Lolly Daskal's Blog, page 83

The 4 important Stages of Change Management

Change is inevitable when you are running a successful business—something is always evolving, whether it’s people, processes, policies, or products. But some leaders are much more successful than others in implementing change. They ones who do it right understand that you have to serve your people first before you serve the change.

What many leaders don’t realize is that people experience change in stages, and for change to be successful those stages need to be acknowledged and addressed with a team-centered strategy. Here’s an overview of each stage:

Shock. When any change is first introduced in an organization, the initial reaction is shock, accompanied for many people by denial and attempts to return to the status quo.  Address this first stage with acknowledgment and communication. Let people know you understand and that you’re committed to communicating with them often and openly. Take the time to answer any questions that come up, and make sure they know where to go for more information if they need it. When people have information, they will understand what is happening and feel less threatened.

Fear. Once the reality sets in, many people react with negativity—a response that is grounded in fear. People’s first instinctive thought is, What will happen to me? It’s a normal reaction but one that can hinder acceptance of change. Some will wrongly fear negative consequences, and others will correctly identify real threats to their position. Manage fear by letting people express their feelings and concerns and giving them opportunities to vent their anger. Reactions are personal and sometimes emotional; listen and watch carefully so you can respond to the most apprehensive people on your team.

Acceptance. After fears have been expressed and understood, people begin to calm down and accept the situation. This is the turning point—the change intiative may be out of danger, but people will continue testing the boundaries and exploring what it means. Support people and establish a good foundation for this stage by making sure people are well trained and have early opportunities to experience what the changes will bring. Productivity may drop a bit at this point as people begin testing the waters.

Transformation. You’ve made it! People have expressed their fears and concerns, understood the reality, tested the boundaries, and now are ready for the transformation. This is the point where people stop focusing on what they’ve lost and begin considering how they can add value and reap the benefits. They become more productive and efficient, and the positive effects of change become apparent.

If you can recognize, acknowledge and address the four stages of change, your initiatives will have a great track record for success.

Lead from within: There is the right way to implement a change initiative and a wrong way—get it right by working through the four stages.

 

 

N A T I O N A L    B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post The 4 important Stages of Change Management appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

10 Things Successful Leaders Never Tolerate

Successful leadership is the product of several factors. Skill and education play a part, but one of the most important hallmarks of great leaders is the standards they uphold. That means building good habits of action and thought, and drawing a firm line at things that are unacceptable. It’s about what they do, but it’s also about what they’ll never take part in or allow in their team.

Here are some top examples:

1. Inertia. The reality of leadership is this that yesterday’s results become today’s status quo. Leaders need to constantly be moving forward and prepared to seize opportunities. Inaction is incompatible with strong leadership.

2. Poor communication. The best leaders put communication at the heart of their leadership. Their communication is timely, clear, and appropriate, and they expect the same of those around them—because communication is a two-way street.

3. Mediocrity. Successful leaders are ordinary people who aspire to the extraordinary. They’re constantly looking to break through expectations—their own and other people’s—and they’re never interested in hearing “good enough.”

4. Ambivalence. Successful leaders don’t have the time or patience for indecision. They understand that to achieve success, you must put aside fear and doubt, pick a course and stick to it. Their decisions are grounded in knowledge and strategic thought, but they don’t waffle or create subcommittees to examine every detail first.

5. Toxic relationships. Successful leaders don’t waste their valuable time and energy on negative relationships. They set boundaries, distance themselves from negativity and redirect their focus firmly on the positive. Positivity is fuel for progress.

6. Dishonesty. Successful leaders understand that dishonesty destroys reputations and, ultimately, success. If you can’t be counted on to be honest, what kind of leader are you?

7. Disrespect. Successful leaders treat every person they encounter with respect. They earn respect, in part, because of their willingness to show respect to others, and they don’t allow anyone around them to be treated disrespectfully or to be disrespectful.

8. Fear. Leaders are human, and no one is without fear. But the best leaders understand that to succeed, they must tackle their fears and move through them to succeed. They feel their fear and keep going.

9. Negativity. Successful leaders avoid negativity because they know it can only hold them back. Nothing good comes from being negative; negativity only breeds more negativity.

10. Lack of integrity. Successful leaders understand the importance of integrity. Anyone around them who lacks integrity compromises their work, their team and their leadership. They lead with character in everything they do, and they expect others to do the same.

