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Marilyn Lustgarten - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
President of The Star Makers Group, is an executive coach and consultant who helps business owners and executives transform the way they lead.
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Marilyn Lustgarten Email Alerts
- Transformational Change Or Troubling Tip-off?
[Business:Management] It's true that in most organizations, employees represent somewhere between 35% to 70% of the cost of doing business. Little wonder then why so many companies, with increased pressure to focus only on the short-term, resort to using wholesale layoffs as a way to raise large amounts of immediate cash. While some strategic turnover may be good for an organization that is challenged to transform itself in order to thrive long-term, experts from the Wharton School of Business and others are saying that the type of drastic reductions that companies are now experiencing is not an indication of a transformation in progress, rather an onerous tip-off to the up to now effectively concealed operational weaknesses and unaddressed strategic leadership issues that the economic downturn has exposed to the light.
- Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Leading effectively isn't an automatic response. You can't perform well in a crisis what you aren't already capable of doing.
- Taking the Plunge
[Business:Human-Resources] Have you ever known a couple mismatched from the start and wonder how their relationship is working out? There's been more than one bride who has thought her groom would eventually "change" because of her influence on him, only to be disillusioned when he turnout to be exactly what he was. People are who they are and no amount of wishing or "fixing" can change that. It's the same when trying to match employees who will be a good fit for your business.
- Die-Hard Doubter Or Daring Doer?
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Leaders entrenched in pursuing what has worked in the past have brought formerly successful companies to their knees. Some have been arrogant, some unethical, but more than a few have been what I call die-hard doubters.
- The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership
[Business:Management] No matter how great the company or the job is, no one willingly follows someone for long who is guilty of the seven deadly sins of leadership. People don't leave companies; they leave bosses who confuse title for real leadership. Think about it...haven't you left a good job for the same reason? If you need great people to help your business grow and thrive then it's a good idea to learn how to avoid these "killers" of effective leadership.
- Giants Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night
[Business:Management] Like everyone else on the planet, I've been pulling my hair out wondering how the collapse of so many companies could happen so quickly and impact the market so tremendously. Analysts have been "Monday morning quarterbacking" the unprecedented situation and no matter what you read, there is a striking common thread as to the cause. AIG, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac and not too many months ago, Bear Stearn, Merrill Lynch, Countrywide Financial and others.
- Good Things From Bad News
[Business:Management] Creating jobs and sustaining them for the long-term is possible. There are 3 proactive things that leaders of small companies can do to stay viable and thrive even in uncertain economic times.
- Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Convention has nothing to do with leading and everything to do with following. It's what's predictably expected and ordinary, not innovative or groundbreaking, and certainly not the thinking that will drive a thriving business.
- The Musician, The Tiger and You
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] While sitting in on a volunteer roundtable discussion recently, the conversation naturally turned to the predictable question, "What do you do?" Isn't it funny how often we are surprised to learn that people we see in one setting do something else that we wouldn't have expected? Take the facilitator of the group I was in, for instance, who was a passionate, articulate speaker excellent at engaging the group to collaborate and produce some amazing ideas. You can imagine the reaction when he said that in his job he worked alone as a computer programmer!
- Got Turmoil?
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] I occasionally have the privilege of sharing ideas on leadership team building and effectiveness with graduate business students. Part of our dialogue involves a scenario where the members of the class, few of whom, if any, work in a senior role, get to "experience" what it's like to be part of a leadership team faced with a serious business problem. Through the exercise, they learn a lot about the possible consequences of their actions and decisions on the organization.
- You're Speaking My Language!
[Business:Management] A Native American leader and educator recently spoke about his passion to save and restore the common use of his tribal language as the way to rebuild community. When asked what difference it made, he said, "Without a common language, there is no community. Without a sense of community, we'll simply cease to exist.
- Assume Positive Intent
[Self-Improvement:Positive-Attitude] When we immediately start to rant in frustration over someone else's action or decision without the benefit of understanding the why behind their motivation, then our reaction says a lot more about us than it does about them. It's a leader's job to gain followers by inspiring confidence. People are so complex, and so different - moved by different motives, controlled by different circumstances, and influenced by different experiences. So, when something happens that you didn't expect or wouldn't have done, find out the facts, and assume positive intent in the meantime.
