5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of June 6, 2016
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Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.
Leaders: Who’s Shaping Your Company’s Culture? by Gael O’Brien at Entrepreneur
Can an entire company’s culture be changed? Yes, but it has to be done fairly and transparently. If you haven’t formalized a company code of conduct, get started immediately so that employees stop making up their own rules. Make it clear to employees what needs to change and why. Everyone will need to know what is expected going forward.
My Comment: After I deliver a keynote or workshop, I’m often asked by leaders who are eager to implement what they’ve learned: Is it too late for me? What do I do to ‘start over’?
The short answer is no – it’s never too late to lead. In answer to a question from a leader who used to be ‘one of the guys,’ O’Brien provides a great approach to begin intentionally crafting the culture you want.
Meg Whitman on Why She ‘Runs to the Fire’ by Kerry A. Dolan at Forbes
CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Meg Whitman says her favorite short motto is “Run to the fire.” She’s been in plenty of fires, metaphorically speaking. Most recently, Whitman had to figure out how to boost revenue at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which split off from Hewlett Packard in November 2015 and sells servers, software and more to businesses.
My Comment: I discovered through my own trials, errors, and challenges that when something is uncomfortable – when I first have that sensation of avoidance…that I don’t want to do it – that is the single most important thing I can focus on. When you allow a fire to persist, it only gets bigger. When you run toward the problems, you distinguish yourself from other leaders who take a more passive role and you discover opportunities to distinguish your team and organization. Great business leaders often turn the persistent challenges that plague everyone into their triumphs and organizational strength.
3 Reasons Your Employees Aren’t Listening to You by Karin Hurt and David Dye at Fast Company
“But I’ve told them!” You’re frustrated. You’ve already explained the new procedures that will improve your team’s work and cut costs, but they aren’t listening. Chances are, they still don’t understand what you want them to do differently or don’t believe it’ll work. “But I’ve told them! I swear I have,” you insist—first to yourself and later to a colleague over lunch. “And I have the meeting agendas where I spelled it all out to prove it!”
One of the most aggravating experiences of being a manager is when your employees don’t listen to you. But how you handle those moments matters. Learn from them and your effectiveness will skyrocket, but if you become so frustrated that you rely on fear and power, your credibility and influence can start to disintegrate.
My Comment: This was easily the most popular article across all my networks this week. Karin and I share three vital ways to ensure you have influence with your team.
Why Millennials Value Company Culture Above All Else by Erin Vaughan at ATD
Have you ever had an employee respond to an email in emoji? Or had one ask what a fax machine was? Was that employee younger than 30? Then you know that sometimes the divide between generations can be wide. Last year, Millennials exceeded Gen Xers as the largest demographic in the labor market, and their growing presence is shaping what it means to do work.
Each generation wants a distinct set of benefits from their employers, and Millennials are no different. Increasingly, employees desire a flexible work schedule, and seek jobs with companies that they think are invigorating and inspiring, according to Fortune. They want to work for an organization that recognizes them as individuals, rather than cogs in the system. But what is behind these trends, and how can you keep up? Let’s take a look at what Millennials want from work, and what you can do to give it to them without upsetting older workers in the process.
My Comment: I’m not a fan of pitting one type of person against another. Every person, personality, generation, gender, background, etc has some kind of strength to offer your team. In this article Vaughan highlights some of the motivations guiding many millennials and offers suggestions on how you can bridge the gaps. I recommend coming to this issue with an open mind. These younger workers have many valuable contributions to make to your team.
Why Leaders Feel Lonely and What They Can Do About It by Napthali Hoff on SmartBrief
One of the most famous American photos was captured by journalist George Tames on Feb. 10, 1961. The picture is of President John F. Kennedy, recently inaugurated, standing hunched over in the Oval Office. From behind, it looks as if he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Kennedy, who had a bad back, was simply reading the newspapers standing up, as he often preferred to do. Still, the image, which the New York Times would later christen, “The loneliest job in the world,” would take on greater significance as Kennedy navigated through the Cuban Missile Crisis and other global challenges.
Loneliness is, in a relative sense, measured in the eyes of the beholder. Some argue that the loneliest professionals in the world are those who toil in isolation, with limited opportunity for interpersonal communication. These include writers, poets and scientific researchers working in remote outposts.
My Comment: Hoff takes a good look at the seeming truism that leadership is a lonely pursuit. He suggests that it doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, leadership can be isolating – but as with many things in life, you can take responsibility to connect with other leaders, stay connected to relationships outside work, and take the effort to reflect on the wisdom available in solitude.
David works with leaders to get results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Have David to speak at your next event or corporate training: Email today or call 303.898.7018!
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