There are many more things successful leaders don’t tolerate—this list is just a few of the most important. Let it remind you to keep your tolerance low when it comes to compromising who you are and who you can become.

Lead from within: To build a successful career and life as a leader, know where you draw the line on anything that can harm your leadership and your team.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStock Photos

The post 10 Things Successful Leaders Never Tolerate appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

8 Things Successful Leaders Do on Weekends

Successful leaders have a passion for what they do, so they work hard and keep long hours. But as we all know, it’s difficult to keep up with that pace no matter how motivated you are. Every leader needs down time to avoid burning out. With the leaders I coach, I emphasize the weekends as the time to take a much-needed break and restore themselves so they’re ready to get the most out of the week ahead.

Here are some of the top weekend habits from the leaders I coach around the world:

1.They disconnect. For many leaders, the weekend is a time to shut down and turn everything off. In our hyperconnected world, we have to unplug to clear our head and find peace. On weekends, put away the phone and computer for a couple of hours. Disconnect from the world and reconnect with yourself.

2. They read. Many great leaders are voracious readers, and the weekend is a great time to catch up on with some books and articles. As a bonus, try to find something that’s challenging and interesting but has nothing to do with your work. History and biographies can be especially compelling.

3. They spend time with their loved ones. Lots of leaders use their weekends to connect with the important people in their lives. Make sure you take a weekly opportunity to carve out quality time with those who mean the most to you.

4. They plan. Successful leaders devote at least part of their weekends to planning ahead. The weekend often provides the right mental space to be thoughtful about little details that might otherwise get lost in the hectic work week.

5. They take on a hobby. Great leaders often use their spare time to cultivate an interest or a hobby. Hobbies and outside interests help keep you multidimensional and better able to relate to others.

6. They exercise. Great leaders understand the importance of exercising. It’s not only healthy for the body but also a great way to clear your mind and thinking. Exercising in nature can be especially helpful in restoring mind, heart and soul, according to many of my clients.

7. They recharge. We live in a competitive world, and every successful leader knows they always have to be at their best. Peak performance requires a lot of energy, so a weekend recharge is imperative to fuel the week ahead.

8. They volunteer. Successful leaders use their weekends to give back to their communities. There are many charitable groups and organizations where you can spend your time making a meaningful contribution to a worthwhile cause.

Lead from within: Everyone needs down time to relax, refresh and to recharge their mind, body and soul. Weekends offer that opportunity for successful leaders.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStock Photos

The post 8 Things Successful Leaders Do on Weekends appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

This How Leaders Boost Their Energy Throughout the Day

Being a successful leader can be exhausting. It’s a role that often requires working around the clock, with a never-ending cycle of responsibility and accountability. If you don’t know how to manage your energy it’s easy to become exhausted or burned out.

As a leadership coach, part of my job is helping my clients learn how to rev their engines and lead energetically, even with everything they have going on. Leadership requires a sharp focus and their careful attention, with no room for checking out.

Here are some of the most powerful tricks and tools I share with my clients on keeping their energy level high even through the longest and most difficult days:

Manage stress. Successful leaders have plenty of stress. Left unmanaged, it can create overwhelming feelings of anxiety, worry and tension, all of which take up huge amounts of energy and leave you feeling depleted. Instead of reacting to stress in the moment, look for patterns to find the things that stress you out the most and try out a variety of stress management practices (for example, exercise, meditation or breathing techniques) to discover what works best for you.

Snack smart. When you’re feeling stressed, it’s tempting to grab a high-carb snack or sugary drink to for a quick lift, but the resulting insulin spike can soon leave you feeling sleepy and down. Fuel your body with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein, and drink lots of water to stay hydrated and sharp.

Hang out with positive people. Be aware of how those around you may be influencing you. If you’re constantly feeling down when you hang out with certain people, maybe it’s time to find a more positive, upbeat group to spend time with.

Get moving. If you’re feeling lethargic, get up and move around. Exercise will perk you up immediately and help you increase your focus and attention. Over the long run, it can improve your overall health by lowering your cholesterol and blood pressure. It can also boost your mood and help relieve mild depression.

