Browse Leadership

Proven success strategies are cherished by women leaders and business owners who want to avoid unreliable trial-and-error methods of achieving their goals. Because of social conditioning and hardwiring, most women naturally possess many key characteristics related to successfully building teams that trust their leadership. WHY WOMEN BECOME EXCEPTIONAL LEADERS Long-Term Perspective In general, women leaders prefer to distance themselves from organizational politics. They sh

Differences between the way women and men communicate and perceive the world not only sometimes irritate us in personal relationships, they can block professional success. How many of the following common gender communication differences have ever made you or one of your direct reports want to scream, scratch your head in disbelief or quit your job? • A woman wants to build solid relationships with team members so people will work well together and accomplish a task more suc

QUESTION: I’ve never been in a leadership position before. How do I get my team to trust my leadership? How do I get employees to follow me? ANSWER: First, recognize that your fears are perfectly normal and understandable. Every leader and executive I’ve coached during the last 12 years, even executives who have taken extensive leadership classes, sometimes worry about how to get people to trust and follow them. THE INSECURITIES OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERS If you explore biogr

QUESTION: I’m in a new leadership position. I’m excited about the opportunity for advancement, but sometimes I feel insecure about my ability to lead a team. I’m afraid I’ll fail if I can’t get people to trust my leadership. It frustrates me when I wonder why I’m the leader instead of someone else who might be more qualified. Although I can ask experienced leaders in the company questions, I don’t have a mentor. My function is somewhat unique, so I don’t see a person who is

QUESTION: I know I’m qualified to lead our team but I would be working for a boss who is consistently critical. The existing team leader has accepted another job, so the position is vacant. I’m not sure my skin is thick enough to report directly to a superior who meticulously scours every tiny detail, eager to discover any imperfection. Our boss’ style drains the team’s creativity, motivation and confidence because he also ignores all signs of progress. Our team could be at

QUESTION: Even though I have the right training and experience for a leadership positio I want, I don’t have enough confidence to apply. Just the thought of interviewing makes my stomach squirm. I have good ideas about how I can make a positive difference as a leader but I’m stalling instead of completing the application. ANSWER: DISCOVER THE HIDDEN GIFTS IN YOUR INNER CRITIC Since you were smart and motivated enough to gain the training and experience you need to move up

During winter Leadership Coaching Sessions, leaders often complain, “Employee morale is so low on gloomy winter days! My team members and direct reports left for the holidays energized and happy. Some of them returned in January exhausted and crabby. Even some of my best performers seem difficult to motivate right now.” “A few people have short tempers. One guy acts lethargic. One woman seems depressed. That behavior isn’t like either of these people! I’m not acting differen

Have you ever walked into a place of work and felt heaviness in the atmosphere. Like fear was the predominant emotion permeating the work place. People only did what they were told, never showed initiative, avoided problems, and finger pointed to others as the source of problems. Gossip was ...

How often do you say something like the following to yourself? I’ll be happy when: • I change and become the person I want to be in my lifen • I get a new home or car or boat or new toyn • I win the lotteryn • My boss learns how to supervise me properlyn • I can be friends with everyone I meetn • I ...

One of the biggest confusions which rest in most peoples’ minds is that they can not understand the fine line of difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness. According to my experience, assertiveness comes from supreme self-confidence, knowledge about the subject and overall ...One of the biggest confusions which rest in most peoples’ minds is that they can not understand the fine line of difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness. According to my experience, assertiveness comes from supreme self-confidence, knowledge about the subject and overall self-reliance.

I get called to fix people problems and I'm really good at that. Most often the person I'm helping has a supervisor or executive team member who has huge gaps in their own management skills. For example here are some of the deficiencies I observe: • Personality differences • Stagnant ...

It's human nature to want a better life, to strive for new things, and find meaning through our experience and existence. People are restless; they want a raise shortly after receiving the most recent one, they desire a promotion, new challenges at work and/or in their personal lives, better ...

Most of us have had the experience of working on teams, an experience, in retrospect, we often regret having had. Consequently, you probably have a pretty good idea of the things that are typically "wrong" with groups. By "wrong," of course I mean those behaviors that are getting in the way of ...

A while back I dated a guy for about two years, he was the best "gift giving" guy I've ever met in my life. We lived quite far from each other so there was a lot of traveling involved, but every time we got together he would always go out of his way to make me feel special. He'd plan activities I've never done before, always took me to new places and gave me the greatest gifts ever.

James MacGregor Burns (1978) first introduced the concepts of transformational and transactional leadership in his treatment of political leadership, but this term is now used in organizational psychology as well. According to Burns, the difference between transformational and transactional leadership is what leaders and followers offer one another.nnTransformational leaders offer a purpose that transcends short-term goals and focuses on higher order intrinsic needs. This res

Have you have ever loaned money to a friend or family member when you really didn’t want to because you felt you had to? Then, here is some timely advice for you: Never feel that you must surrender when it comes to making a decision about whether or not to loan your money. There are ways for you to turn down a loan request in good conscience without agonizing over it, or hurting or antagonizing the feelings of the person who has made the request. Here are some suggestions: If you do not have the money, do not be embarrassed to say so.

