As we slowly make our way through the remaining weeks of the year, many organizations are now shifting their focus to an exercise that is often met with disdain and apprehension – the annual performance review. Regardless of whether you’re on the receiving or giving end, most of us tend to view these feedback exercises as unconstructive or a waste of time, in large part because we approach the conversation from the wrong vantage point. Participating at a recent awards gala for one of the regional high schools helped to not only shed some light on this issue, but also on how leaders can make the act of giving feedback to others more instructive and beneficial.

I was invited by the school principal to give a speech and help present awards as part of a ceremony to recognize students who had maintained a high academic standing throughout the previous school year. Although I was honoured and delighted to take part, I have to admit that I did feel some hesitation because I wasn’t an active member of this community when these students achieved these accomplishments. As such, I felt that any recognition on my part of their efforts wouldn’t exactly carry much weight because of that lack of connection.

So I decided to take another approach to my involvement where I used my role in this ceremony to serve as a source of encouragement and support for how these students could build on and attain a similar achievement over the course of the current academic year.

Following the ceremony, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from both the parents and the students of how much they appreciated my participation, and in particular the ideas I had shared in my speech and in the brief comments made to every student as they came up on stage to accept their award.

What I began to realize is that Click here to continue reading »”Are You Following These 3 Rules For Giving Effective Feedback?”

When it comes to the portrayal of leadership in films and other fictional outlets, there’s a common tendency to present the leader as someone who is unmistakably confident and self-assured; who gives off an air of authority and a willingness to direct others towards the best path to take to get them out their current predicament. In many ways, this makes sense as when we think of a good leader, the traits that often come to mind are confidence, authority and dominance.

Of course, outside of the leadership role, the expression of such traits are not as well regarded considering that they are also the signs of a narcissistic personality – that such traits refer to an individual whose only concerned about their own self-interests, with little thought or regard for the needs or concerns of those around them.

So if we are to believe that leadership is about putting others before yourself, of encouraging those around you to succeed instead of simply directing them to help you personally attain some level of success, why is it that we continue to promote the narcissistic approach to leadership as the best one?  More importantly, does the narcissistic style of leadership help to foster the necessary conditions organizations require to succeed in today’s inter-connected and increasingly competitive market? Three recent studies help to shed some light on this and provide empirical proof that allows us to come to a definitive answer to this question. Click here to continue reading »”It’s Not You, It’s Me – Is Narcissism Good for Leadership?”

Quitting your job is not something most employees would consider doing in light of today’s weak job market. Of course, fewer still would choose to hand over their two week’s notice to the accompaniment of a marching band. And yet, this is exactly what one hotel employee recently did as seen in the aptly titled video “Joey Quits”, which has been viewed over 2 million times on YouTube.

While the manner in which “Joey” went about quitting his job might be the focus of most news reports and discussions, where greater attention should be placed is looking at why these stories are being cheered and celebrated by the general public, transforming these employees into this era’s version of the everyman folk hero.

Granted, it’s easy to dismiss the popularity these individuals attain in the public eye as simply being the result of their unique and at times over-the-top antics, if not also the ease with which such incidents can now be captured and easily distributed anywhere in the world.

However, a deeper look reveals that these incidents are serving more as a lightening rod for the working masses; that seeing others openly expressing their frustration, discord and the fact that – to paraphrase the character Howard Beale from the film “Network” – they ‘are mad as hell and are not going to take this anymore’ resonates with so many employees who also feel they’re being pushed beyond the bounds of what should be considered acceptable treatment in the workplace.

Perhaps one key reason why there’s less discussion about this point is due to Click here to continue reading »”Are Your Employees Mad As Hell and Not Going to Take It Anymore?”

What is leadership all about? What does it take to be a leader in today’s world?

These are questions which I found myself pondering over the last few days after noticing a trend lately regarding how some people are choosing to define the traits of a successful leader. Although I’ve written about the debate regarding whether leadership should be viewed as either an art or a science, this current train of thought has surfaced in part from my dismay at seeing what others are pointing out as valuable lessons that leaders today should adopt in how they lead their team or organization.

For example, one idea that’s garnering a lot of press is the notion that the success or vision a given organization has is the sole product of a single individual. Of course, as many of us know from personal experience, the ability of a team to achieve success is not due to the efforts of one person, but from the ability of the different members to work together in pursuit of a shared goal.

Also, while an organization’s vision originates with its leader, it’s only through encouraging employees to Click here to continue reading »”What Does The World Really Need From Today’s Leaders?”