Take a breath. The simple act of taking a breath can shift the energy in the body. In stressful times, take a moment to focus on your breathing by inhaling deeply and slowly through your nose and then out through your mouth. Repeat for one to two minutes. Deep breathing can help lower your blood pressure and heart rate and increase your energy level.

Take a walk. Leave your desk and walk around. Talk to people and make connections, and if time permits get outside for a moment. The simple act of leaving your office and connecting with people and nature will boost your energy and help put things back into focus.

Turn off your screens. As much as technology helps us be more productive, sometimes it can add to stress. Take a tech break by turning off the phone and computer screen so you can regroup and refocus without interruption.

Taka a mini-break. Sometimes you just need to take a break from stress long enough to disrupt the body’s stress response cycle. Take five or 10 minutes to phone a friend or family member, flip through a magazine or even close your eyes, then get back into the action.

Drink plenty of water. Our bodies are made up of about 60 percent water. When you don’t drink enough water, dehydration can leave you feeling fatigued and drained. Drinking water throughout the day will help with brain function and keep you feeling more awake and alert.

Take in the sun. Too much time indoors under artificial lights can keep you from functioning at your best. A lack of exposure to sun or natural daylight can have an effect on your mood and energy level. If you repeatedly find yourself feeling down or stressed—especially in the winter—try to get outside and soak up some sunlight. Spending a few minutes in bright, natural light can re-energize you for the rest of the day.

Lead from within: The most successful leaders know to manage their energy to be the most productive and effective.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStock Photos

The post This How Leaders Boost Their Energy Throughout the Day appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

The Top 10 Mistakes Successful Leaders Never Make Twice

 

We all make mistakes. And if we’re smart, we’re able to turn those mistakes into insight and their consequences into wisdom. But some mistakes are so disastrous that the most important lesson they impart is “Never do that again!” Here are some of the biggest mistakes that successful leaders make—but only once.

1. Playing safe. It’s ironic that when a leader plays it safe they’re actually making one of the biggest mistakes in the book. When you stop taking risks, you stop being bold, and great leadership needs courage and boldness to succeed.

2. Taking shortcuts. There can be no cutting corners when it comes to your leadership or your business. Trying to do something faster and cheaper instead of better and more innovative will end up costing you greatly. It’s a hard mistake to come back from, even once.

3. Overpromising and underdelivering. One of the golden rules for any business is to underpromise and overdeliver. When you cross those wires, the results are usually  catastrophic and long-lasting enough to be an effective deterrent against a repeat. Make a commitment only when you’re certain you can meet expectations.

4. Not asking tough questions. Being a successful leader means you have to ask the tough questions. When you fail to do so, you’re underprepared for whatever situation you walk into—plus you have a reputation for being either unconcerned or timid.

5. Losing sight of the big picture. It’s easy to lose sight of what you are trying to achieve when times are hectic and everything feels frantic, but as a successful leader you have to quickly correct perspectives and keep everyone’s eyes on your mission. Holding your goals at the forefront of everything you do will take you far.

6. Blaming others. Assigning blame when something goes wrong is one of the most destructive actions you can take, something that costs you greatly in respect and trust. Successful people earn respect by being personally accountable. And when something goes wrong, they focus on solving the problem instead of finding someone to take the fall.

7. Being deceitful. Lies tend to multiply quickly, and they’re incredibly hard to maintain. Once you’ve been caught deceitful, your personal reputation suffers grave harm, and your entire leadership is damaged.

8. Not asking for help. No one ever became successful without the support and assistance of others, but we often make the mistake of thinking we have to do it all on our own. We all need a helping hand, and we all need to be willing to help others as well.

9. Leading with perfectionism. No matter how many times you tell a person that there’s no such thing as perfection, it’s still built into the nature of many people to aim for it. When you lead with perfectionism, you miss the chance to model for those people the essence of achievement—the importance of striving for excellence, not perfection, for meaning, not flawlessness.

10. Trying to please everyone. We all want to be well liked. But successful people learn early on that it’s impossible to make everyone happy. Everyone has an opinion, and some people will never be pleased no matter how hard you try. Successful people know that trying to please everyone makes them less effective—which means making more people unhappy.

Lead from within: It’s not the mistake but what we learn from it that ends up defining us.

