As the new year continues to chug along, there’s been a noticeable amount of discussion going on in trying to decipher or anticipate what businesses can expect over the course of the next 12 months. In what’s sure to be music to the ears of many leaders and their employees, most business pundits are putting forth predictions of a turnaround year, with the focus shifting from recovery back to growth.

Whether these predictions turn out to be true or not, one thing that there’s little doubt about is that an organization’s chances for growth and prosperity is tied to their ability to attract and retain employees who can help them to achieve their goals.

Of course, in light of the need for quicker responses to market changes and more innovative thinking, leaders need to look beyond the familiar, tried-and-true selection variables used both to locate new talent, as well as gauge leadership potentials within their ranks.

As I’ve discussed several times here on my blog, it’s becoming clear that Click here to continue reading »”Finding The Talent Your Organization Needs To Grow This Year”

Have you ever had an employee come to you with an idea or proposal to address a particular situation to which you answered with one of the following replies?

“That’s a great idea, but let’s shop this around a bit first.”

“I agree that we need to change this, but I’m not sure now is the best time.”

“It’d be nice if we could offer this, but I don’t think we can afford to right now.”

All of these responses sound understanding and appreciative of the employee’s input. And yet, notice how the use of “but” in each reply serves to effectively stop any further discussion or deeper examination of the proposal beyond this initial encounter.

Granted, there are times when leaders need to hold back eager employees because the measures they are suggesting might not be the best in terms of addressing a given problem the organization is facing. Unfortunately, such responses can also inhibit your employees’ sense of creativity and with it, your organization’s ability to innovate if the motivation behind this resistance is based on factors other than ensuring the collective success of your team.

With this in mind, here are four questions leaders can ask themselves to find out if they are letting their ‘buts’ get in the way of helping their team to succeed and thrive. Click here to continue reading »”Is Your ‘But’ Getting In The Way Of Your Team’s Success?”

The following is a guest post by Jon Gordon.

“To build a winning a team and a successful organization you must create a culture of greatness.”

It’s the most important thing a leader can do because culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits and habits create the future. As the leaders at Apple say, “Culture beats strategy all day long.”

When you create a culture of greatness you create a collective mindset in your organization that expects great things to happen—even during challenging times. You expect your people to be their best, you make it a priority to coach them to be their best and most of all you create a work environment that fuels them to be their best.

A culture of greatness creates an expectation that everyone in the organization be committed to excellence. It requires leaders and managers to put Click here to continue reading »”How to Create a Culture of Greatness”

One of the responsibilities that comes with leadership is not only to communicate the vision or purpose behind your employees’ shared efforts, but to ensure that your team stays motivated and on track to achieving their goals. Under normal circumstances, this can prove challenging to sustain over the long term as employees grapple with various obstacles that stand in their path.

Of course, in light of today’s conditions of continual change and upheaval, it’s easy for that focus to shift to putting out those daily fires as a means of feeling some form of accomplishment, instead of directing your energies towards guiding your employees to excel and thrive despite the obstacles that stand in their way.

But should we consider it unrealistic for leaders to foster hope for tomorrow and to inspire greatness in those they lead in response to the challenges their organizations face in today’s global economy? For one organization, the answer is a resounding ‘no’ and they have a number of success stories to back them up.

Genesys Works is a non-profit organization which “enables inner-city high school students to break through barriers and discover through meaningful work experience that they can succeed as professionals in the corporate world”. As this brief video shows, although these students live in an environment which paints a bleak future, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be inspired to succeed because someone was willing to believe in their potential to commit to something greater – Click here to continue reading »”How To Use Your Leadership to Inspire Greatness”