- Humility - A Leadership Imperative
[Business:Management] Humility, which is the acknowledgment of the truth about who we are in relationship to others, is absolutely essential to effective leadership. G.K. Chesterton once said, "It is always the secure who are humble." A leader secure enough to admit that he or she doesn't have, or need to have, all the answers is rewarded with the contributions of talented followers committed to the success of the whole organization.
- What Will Be Your Leadership Legacy?
[Business:Management] True leadership is the key differentiator in thriving organizations. Think for a minute about every company you know of that is either out of business or a shadow of its former successful self and odds are that poor leadership ultimately caused its demise or decline. Having the attitude that you know everything, are indispensable, and don't need to develop successors or a plan for the future isn't leading, it's failing to lead.
- Transformation Takes Time
[Self-Improvement] Real transformation requires a deep desire for change and involves learning, taking risks, making mistakes and spending the time necessary to experience becoming something brand new. Transformation is a journey and it takes time.
- A Brand New Vocabulary
[Business:Management] When Merriam-Webster announced in July 2007 the twenty new words that had been
accepted into the dictionary, I was delighted to hear "ginormous" had made the cut. What a great word! An obvious merger of "gigantic" and "enormous", it far more accurately conveys the sense of hugeness neither of the other words adequately communicates alone.
- Bankable Buzz
[Business:Management] Corporate "bankable buzz" is the perceived measure of value of a firm's intangible capabilities. Whether your organization is public or private, large or small, you need positive bankable buzz in order to attract and keep the right kind of employees and meet the ever-changing expectations of customers.
- Caring Counts
[Business:Management] Who among us hasn't had a relationship with someone at one time or another in life when certain behaviors or choices made you wonder if the other person really cared about you or what you cared about? Chances are good that whether or not you felt valued had a lasting affect on the relationship. Research has shown a clear and direct connection from employees who feel cared about, to their increased engagement, to the positive impact on business performance. In other words, caring counts.
- Growing Pains - Signs For Change
[Business:Management] Every organization goes through phases of development. How do you know when it's time for change? There are many telltale symptoms of organizational growing pains, and while every business in transition is unique, there are many common signs.
- Trust - It's A Yes Or No Thing
[Business:Management] There seems to be no gray area when it comes to trusting and being trusted. Are you fostering a culture of trust in your organization? According to many studies, organizations with a high trust factor are far more likely to have superior financial performance.
- "To Oz!": Leading a Resilient-High Achievement Organization
[Business:Management] Resilient organizations don't just happen, they are made up of resilient, capable people, able to bounce back when faced with unexpected challenges to emerge better and stronger than ever. "The Wizard of Oz" can be a metaphor for a resilient, high achievement organization. Leaders of such organizations can really see "Oz", ensure everyone else in the organization shares the same vision, and then makes it possible to get there.
- Decisions, Decisions
[Self-Improvement:Leadership] Chances are good that right now there is an opportunity to improve a situation in your organization that requires your decision. Perhaps it's a weighty one, with the potential for consequences to the business that you'd rather not deal with...so you aren't. You justify the delay with the claim that you need more time, more alternatives to consider, more money or resources, before you can take action. The fact is, indecision is a decision...not to act. A wise man once said "If you are already in a hole, it's no use to continue digging." The situation that requires a solution will only get worse and your lack of decisiveness will become your legacy. Good decision making is a skill and those most adept at it use a variety of techniques depending on the circumstances.
- Taming Attila the Hun: From Reeking Havoc to Rave Reviews!
[Business:Management] Just about everyone has worked with or for someone -- usually a key player in the organization -- who is great at what he or she does, but unfortunately also has the people skills of "Attila the Hun." Why would any organization put up with such disruptive behavior? Reasons vary, but none of them are good. The cumulative, negative affects of continuing to allow the dysfunctional behaviors typical of an Attila the Hun-type can take a serious toll on an organization's performance. Making an investment in a coach to turn around his or her performance could be both a wise investment and good business strategy.
- What Signals Are You Giving?
[Business:Management] What every company should know and care about is that savvy prospective employees are doing their homework to evaluate whether they’d be a good fit before sending a resume. What they’re looking for is evidence of a consistent message that resonates with their own values, as well as clues about the culture and what it might be like to work there. Red flags get raised when research or experience hints of conflicting messages. What signals are you giving?
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