A few days ago, my oldest daughter came home from school with a bit of a dilemma. She got back her latest math assignment and noticed that one of the problems she had solved correctly was marked as incorrect because her answer wasn’t rounded up to the second decimal point. As it wasn’t stated in the problem’s instructions that the correct answer needed to be rounded up to a given decimal point, my daughter was confused as to why her response was marked wrong and asked me if I could look it over to help her figure it out.

Looking over her assignment, I saw that my daughter not only solved the problem correctly, but she was right that the problem didn’t ask students to round up their answer. So, I told my daughter that all she had to do was point this mistake out to her teacher so that she could correct the grade she got on her assignment. However, my daughter felt uncomfortable with the idea of talking about this mistake with her teacher and asked me if I could bring it up instead.

Given how my daughter has a really good rapport with her teacher, I was a bit puzzled as to why she was so reluctant about discussing this with her. As we talked about it more, it became clear that her hesitation arose from feelings of discomfort over having to tell her teacher that she had made a mistake in marking her assignment.

Now one of the things my parents taught me was the importance of showing respect and appreciation for our teachers given how they help to build our knowledge and understanding of the world around us. Naturally, this is an attitude I want instill in my children as well. However, I also want them to feel comfortable with approaching authority figures to point out when errors are made.

To help encourage my daughter to deal with this herself, I made her this deal – that she try to talk to her teacher about this error and if she finds herself struggling, she can give her teacher a note I’ll write to explain what we discussed. Although not exactly thrilled, my daughter nonetheless accepted this approach to resolve her dilemma.

Of course, it’s not just children who can struggle with having to point out mistakes being made by others, especially when it’s an authority figure like a teacher or parent. Employees can also feel uncomfortable bringing to the attention of others problems or mistakes they see being made, particularly if those responsible for them serve higher up in their organization.

But this is where leaders can make a difference by providing Click here to continue reading »”5 Questions To Figure Out How Well You Manage Mistakes”

As we slowly approach the end of another year, there is once again a discernible feeling of anticipation for what the upcoming year will bring. In many ways, this is quite natural and expected since, like a present wrapped in shiny paper, the start of a new year often stirs a sense of optimism that better times and new opportunities for recovery, growth and development await us just around the corner.

While leaders use the end of the year to focus on developing plans for what they need to achieve in the new year, it’s also important that they not lose sight of the lessons learned over the course of the previous one. Indeed, the successes and failures incurred over the past twelve months can provide a wealth of insights that can help leaders chart a clearer path towards their organization’s goals, provided that they take the time to reflect and review on what came out of these past outcomes.

With this in mind, here are ten questions leaders can ask to reflect and assess both their own performance and that of their employees, and how they can ensure that their team remains focused and driven toward reaching their shared goals: Click here to continue reading »”10 Questions to Help Leaders Prepare for the New Year”

Several weeks ago, I received a review copy of Dr. Brenda Shoshanna’s latest book “Fearless”. Dr. Shoshanna is a practising psychologist and therapist and has made appearances on national television networks ABC, CBS, and MSNBC, as well in numerous publications including Boardroom, Mental Health News, and Publisher’s Weekly.

Although her book looks at managing fear from the lens of personal self-improvement, I found that many of the ideas and concepts she shares in her book relate directly to the issues leaders face in managing their organizations. As such, instead of writing a review of her book, I invited Dr. Shoshanna to discuss with me some of the ideas she shares in her book and what leaders and businesses can learn from them.

TN: In your book “Fearless”, you write about changing our perception of fear and of the resistance many of us create, consciously or otherwise, when faced with the idea of change.  In fact, there’s an interesting line you wrote about change – “Change is a gift. Change is a friend” (p.35) . I think not just in personal life, but in business, change can be hard for many to openly accept.

People are programmed, deeply programmed, to want to keep everything the same. And that gives a sense of security, but really it’s a false sense of security because while you’re trying to keep everything the same all the time, life is nothing but change. It’s a kind of rigidity. The way to be most successful in your business and your work is learning how to be resilient and spontaneous and fluid; to be able to really live with change, to flow with circumstances, to be present for what’s happening right now. That’s the real art of it.

And when you’re flooded by fear, or when you’re flooded by anxiety, you can’t be present for what’s really needed right now in this moment. You might be living in the past or living in the future, or strategizing how it’s going to work out. But the real way to succeed is to be here fully and see what’s needed, what’s happening, and respond in a way that’s really on target.

TN: From a rational, intellectual point of view, I think most of us can agree that change is a natural part of life and business, and how being highly adaptive is a key trait for success. And yet, many still struggle with change, even when Click here to continue reading »”Managing Fear and Change in the Workplace”

Image courtesy of Mary Jo Asmus.

Today’s piece is a guest post by Mary Jo Asmus.  Mary Jo is a former Fortune 500 executive-turned-president of an executive coaching firm, Aspire Collaborative Services.  Her company works with high potential leaders and senior executives in Fortune 100, government, and non-profit organizations around the world.  You can read more of her insights on leadership and personal development on her blog, Leadership Solutions at Aspire-CS.com.

A few years ago, I took a class to learn to make theatre masks at our local art institute. For some unknown reason, the idea of making a mask was compelling. To capture a “face” – in clay, plaster and neoprene held some fascination for me. Little did I know the impact and learning from this class would apply to the way I approached leadership.

We began the complicated process by using clay as a “negative” for a plaster mold into which neoprene would be poured to make the final product; a mask that could be used on stage by actors.

I love working with clay. It’s cool touch and ability to morph into anything I want has always held some fascination for me. I couldn’t wait to start, and scooped up the clay with gusto, making a mess and enjoying the process. At some point, perfectionism took hold of me; it took an inordinate number of class and non-class hours to create (what I thought) was the final clay mask.

I was happy with what I’d created – a flawless, realistic representation of a face. It looked exactly as I wanted it to. Surely, it was a work of art! Proud of my accomplishment, I showed it to the instructor. He praised my efforts. And then he told me to destroy it and start over.

He explained that although the mask was well-done, it was necessary for me to learn two things. The lessons I learned through this experience have surprising application to leadership: Click here to continue reading »”Don’t Get Too Attached”