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post The Top 10 Mistakes Successful Leaders Never Make Twice appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

6 Easy Habits That Will Help You Become the Leader You Want to Be

Leadership, like most things, comes to some people more easily than others. But here’s the good news: whatever your natural abilities, you can learn to be a leader if you take the time to practice a few fundamental skills. As you apply these skills over time, you grow in effectiveness as a leader.

Start today to master these six easy habits that will help you become the leader you want to be:

Exercise authenticity with self. Identify your ethical code, and never compromise on what you believe to be right and wrong. It isn’t always easy to live authentically. At times, being true to what you know is right means going against the crowd. As an authentic leader, you have to be willing to look at yourself honestly and take criticism well, using it to improve your performance.

Practice effective communication. A great leader is a great communicator. Learn to effectively use a number of different communication strategies to pass along your vision and values, share inspiration, and give clear commands—all while being transparent with information and open to feedback.

Apply emotionally intelligence. A skilled leader is able to master and manage emotions. They don’t get angry in stressful situations. Instead, they have the ability to look at a problem and calmly find a solution. Work to develop a high degree of emotional intelligence by knowing yourself well, understanding and overcoming your emotional triggers, and staying attentive to the emotional needs of those around you.

Generate a positive outlook. It’s easy to be positive when things are going well, but a skilled leader is able to remain confident when things go wrong. Learn to embrace failures and inspire your team and those around you to consider every circumstance, good and bad, as an opportunity to learn. A positive outlook will encourage others and create an environment where people want to remain. Positive thinking and positive action go hand in hand.

Admit mistakes even if you’re afraid of looking weak. A skilled leader readily admits mistakes. When you do, you show your human side and gain respect. When you’re candid and honest about your own mistakes, your employees feel safe admitting theirs, helping to create a humanized, accepting, open culture.

Be a role model others want to emulate. As a leader, your actions set the tone and the standard for appropriate behavior in the workplace. Exhibit actions that you want your team to emulate. You can establish rules of conduct to help people understand expectations, but the best way to encourage the behavior you want to see is to correctly and precisely demonstrate it yourself.

Lead from within: To be the leader you want to be, practice and master the skills that will improve your leadership.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
7 Powerful Reasons Why Smart People Doubt Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Most Successful Leaders Do These 10 Things Every Day

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post 6 Easy Habits That Will Help You Become the Leader You Want to Be appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

10 Powerful Ways to Humanize Your Workplace

I hear many people complain that people are so busy getting the work done that their workplace has lost the human essence. When people work behind closed doors, when they keep to themselves, when they hardly have time to connect, it becomes a mechanized workplace.

For a workplace to thrive, it has to be humanized, because a successful organization is an organism whose parts are all connected. Here are 10 powerful principles to use in humanizing your workplace:

1. The workplace isn’t just a place for work but a place to do something meaningful. When a team is energized around a purpose, the work is more meaningful and the days go by faster. When everyone understands that they’re part of a group of people creating something bigger than themselves, great things happen.

2. The workplace isn’t just a place for work but a place to build connections. As human beings, we require connections. Most humans don’t thrive in isolation, so humanizing a company, a team, or a culture means encouraging employees to be compassionate and supportive and considerate toward one another, working on relationships as well get getting stuff done.

3. The workplace isn’t about creating rules but trusting one another to do their part. Think about all the dumb rules your company has and ask whether they’re helping your culture, people and organization thrive. Do you need to become more human by trusting one another and doing away with procedures and policies that keep that trust and confidence from growing?

4. The workplace isn’t about having power but being able to empower. Unfortunately, in many workplaces, people mistakenly think that the more power they have the more influential they will be. But the most admired leaders know that leadership isn’t about power—power dehumanizes cultures, companies, teams and people. Leaders who empower others have the healthiest cultures and the most successful workplaces.

5. The workplace isn’t a place for holding pointless meetings but for creating opportunities to build community. Many workplaces hold meetings, but are your meetings helping you cultivate communities within your workplace? If not, rethink how you hold your meetings. Make every meeting an opportunity for establishing and developing teams whose members can learn from one another, think with one another and care for one another.

6. The workplace isn’t just about you but about acknowledging others for their contributions. Humanizing your workplace starts with acknowledging the people you work with and do business with. It means taking every opportunity to recognize and praise those who contribute on a daily basis for their efforts and achievements. Remember that everyone there is a person first and a working person second.