Why doesn't this person do what I want them to do? Can't they just get along? Why is he so abrupt with everyone? Why doesn't she follow the steps in the process like they are meant to be followed? Why are so many mistakes made? Why do I have to follow up so much to make sure the work gets ...

Every successful group venture, whether in the business world, the family home, an educational setting or a community campaign, is the result of effective leadership. Simply put, leaders accomplish desired results by influencing others. The most significant contribution a leader can make is to change others through responsible stewardship. Many frustrated leaders fail to realize that they have a perfectly useful tool for stewardship and change in the art of good conversation.

Employee retention is a hot topic. Every employer knows it's terribly expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to operations to repeatedly recruit, hire, train, and then lose employees. There are many reasons employees leave their jobs. However, time and again, employees leave because of ...

Few people understand the value of decisiveness. The ability to make quick decisions not only lends you an air of confidence, intelligence and authority, it can also make the difference between a positive and negative outcome in many situations. Some people believe that they are just “naturally indecisiveness” which is decidedly not true. Indecision, like every other behavior humans display, is simply a learned behavior. When you take the time to understand where it comes

As leaders of living systems, the ability to reflect is one of the most important disciplines to develop. Over the years we have found that, at particularly difficult times in life, when confused and disheartened, and times of exhilaration when life is filled with joy and happiness, the jou aling practice helps center us and provides a space for reflection and learning. The Internet is filled with jou aling advice, and jou aling workshops abound.

"For what we've discovered, and rediscovered, is that leadership isn't the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It's a process ordinary people use when they're bringing forth the best from themselves and others. Liberate the leader in everyone, and extraordinary things happen."rn— James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Leadership is action,

Trust is the fuel that propels teams and organizations to high-levels of success. Yet, organizational leaders today unknowingly do almost everything in their power to sabotage trust. The primary way in which trust in organizations is sabotaged is by a leader’s communication style. One particularly egregious style of leader communication, which significantly undermines trust, is called “indirect communication.” We have all fallen victim to indirect communication at one point in our professional or personal lives. For example, have you experienced…

One of the obstacles I face with my professional clients is their inability to recognize and overcome sabotaging self-talk. Through coaching them I realize how personal image can be, and how easy it is to be overly critical of ourselves –when we really need to be our own biggest fans.

Are your employees satisfied or engaged? As a business owner or manager, you had better know the difference between the two. Your employees may be satisfied at work because they are happily doing the bare minimum to keep you off their backs, but that’s not the same as being engaged. Engaged employees are the passionate ones who happily put in extra time when needed, are enthusiastic about the projects they are working on and are the most positive employees you could ever have!

In a recent leadership workshop participants were asked to share all the things their peers, subordinates and bosses do that drive them crazy and make their jobs more difficult. Two full flip-chart pages were filled. Next, the same group of participants was asked to identify the things they wish they would do instead. There was dead silence for what seemed liked an ete ity. It seems to be human nature to focus on the things we don't want, especially the undesirable behaviors that we wish others would refrain from engaging in.r

Trying to find a way to further your personal development in 2013? Why not take on a few of these leadership-based New Year's Resolutions? 1. Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing! Wise words from a successful entrepreneur in one of our recent Young Presidents' Organization Forums. CEO giants like Bill Gates credit their ability to avoid "shiny object syndrome" to focus on the most important thing. The challenge for visionary CEOs is to "See the Future First but Focus on Core S

People often find themselves caught in the minute details of their day-to-day routines and experience a sense of disconnection from what is really important. Where your focus goes, your results flow! (Negative focus equals negative results; positive focus equals positive results.) Are you happy with your results on a daily basis? Stop the sink-or-swim approach to life and start making a big enough splash to achieve the life you really want. To avoid being sucked into a downwa

Almost everyone is interested in knowing how to make money online. Whether you're between jobs, a student, looking for a parallel concert or just a quick bustle to earn some extra money, making money online is a great way to fill your wallet. Almost everyone is interested in knowing how to make money online. Whether you're between jobs, a student, looking for a parallel concert or just a quick bustle to earn some extra cash, making money online is a great way to fill your wallet.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!” - Mark Twain This week I had a pleasant introduction meeting with a Sydney based entrepreneur who successfully leads a group of companies which are all focused on leadership & people development. One of the first questions he raised was r

The most important aspect of issuing a written warning letter for any violation of policy is to make sure you are being fair and consistent!

As a professional image consultant one of the things that always amazes me is how many clothes professionals own that they never wear. Women tend to wear only 25 percent of their wardrobes, and men wear 85 percent of the clothes in their closets. That statistic indicates that women like to go shopping and buy items as an experience and an event, whereas men tend to only purchase what they need. But having all those extra clothes hanging in the closet only interferes with getting dressed in the morning.

