Reflecting on the recent election, the Harris campaign's lack of a clear and compelling vision became evident in contrast to Trump’s well-communicated stance, making it challenging for voters to see her future for America. Drawing from the change formula, a successful campaign requires acknowledging dissatisfaction, defining a visionary goal, and setting clear steps toward achieving it—elements that were more apparent in Obama’s 2008 campaign, where “hope and change” aligned with voters' aspirations and activated widespread engagement. Ultimately, the Harris campaign's struggles highlight the need for leaders to craft a vision that resonates powerfully and unites people around a shared purpose, as fear alone can often overshadow hope if it lacks sufficient clarity and preparation.
As Election Day 2024 nears, reflecting on Abraham Lincoln’s legacy offers valuable insights into adaptive leadership, resilience, and unity. Known for his humility, conviction, and strategic flexibility, Lincoln showed how true leaders use disruptions to inspire lasting change. This election, we can look to Lincoln’s example of courage and empathy, guiding us to face challenges boldly and strive for a united future.
Conflict at work is inevitable, but with the right tools, it can become an opportunity for growth. In this post we explore how leaders can guide teams through conflict by understanding how the brain processes emotions through the downstairs, middle room, and upstairs functions of the brain.
Belief-behavior conversations, as we discussed in our e-book: Revitalize and Retain Staff, aim to address the root causes behind actions, rather than merely correcting surface-level behavior. Pixar’s leadership used this approach to facilitate open, meaningful dialogues, helping the team uncover the underlying beliefs fueling their actions. Once these beliefs were identified, leaders guided team members toward reframing them, creating lasting behavioral change.
Discover how LinkedIn transformed employee growth and retention with the Leadership Growth Lattice, a modern alternative to traditional career ladders. By encouraging skill development, cross-functional teamwork, mentorship, volunteerism, and alignment with personal life goals, LinkedIn fostered a culture of continuous learning and flexibility. This holistic approach empowered employees, reduced turnover, and fueled innovation, positioning LinkedIn as a top employer in the competitive tech industry.
This post draws parallels between ocean currents and human behavior, suggesting that just as deep currents shape the surface waves, underlying beliefs drive visible behaviors. These beliefs, though often unseen, influence actions and decisions in the workplace, making it essential for leaders to uncover and address them rather than merely focusing on surface behaviors. By engaging in meaningful belief discussions, leaders can guide behavior changes, much like oceanographers study currents to predict and influence ocean movements.
The "Disgruntled" stage in a follower’s development mirrors the secondary growth phase of plants, where individuals become experienced but may harbor negative attitudes and exhibit inconsistent behavior. These team members often have high aptitude but are susceptible to negativity, which can impact both their performance and the morale of others. Leaders must address these behaviors through open communication, setting clear expectations, and providing opportunities for growth to help them re-engage positively with the organization.
Effective listening is essential for successful facilitation. This involves techniques like paraphrasing, asking open-ended questions, and synthesizing ideas. Skilled facilitators also track opinions, engagement levels, and group feedback. Here is your go-to script to handle many items you might run into as a facilitator.
I have to be honest, and you may not believe me, but this is one of the hardest skills I am in the works of learning. Perhaps it's my 8-person family, puritan upbringing, and as a middle child I just went along with what the group wanted, but assertiveness has never been a strength of mine. I believe in a give, give, give, ask method of forward movement (in marketing, sales, strategy, people, etc.), however sometimes I recognize the ask has to come a little bit sooner. Assertiveness is not being tough or arrogant. It’s actually a very humble and thoughtful dance. It is recognizing that we have value and we sometimes need to put up boundaries for others to recognize our value.
As I continue to travel around and see various businesses and organizations trying to get the edge on their competition or the market, I’m still astonished at the lack of basics from our leaders. Don’t get me wrong, the basics are hard. And, sometimes they’re not hot or new. And, so they are rarely discussed (even though some of them have been around for years) and barely used. However, they are time-tested and worth consideration. Forget the the 2019 leadership buzzwords and try some of these concepts as you develop your leadership.
