http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/ 15 A Round-Up of Leadership Insights from the "On Leadership" Staff en Copyright 2009 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. He writes the "Leadership at Work" column for HarvardBusiness.org, and his most recent book is Lead Your Boss: The Subtle Art of Managing Up. It is a leader's responsibility to provide direction. But sometimes leaders need to take direction. Case in point is the advice campaign manager David Plouffe gave to candidate Barack Obama during his senatorial campaign in 2004. "You just have to let go and trust" your people, Plouffe told Obama, as he recounts in his new book. To his credit, the candidate did learn to let go and allow others to manage the campaign while he focused on being the candidate. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/11/delegating-to-win.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/11/delegating-to-win.html Leadership skills Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500 Carmine Gallo is a communication coach, speaker and author, most recently, of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is considered one of the greatest corporate storytellers on the world stage. Jobs inspires intense loyalty and also scares the heck out of his people. But there is no question he has transformed the typical dull, plodding, technical presentation into a theatrical experience. Here are 7 techniques that Jobs has learned about inspiring his audience; tips that you can use to wow your employees, customers, investors, or anyone else you need to motivate. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/11/seven-secrets-of-a-steve-jobs-presentation.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/11/seven-secrets-of-a-steve-jobs-presentation.html Communication skills Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:49:45 -0500 Carol Kinsey Goman is an executive coach, author and keynote speaker who addresses association, government, and business audiences around the world. Her latest book and program topic is The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work. If you're a leader who thinks that technology offers a screen to hide behind, think again. The visual technology revolution is making body language more important than ever. Soon you will be interacting face-to-face with even greater frequency, even if those interactions are mediated by a screen. Leaders will need to master these new technologies to communicate effectively with their followers, employees, customers and clients. Here are five new advances in technology and research that show how non-verbal cues will remain as significant -- if not more significant -- in our digital future. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/10/the-high-tech-future-of-body-language.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/10/the-high-tech-future-of-body-language.html Communication skills Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:52:28 -0500 It's hard to keep up with the latest leadership books. Of the many that cross my desk, here are two that have caught my attention this fall. Seven Lessons for Leading in Crisis, by Bill George (Aug. 2009) This short book from Harvard B-school prof and former Medtronic CEO Bill George functions like a pocket-sized handbook version of his popular book, True North. If you know a leader dealing with a crisis -- and who isn't right now? -- this might be a good book to slip in their briefcase. Its seven principles -- face reality, ask for help, find the root cause, focus on the long term, take advantage of change, lead with integrity and go on the offense -- provide immediate direction and focus. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/09/leadership-books-for-fall-2009.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/09/leadership-books-for-fall-2009.html Books Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:11:57 -0500 Francie Dalton, CMC, is president of Dalton Alliances, Inc., a Maryland-based business consultancy specializing in the communication, management, and behavioral sciences. She is the author, most recently, of "Versatility: How to Optimize Interactions When 7 Workplace Behaviors Are at Their Worst." Leaders are reeling these days. They've been alone on the hot seat for months -- making gut wrenching decisions, withstanding white-hot criticism, and managing politically charged, increasingly unreasonable stakeholder expectations. Below are four of the toughest, most complex challenges leaders are facing today, along with advice on how to handle them. 1. Implementing Lay-Offs Restructuring is a gut-wrenching task and is among the most dreaded responsibilities of a leader. It is possible, however, to bring some level-headed process to this emotionally charged task. First, rank your priorities. Identify essential outcomes -- outputs that your company or your customers cannot live without -- and call these Tier 1. Next http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/08/four-handholds-for-weary-executives.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/08/four-handholds-for-weary-executives.html Economic crisis Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:58:41 -0500 You might feel a bit out-of-the-loop if you missed last month's Aspen Ideas Festival, but even the patient are the rewarded: You can now watch many of the sessions on video. Of interest to the leadership world is a session on "Navigating the Global Economy," with Boeing International president Shephard W. Hill, Royal Phillips Electronics CEO Gerard Kleisterlee and Carlyle Group managing director David Rubenstein. If consuming content online is not enough, however, there are many upcoming events to choose from. As public relations firm Weber Shandwick reported in January, the recession hasn't put a dent in the conference circuit -- if anything demand for conferences is up. Here are four leadership events coming up this summer and fall: 1. The Leadership Challenge Forum, Aug. 6-7, 2009, Chicago If you loved the book, The Leadership Challenge -- recently named one of the top 10 leadership books of all time -- http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/07/leadership-conferences.