In today's challenging economy and the rise of a fickle and unstable workforce, leadership skills are more important than ever to combat the costs of high staff turnover. The new generation workforce have different values and expectations, and if their needs are not met, they walk. Many companies can't afford bonuses and extra perks to keep their trained workers and have to use other "enticements" to attract and keep their workforce, and they rely on strong, confident leaders to lead the way and achieve these miracles.

So something’s been bugging you. You know that you need to make a change and you’re pretty sure there will be big consequences. So how do you go about it? Here are five things to consider that will make a tough change just a bit easier. 1. What's the cost of status quo? Not making a change that you know you need to make is costing you. Sit down and make a list of the payoffs you’re receiving physically, mentally, and emotionally for keeping things as they are. Then list the prices you’re paying for maintaining the status quo.

More companies than ever, both small and large, are considering ways in which they can introduce eLea ing in their bid to boost the skills of their employees. Many companies are opting for eLea ing because, when implemented correctly, it allows employees to learn in their own time. If they have access to a computer and an internet connection, they will be able to take part in online training. Of course, putting together a corporate training strategy is easier said than done. We do want to take you through the steps required.

Today's job market has become very complex, there is a lot of competition and unemployment numbers are soaring. Finding a job is not about circling possible jobs on Sunday's newspaper and then having to choose between a few offers… quite the contrary. The job market is very competitive, people are accepting less pay and gruelling work hours just to take care of their monthly bills. Modern moms are under pressure having to decide wether to take a big pay cut and stay home with the kids or pay for daycare and work to contribute to family income.

Over seven years ago, I created this management model and have been using it ever since. The model ensures that employers attract and retain peak performers. It's direct, to the point and easy to adopt no matter what the organization size or budget. The employee management model is called - the EDGE. EDGE is an acronym that stands for: Educate, Develop, Guide, Empower.

Preparing a written warning letter for insubordination is no different than any other disciplinary action! However, one of the major mistakes that many supervisors make is mistaking insubordination with disrespectful behavior. In short, insubordination is defying authority or in opposition to it. Although it is easy to confuse the two it is still important to define the poor behavior correctly.

Leadership is defined as “the action of leading a group of people or an organization.” How boring is that? Although a definition, it does not take into consideration the human impact of leadership and the consequences of that leadership. If the outcome is destructive in nature, is that effective leadership? Here's a slightly better definition of leadership: “The ability to lead a group of individuals to the successful accomplishment of a common purpose.”However, even that definition does not take into consideration how the accomplishment was achieved.

Leaders are a key element of any successful organisation or business, without effective and engaging leaders in place a company built on people will lack direction and be unable to fulfil their objectives. The trouble with leadership is that not every leader knows how to act when they are initially given their leadership position. To combat this many businesses invest in executive coaching and leadership skills training, but the focus of this type of development is on practic

Personal Leadership Definition nPersonal leadership is the ability and desire to crystallize your thinking and to establish a specific direction and destination for your own life. It includes the courage, choice, and commitment to move in that direction by taking committed and determined action to acquire, accomplish, or become whatever you visualize for your future. nn Building Personal Leadership nCritical to your work and personal success is building your own personal lead

All companies experience turnover to some degree. Many companies refresh their pool of employees by restructuring their organization every three to four years, and even though the change is sometimes good, it is always costly. Other companies just can’t seem to hold onto people. Sometimes this is a casualty of the industry, such as in Hospitality or Retail. Those industries do tend to lose people more frequently. Nevertheless, if you own or manage a company where high turnover is an issue, you are needlessly losing a tremendous amount of money.

The newest professional development trend is focused on cultivating women leaders to not only ascend into higher-level positions but also become game changers for their teams, organizations, and industries. I find that many large corporations have established new women’s affinity leadership networks for the sole purpose of providing a workplace community whereby women can help other women learn and grow. But although these groups are essential, they don’t begin to fully address the range of issues women face in the halls of corporate America.

It is common knowledge that the abuse of and addiction to drugs is a major problem in our country. Drug use is occurring at earlier ages, especially in our inner cities, but the problem exists across the country with complete disregard for where children live or how much money their parents make. With the family as the cornerstone of American society, each and every parent must accept the responsibility to teach children about the perils of drugs.

To explain why leading and learning are synonymous, reflect on the words of Eric Hoffer: In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. In other words, learning is the key to remaining adaptable and flexible in times of change; those who are bound by certainty eventually become obsolete. As leaders should be those who remain ahead of the tides of change, they must by definition be learners.

Do you ever get the feeling that perhaps you weren’t made for the rules of the “real world?” You have your own ideas about how things need to be done, and you know that people would just listen to you that you could set the world afire. You sometimes get accused of being rebellious or not being a team player or of being “idealistic.” If any of these sound familiar to you, then you'll be comforted to know that there's nothing wrong with you. You’re just a natural born leader,

Women leaders, executives, business owners and emerging leaders use this website to discover leadership success strategies. Doris Helge, Ph.D. uses Proven Women’s Leadership Coaching Techniques that empower you to build winning teams, gain influence and rewards and coach your employees to excellence.