7. The workplace isn’t about taking proprietorship but serving others. At the end of the day, the people who are the most influential are those who serve others. Make it your business to ask those around you if there’s anything you can do to help, guide, mentor or assist. A true measure of successful humanity comes from the number of people you serve.

8. The workplace isn’t for working within the status quo but a place to challenge yourself out of your comfort zone. If people are coasting at work, they’re not bringing the best parts of who they are. It may be uncomfortable to challenge the status quo, but that is part of being human. Encourage everyone—yourself included—to move beyond their comfort zone and dare themselves to try something new.

9. The workplace isn’t about pushing your agenda but learning from others. If your culture is filled with individuals who are always pushing their agenda, maybe it’s time to humanize the way people think, act and communicate. Work to create a culture of leaders who are students—always curious, developing and growing, learning from each other instead of pushing their own ideas on others. Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other; make them the foundation of everything you do.

10. The workplace isn’t about just getting by but bringing value to everything you do. People don’t get paid for an hour of their time but for the value they bring during that hour. Work to bring all of who you are to work, to give a little bit more of yourself than you normally would. When you do, you lead by example. Ask yourself every day, “How can I bring value to those I work with?” Don’t wait for others to humanize the culture but lead the charge yourself. Remember we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Lead from within: To deny a culture its humanity is to deprive a workplace of being human. Humanize your workplace to benefit those who are of service to the cause.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post 10 Powerful Ways to Humanize Your Workplace appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Overcome Adversity in Your Leadership

Leadership can be tough. The road is filled with twists and turns, and detours and potholes can throw anyone off their course. It’s easy to think of the deviations and challenges as problems, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can learn to view them instead as opportunities to learn and grow.

Here are some well-tested strategies for making the most of adversity:

Define your priorities. In difficult times, minor setbacks and disappointments can quickly add up and become overwhelming. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by minor inconveniences and disappointments—instead, focus on overcoming the real obstacles that lie between you and your goals.

Accept it and move on. While some people have an easier path than others, everyone will at some point suffer setbacks and difficulties. By accepting adversity as a normal part of your leadership, you’ll waste less time feeling stuck and overwhelmed.

Consider the implications. Think of all the reasons for your disappointment. Could you have done something differently? Ask yourself in a problem-solving way, not a self-blaming way, and try to be as objective as you can. Think of the causes that led you to these circumstances and think about what you’d do if you could rewind the experience and have another run at it.

Turn it inside out. To overcome adversity, you have to focus on the positive—whether that means the positive aspects of your situation or the positive results you’ll feel when you achieve what you want in the future. Turn your negatives into positives whenever you can.

Listen to others. It can be hard to listen when things are tough, but that is exactly when you most need to get out of your head and listen to everyone who is offering advice. When you do, you may discover opportunities, lessons and wisdom that you couldn’t attain any other way.

Don’t shut yourself off. Most people—especially leaders—believe they have to deal with everything by themselves when they hit a wall or go down the wrong path. Don’t isolate yourself in bad times. Let those you trust move close and help you overcome the difficulty you’re going through. Someday you’ll have the opportunity to return the favor or pay it forward.

Try not to repeat yourself. Make it your policy never to make the same mistake twice. At the same time, recognize that you are only human, and like any other human you’ll make plenty of other mistakes in your time on earth.

Focus on the future. Learn what you can from the past and quickly shift to applying those lessons to the future. You can’t change the past, and lingering on it may contribute to making the challenge seem even worse. The future, however, is always filled with possibilities and opportunities.

Lead from within: Learn how to overcome your obstacles, because challenges and difficulties often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How to Overcome Adversity in Your Leadership appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

This is How AI Will Change the Future of Leadership

More and more, artificial intelligence is permeating nearly every aspect of business and industry. It’s already begun changing the future of leadership.

Change requires updated skills, and a change as sweeping as the proliferation of AI will almost certainly require that leaders develop new skills. But much of what we’ll need will come from refining and adapting skills that are already part of good leadership practice. Here are some of the most important traits that will serve us well in the years to come:

Focusing on our adaptability. Leaders who embrace change with an agile spirit thrive in every situation. Agile leaders know how to switch gears and view issues from different perspectives, and they provide an environment in which failure is part of success and decisions are made on the basis of informed judgment. In every situation, but especially in times of change, agile leaders work to strengthen their organization’s leadership capability by providing leadership opportunities to team members with diverse backgrounds and abilities.