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/07/leadership-conferences.html Leadership Training Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:35:29 -0500 Carol Kinsey Goman is an executive coach, author and keynote speaker who addresses association, government, and business audiences around the world. Her latest book and program topic is The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work. All leaders express enthusiasm, warmth and confidence as well as arrogance, indifference and displeasure through their facial expressions, gestures, touch and use of space. If an executive wants to be perceived as credible and forthright, her or she has to think "outside the speech" and recognize the importance of nonverbal communication. Whether you are a business executive promoting a vision for your company or a politician promoting a vision for the country, people interpret what you say to them only partially from the words you use. They are picking up most of your message (and all of the emotional nuance behind the words) from your nonverbal signals. Here are five video http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/07/body-language-mastering-the-silent-language-of-leadership.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/07/body-language-mastering-the-silent-language-of-leadership.html Leadership Training Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:53:41 -0500 Last week I was lucky enough to attend a conference, "How Can Leadership Be Taught?" hosted by the Harvard Business School and organized by professors Scott Snook, Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana. The two-day event included nearly 30 demonstrations of how leadership can be taught. This was not dry academia: Presenters had us on our feet, visiting battlefields, sharing stories and even drawing pictures. Here are some of the presentations that caught my attention. 1.Where Army Leaders Meet -- Online Lt. Col. Tony Burgess introduced us to CompanyCommand, an online community for Army company-level leaders in the Army. Burgess created CompanyCommand and its sister site, PlatoonLeader, with fellow West Point alum, Lt. Col. Nate Allen. Together, they wanted to facilitate "front porch"-type conversations and help overcome the isolation that military leaders can face when they assume command. But the sites are more than discussion boards: The latest version includes interactive http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/06/teaching-leadership.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/06/teaching-leadership.html Leadership Training Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:45:17 -0500 We're in the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades, and many people in leadership positions haven't seen anything like it before. As an executive coach, I know that leaders often make decisions out of fear of what could happen instead of crafting a plan to ensure that everyone stays on track through the bad times. Surviving a recession can feel a bit like sailing without sails, so here are a few tips to help you stop, think and weather the crisis: 1. Battle Workplace Anxiety Workplace cultures are fragile. Employees get nervous when the economy turns sour: They wonder if they'll have a job tomorrow, let alone next week. If it isn't managed properly, such anxiety can pervade a business and have disastrous ramifications. Leaders have to assume a role beyond juggling their usual responsibilities to curtail fears about the future. Executive coach Mary Beth O'Neill discusses coaching http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/06/surviving-the-recession-5-tips-from-merydith-willoughby.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/06/surviving-the-recession-5-tips-from-merydith-willoughby.html Leadership Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:08:15 -0500 New studies look at life-threatening leadership, recession-era CEO turnover, and why founder CEOs are less likely to get fired when the books are cooked. Here's a round-up of interesting and provocative recent findings on leadership: 1. Workplace Leadership and Heart Disease Having a bad boss can be unpleasant, yes, but a study published late last year by six Scandanavian researchers found something more troubling: Bad leadership might be harmful to your health. Tracking the heart health of 3,122 Swedish male employees over nearly a decade (the incidence of heart disease among women was too infrequent to measure), the researchers found that those whose gave their bosses low leadership marks had a higher risk of heart disease. The employees rated their leaders on "concrete managerial behaviors, such such as the manager's consideration for the individual employee, provision of clarity in goals and role expectations, supplying information and feedback, ability to carry http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/05/new-research-on-leadership.