What’s So Global About Global Leadership?

May 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I was recently approached by a friend doing an executive search for a Global Organization Development/Leadership Development role. He knows a lot about this field and has done a ton of recruiting, and he called to ask me what makes a candidate ‘global.’ What is the difference between a regular OD/LD person and a ‘global’ one and how do you recognize a ‘global’ one when you meet them? Besides the obvious, of course, what specifically would he be looking for? This was the second time this week the topic of global leadership vs. regular old leadership came up, so I wanted to share some thoughts.

There is no certification or set of qualifications that makes someone a ‘global’ leader. Presumably, having lead a global team or having lived in multiple countries would lead many to deem one person more global than another, but I think there are a few more things worth considering…and you don’t have to leave your country to get them. I would argue that you can be a great ‘global leader’ right where you are, wherever that is – even if a solid global role is a great indicator of success. [Read more...]

Filed Under: LeaderShift

Difficult Conversations – How What You Were Taught Derails You From Your Message

April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A few years ago, Harvard Professor, Chris Argyris did some interesting research. He met with hundreds of executives preparing for conversations that involved delivering tough messages. He asked what they planned to say and how they would say it. Then he observed and recorded the meetings. In every case, the executives did not say what they planned to, the messages were unclear, and yet, the executives thought they had been effective – until he replayed the recordings. This groundbreaking research resulted in a list of derailers that every human, regardless of culture, demographics or experience falls into when communicating under stress. Despite many attempts to disprove it, this study has been validated over 20,000 times. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Change & Transition, Creating Alignment, LeaderShift, Managing Talent

Getting Out of the Middle

February 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Little good ever comes from being in the middle. It’s an awkward place to be. Yet many of us seem to spend an awful lot of time there. Some of us are even paid to be there. This should resonate if you’ve ever had a customer and a boss. Being in the middle often looks like this: you want to fix something or respond to a need (often for a client or customer), but you can’t because someone or something is stopping you. You’re stuck. Sometimes it’s a rule you can’t break. Sometimes it’s a boss you can’t reach, a customer who won’t respond, a boss who won’t approve what you need, or another department with a different agenda. Often in the moment of deep ‘middleness’, you face a sinking feeling that no one is happy with you and there’s little you can do about it. Some days it feels like you just can’t do enough or please everyone. The middle is a powerless place, a non-productive limbo where nothing happens. You need to get out – and fast – if you ever want to accomplish anything. To find a way out, let’s talk about how one get’s there in the first place. Then, we’ll start the speed climb out. [Read more...]

Filed Under: LeaderShift

People Just Don’t Get It

February 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As I help leaders find success in the face of more and more situations they are often unprepared for (reference in my last post), there is frequently a mounting frustration with people who just, ‘don’t get it.’ These seemingly clueless ones range from direct reports, to leadership, to customers and peers. They are all over the place. Interestingly, the common denominator is the leader…in almost every case. The funny thing about that is that by definition, if people aren’t following, the leader isn’t leading. That could lead to a whole exercise involving a mirror, but before we go there, remember that for the most part, the situations leaders (at all levels) face in today’s business environment are situations that nothing in their past has prepared them for. Hence, the need to think differently about making people ‘get it.’

For years, people were paid to get it. If the boss said it, what’s to ‘get’? You just did it. That may have worked in a culture where everyone came from basically the same background and culture, had the same education and wanted the same things. It may have worked when everyone at work wanted the company to be successful, knew they would be there for a long time and was willing to ‘do what it takes’ or ‘take one for the team.’ I probably don’t have to tell you that those days are gone. Thinking differently about leadership involves learning to build alignment between very diverse stakeholders. That is a big part of the leaders’ new work in this economy and there’s a big difference required in how one leads to do that effectively.

First, creating alignment needs to be a priority. In order to do that, leaders need to be very clear on [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating Alignment, LeaderShift

What You Know May No Longer Apply

December 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

As I talk to clients, there are a couple really prevalent issues that are holding corporations back in today’s economy. These are issues that will require people to think differently to solve them. For years, we’ve tried to do things better, faster and cheaper. And while that is still critical, it has become the ticket to entry in today’s market. It is simply no longer enough to pull companies ahead. You’ve got to think in a very different way to build successful organization. In organization development lingo, these challenges are call adaptive, as opposed to technical, meaning that leaders at all levels will have to change their thinking, rather than reengineer or streamline what already exists.

The issues I’m hearing about are the need to do more with less (rampant in business today) and the need to be more effective at managing a global, multicultural, or at the very least, a diverse team. For the most part, these are things people are limping along with, but not doing much about. I contend that they demand action before they cause leaders to self-implode or burn out.

Believe it or not, these issues can be addressed in very similar ways. Both of them have to do with [Read more...]

Filed Under: LeaderShift