Absorbing our fears. If you’re fearful of widespread change, you are not alone. Even the best leaders feel fear, but they learn to absorb that fear and work through it.  Mastering any new skill requires some degree of fear-conquering. As AI becomes more familiar it will also become less frightening, so devote some time to studying the work of those who are involved in the field.

Keeping an open mind. We have to understand something before we can lead through it. And the particular challenges of robotics and artificial intelligence—with deep philosophical and ethical components—mean that we’ll have to work especially hard, and with an especially open mind, to develop that understanding.

Having comfort in uncertainty. The world is complex, business is complicated and uncertainty is guaranteed. That’s always been the case—any time we feel a sense of certainty, it’s basically false. And when it comes to AI, we need to educate ourselves and remember that wisdom doesn’t emerge from knowing with certainty but from awareness of uncertainty.

Embracing humility. A rapidly changing future requires an ancient skill: that of humility. It was Socrates who discussed the benefits of humility, understanding that our ignorance can prevent us from recognizing its own existence. An arrogant faith in our own knowledge is worth very little compared to the humility that keeps us in touch with all we don’t know—the first requirement for being open to new learning.

Embodying our humanity. A notable study at the University of Oxford projects that 47 percent of people will be at risk of losing their jobs due to advancements in computerized automation. There’s no way of knowing what that level of unemployment—much of it in white-collar professions—will do to our society. But wherever we find ourselves, we will benefit from staying connected to the core of our humanity as we navigate the changes.

AI may be able to do things we can’t, and do other things more quickly and efficiently, but it will be humans who determine the shape of the future.

Lead from within: We still have a long way to go to ensure that humans define AI’s future and to determine our best role as leaders as that future develops.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

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Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStock Photo

The post This is How AI Will Change the Future of Leadership appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

Why It’s Important For Leaders to Fail Well

When we think of leaders we don’t often think of failures, but one of the hallmarks of the best leaders is knowing how to fail well. Every successful person is someone who has failed at something—and in some cases, many things—but without ever regarding themselves as a failure. They take risks, and sometimes the risks work out and sometimes things go wrong, but they remain positive and determined throughout.

Just as beginning skiers start out by being taught how to fall without injuring themselves, leaders should be taught, coached and supported in facing adversity and failure without shaking their confidence. Part of that process is developing the right attitude about failure by considering its benefits. Here are some of the most important:

Failure keeps us focused on our strengths. One of the principal differences between a winner and a loser is that a winner always concentrates on what they can do instead of the things they can’t. When you find an area of weakness—and we all have them—work to leverage it into a strength and use it to your advantage.

Failure teaches us to be flexible. Flexibility is key to success. Always be willing to vary your approaches to problems and circumstances to see what works best.

Failure teaches us to rethink what we deserve. Remember, you are what you think—so if you think failure happens because you don’t deserve success, it’s time to rethink. If you internalize failure and blame yourself, you’ll continue to find ways to fail. But if you externalize it, it will help you keep the right perspective. Take responsibility for your actions, but don’t allow yourself to take failure personally.

Failure reminds us that everything is temporary. Nothing ever stays the same; everything has an ebb and flow. Don’t allow yourself to view failure as a permanent state of being, or you’ll risk getting stuck in bad patterns.

Failure shows us it’s not fatal. When leaders fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a life sentence. It’s not the end of the world, but a chance to project yourself ahead and see yourself having overcome and persevered.

Failure disciplines our expectations. Failure can be helpful in learning how to manage expectations. It takes time, effort and discipline to overcome a setback. You learn to approach each day with realistic expectations and not get down when things don’t work out. The greater the accomplishment, the greater the challenge, the more a realistic orientation is required.

Failure instructs us to keep trying. Every leader knows that in order to succeed, you have to learn to try and try again. Take a page from highly successful individuals and learn to keep moving forward no matter what happens.

Lead from within: It is possible to cultivate a positive attitude about yourself no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. That’s leadership at its core.

 

 

N A T I O N A L   B E S T S E L L E R

The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post Why It’s Important For Leaders to Fail Well appeared first on Lolly Daskal.