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/05/new-research-on-leadership.html Research Mon, 18 May 2009 06:29:45 -0500 How do you know when you're a leader? The crudest measurement, of course, is your title: If it includes the word "chief" then you're in charge of something. CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer, as we all know, but you might not be so familiar with the new chief-doms gaining ground in the public and private sectors. Here's my guide to a world where everyone's a chief: 1. The Washington Chiefs President Obama has added three new C-level titles to the federal government: Chief Technology Officer and Chief Performance Officer, positions currently filled by Aneesh Chopra and Jeffrey Zients, respectively. Both men work with the government's first Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra. All the new chiefs make the cabinet-level positions sound a bit outdated: Who wants to be a secretary when you can be a chief? 2. Chief Happiness Officer Okay, I couldn't actually find any companies that actually have http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/05/chief-happiness-officer-and-other-new-leadership-jobs.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/05/chief-happiness-officer-and-other-new-leadership-jobs.html Leadership Fri, 08 May 2009 13:28:35 -0500 This month we feature five new books with five very different takes on leadership. 1. Start With the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders by Bob Seelert (Wiley) A CEO of five companies and currently head of the advertising company Saatchi & Saactchi, Bob Seelert distills wisdom from his years of leadership experience into quick, bite-sized chapters. The 16 mini-chapters on leadership cover topics like "What Winners Learn from Losing" and "Delegation: The Art of Letting Go and Holding On." In the chapter entitled, "What is Leadership?" Seelert describes his early days as CEO of a struggling apparel company: why the organization had low standards, how he aimed to change that, and how he began by meeting personally with every member of the company. "As a leader," he writes, "you cannot expect to have followers who support you without first establishing trust." 2. The Adventures of an IT Leader http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/04/five-new-perspectives-on-leadership.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/04/five-new-perspectives-on-leadership.html Books Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:57:13 -0500 Like thousands of young people across the country, I am a little over a month away from graduating from college -- and entering a downright hostile job market. It would be an understatement to say I feel panicked, in spite of having worked hard for years to build an impressive resume for future employers. No one envies the class of 2009. Although job searching is exhausting, I've realized my search may actually be teaching me some valuable leadership lessons -- perhaps more than any entry-level, "real" job ever could. Read up on the five ways that looking for a job is making me -- and can make you -- a better leader. 1. Venturing out of your comfort zone Sitting around and waiting won't make jobs come running your way. The past few months have forced me to be more "social" than I've ever been. Once I got over the http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/04/becoming-a-leader-on-the-job-search.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/04/becoming-a-leader-on-the-job-search.html Leadership Training Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:23:22 -0500 If you haven't at least heard of the social networking toolTwitter by now, you might want to crawl out from under the rock where you've been living and check it out. The site -- which allows users to update other people ("followers" in Twitter speak) on their whereabouts, share links to articles and pictures, and pass along any other information they can squeeze into 140 characters or less -- has been growing at a feverish pace (since it launched in 2006) and, although the site does not yet have a viable business plan itself, Twitter has become a prime way to monitor breaking news, keep up with friends and promote brands. As an avid Twitterer (Twit? Tweeter?) myself, I thought it would be interesting to look at leading CEOs and thought leaders who use Twitter to make their everyday life more accessible and transparent. For those leaders out there who http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/04/twittering-leaders-you-should-follow.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/04/twittering-leaders-you-should-follow.html Technology Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:45:17 -0500 Starting this week, we plan to update you once a month on the newest books that leaders -- and soon-to-be-leaders -- need to read. Today we've rounded up four new, spring books on leadership: three published in March and one to be published in April. 1. Greater than Yourself: The Ultimate Lesson of True Leadership by Steve Farber Farber warns readers in a recent blog post on his website that the lesson he wants to teach in Great Than Yourself, may seem utterly counterintuitive, especially in the hyper-competitive world we live in today. And that lesson is this: Your own greatness as a leader (or in just about any other role you take on, for that matter) lies, paradoxically, in your ability to cause others to be greater than yourself. Farber, president of Extreme Leadership, Incorporated, an organization devoted to the cultivation and development of "extreme leaders" in the business http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/03/spring-leadership-books.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2009/03/spring-leadership-books.html Books Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:45:10 -0500