The following is a guest post by Lewisa Anciano and Amanda Fenton.

Companies everywhere are facing increased competition and diminishing returns. We’re told “Innovate or die”. Almost every company I know would say they are trying to innovate their products, services, customer experience or even their business model.

But where is innovation happening in your organization? Is it relegated to secret suites and high-level handshakes? What is the ratio of innovators to employees? There is an untapped opportunity to embrace an innovation culture and move innovation out of the tower to the front line.

Peter Skarzynski, in his book Innovation to the Core, describes how new voices are essential for new thinking, and to give disproportionate share of voice to three constituencies typically underrepresented:

1. Young people (or those with a youthful perspective).

2. Newcomers to the company (preferably those from other industries).

3. People from the geographic periphery of the organization (further away from head office).

Putting innovation aside for a moment, these three groups also hold tremendous potential for Click here to continue reading »”Innovation: A Path To Talent Development?”

I’ve written a number of times about the importance empathy, passion, and fostering a sense of shared purpose plays in our ability to succeed through our collective efforts, ideas that are normally considered too touchy-feely or soft to be of any practical benefit in the business world. Then again, in light of the rising tide of employee disengagement, the ability to empathize and communicate a shared sense of purpose is becoming ever more critical to an organization’s long-term health and viability.

But what about dreams? Could our dreams also help to push the boundaries of what’s known and familiar in order to ensure our collective success and growth? It’s an thought that came to mind after talking with my friend Whitney Johnson about her new book “Dare, Dream, Do”.

In most cases, any thoughts or discussions about the role dreams play in today’s business world tend to focus more on innovation and creativity; of how dreams of making a better product/service or learning to see the world differently has lead to so many of the breakthrough innovations that have changed and shaped the world we live in today.

Outside of inventing the next big thing, most of us tend to relegate dreaming as a skill needed only by the creative types, while the rest of us focus more on viewing the world through a pragmatic and practical lens.

But I would submit that our collective ability to dream shouldn’t be viewed as Click here to continue reading »”Do You Dare Your Employees To Dream?”

If there’s one thing business leaders and thinkers can agree on, it’s that the way we work is changing. Thanks to a combination of technological advances, emerging global markets and demographic shifts, both the kind of work we’ll do – and how we’ll do it – is undergoing a radical transformation to better mirror the needs and demands of today’s global economy.

In a previous piece, I wrote about how the rise in employee disengagement in today’s workplaces is in part due to a disconnect between what we do and what we’re passionate about. Another key factor for the current decline in employee morale and motivation stems from the growing reality that the way we work is no longer in sync with the realities of today’s world.

Certainly, there can be little doubt that we now live in a information-driven economy that not only runs 24/7, but which sees us having to anticipate, grapple and adjust to changes that happen half a world away. And yet, so many organizations continue to lean on Industrial Age approaches – where desks are congregated like a modern day assembly line and work hours are measured to determine productivity and compensation levels.

Most organizations and their leaders do this because it’s the way we expect organizations to run, without taking into consideration Click here to continue reading »”Changing The Way We Work For Today’s World”

When it comes to movies, TV shows, and novels, it’s usually pretty obvious who the hero of the story is. But what about in your organization’s story? Do you recognize who plays the role of the hero for your organization? That was the focus of my previous piece, which I’m grateful to see received a lot of attention and enthusiasm from the readers of this blog.

As I read the comments and responses to this piece, I began to wonder about something. If we understand that our employees are the heroes of our organization’s story, why then do so many employees feel disengaged at work? Why is there a persisting lack of meaning or purpose connected to the efforts and contributions made by those we lead?

Of course, the easy answer to such a question is to simply cast blame on an aloof or uncaring leadership; of organizations being run simply to cater to the whims and self-interests of those on top at the expense of those on the lower rungs. Certainly, the public revelations made about how Goldman Sachs has devolved from a focus of serving their clients to a more self-serving one would seem to support this.

And yet, a more realistic view of today’s organizations reveals that such leadership and cultural attitudes tend to be more the exception than the norm. When it comes to demonstrating that your employees are the heroes in your organization’s story, the disconnect we’re seeing here Click here to continue reading »”How Are You Helping Your Employees To Be Your Organization’s Heroes?”