are high, budgets are slim, and employees are often not ready to embrace the change. The combination of these factors creates an uber-stressful environment for change leaders in which their tenacity, resilience and patience to endure these conditions long term, and successfully implement the change gets put at risk. Many y

Highly engaged leaders are not only great at giving feedback, they also know how to receive feedback well. In fact, leaders are more influential when they actively seek, listen to and understand feedback from others. Receiving feedback and letting others into their safe space requires leaders to be vulnerable, which in turn helps build intimacy. On the other hand, if leaders always keep feedback at bay, they don't allow themselves to grow, learn and build stronger relationsh

Giving feedback is an essential part of any leadership role. The act of providing feedback can be a strategic communications tool to build trust, motivate change and influence positive outcomes. However, in my work as an advisor and coach to organizations and leaders, I have seen firsthand that the ability to give feedback effectively, especially tough feedback, continues to be a challenge for many managers and leaders. Judith Glaser, in her book Conversational Intelligence :

Storytelling is an incredible asset that we have at our disposal! We all have the ability to tell stories; it’s part of our DNA, passed down to us through generations. In the organizational setting, stories provide an incredibly powerful means to connect with and influence the workforce , inspire change and support the alignment of organizational culture to the organization’s mission and vision. Stories promote engagement at a deeper level so that ordinary work becomes extrao

Several years ago, I worked with a senior leader at a top, global company who had taken the helm of one of the largest organizational changes in the company’s history. He had, in fact, put his long tenure and reputation in the company at line by taking on a transformation of a magnitude and impact that the organization had not experienced before. At the start, this leader generated great enthusiasm for his vision for change and quickly garnered the support of a team of other

Over the past decade, the pace of change has increased ten-fold. The past few months have flipped our lives upside down. This incredibly volatile and uncertain environment has undermined the effectiveness of long-term forecasting and traditional strategic planning . Technological advances and push towards digital transformation have forced companies to rethink their operating models, structures, and how they can best serve their customers while optimally harnessing the creati

As described in Part 1 - Understanding Resistance of this 2-part Post on " Is your Organization Ready for Change ?", for organizations going through major change, resistance is unavoidable and can quickly derail all productive efforts if left unchecked. To successfully prepare for resistance, it is important to identify the two main sources of resistance: Individual-level Resistance : At an individual level, the causes are plenty and understandable. These are rooted in human

Let’s just face it: Change is hard! And managing change is even tougher . For many organizations that aim to transform, internal resistance to change is their biggest roadblock. Resistance comes in all types and can come from all levels of the organization - from those who are directly to even those who may be indirectly impacted by the change effort. For example, re-structuring of an HR department in a company may not only bring up resistance from within that department, but