Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

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The Difference Between Informal And Formal Mentoring

November 30, 2020

Sports heroes mention their mentors at award ceremonies. Successful business people thank their mentors at career milestone celebrations. Young adults who later become accomplished acknowledge their mentors when asked who was influential in their success. Mentoring is indeed powerful . Most leaders have been both a mentor and a mentee at some point in their careers. Sometimes, though, not everyone understands the important difference between informal mentoring and formal mentoring. • Formal mentoring is structured, intentional, and short-termed (typically about three to six months). It also requires the support of top management. As a leader in your workplace, consider establishing a formal mentoring program to supplement the informal mentoring that is surely taking place at your company/organization. And, to offer employees mentoring options for those who can’t participate outside the workplace.

Use Negative Feedback As A Positive

November 29, 2020

When someone gives you negative feedback, think of it as a positive. If it’s accurate, it provides a growth opportunity; if it isn’t accurate, it provides an opportunity to strengthen your conflict resolution skills. Remember, no one is perfect. We all have blind spots when it comes to our strengths and weaknesses. And, we all do things that bother people. The best teacher often comes in the form of negative feedback, but only when we take the time to analyze what we’re hearing. Thank you Reneee Evenson , author of the book, Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People , for this good tip. Her book provides more than 325 ready-to-use words and phrases for working with challenging personalities. Evenson is a small business consultant and write specializing in organization psychology in the workplace.

Tip For How To Think Outside The Box

November 28, 2020

Here is a tip for how to think outside the box . Thanks to Michael Kallet , author of, Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills . To think outside the box, you have to acknowledge that the box is bound by your premise. You therefore have to push the box's sides and premise components to think outside of that. Use what if and what other questions to push on those boundaries and discover new ideas.

How To Lead Your Workplace With Gratitude

November 27, 2020

This Thanksgiving holiday week is the perfect time to read the leadership book, Leading With Gratitude , by authors Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton . Published this past spring, the book provides managers and executives with easy ways to add more gratitude to the everyday work environment to help bolster moral, efficiency, and profitability. Gostick and Elton also share eight simple ways managers can show employees they are valued. Then, they supplement their insights and advice with stories of how many of today’s most successful leaders successfully incorporated gratitude into their leadership styles. Today, the authors answered this question for me: Question : During this most unusual and challenging pandemic year, why is it more important than ever to express gratitude? And how best should a leader do that? Gostick and Elton : “Our research shows there is a staggering gratitude deficit in the work world, especially when times get tough. People are less likely to e

How To Be The Leader You Want To Be

November 27, 2020

“By focusing in specific ways on five key leadership elements— Purpose, Process, People, Presence, and Peace —you can increase your time, capacity, energy, and ultimately your leadership impact,” explains Amy Jen Su , author of the book, The Leader You Want To Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing Out Your Best Self—Every Day . Su shares both Western management thinking and Eastern philosophy to provide a holistic yet hands-on approach to becoming a more effective leader with less stress and more equanimity. She draws on rich and instructive stories of clients, leaders, artists, and athletes. And, she focuses on three foundational tenets: s elf-care, self-awareness, and personal agency . Most important, Su explores in depth, chapter-by-chapter the Five Ps : Purpose – Staying grounded in your passions and contributions, doing your highest and best work that has meaning and is making a difference. Process – Relying on daily practices and routines that honor your natural energy

Humanocracy

November 25, 2020

The book subtitle in the headline above convinced me to read, Humanocracy , by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini . The authors present a fascinating look at how to breakdown the bureaucracy within your organization and unleash the power and true abilities of the human beings in your organization – making your organization more bold, entrepreneurial and as nimble as change itself. Humanocracy expertly lays out a detailed blueprint for creating organizations that are inspiring and ingenious, and provides you research-based examples, practical guidance and, most important, action steps to take immediately. The authors explain that: Human beings are resilient . Our organizations aren’t. Human beings are creative . Organizations are (mostly) not. Human beings are passionate . Our organizations are (mostly) not. Some of the broader themes for how to harness the power of humanocracy include: Teaching frontline staff to think like businesspeople. Cross-train associates and organiz

This Week's Leadership Book To Read: The Leadership Challenge

November 24, 2020

There is good reason why, The Leadership Challenge , book is now in its sixth addition. It expertly teaches you what to do as a leader to mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things done in your organization. Revised to address current challenges, this sixth edition marks thirty-plus years since the book was first published. Embedded in The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership are behaviors that can serve as the basis for becoming an exemplary leader. The authors, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner , call these The Ten Commitments of Exemplary Leadership . Chapters in the book explain the conceptual principles that support each practice and prescribe specific recommendations on what you can do to make each practice and commitment your own. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way Inspire a Shared Vision Challenge the Process Enable Others to Act Encourage the Heart Kouzes and Posner explain that leaders who use these five practices more frequentl

Examples For Creating Your Company Culture

November 23, 2020

In Peter Block ’s book, The Empowered Manager (Second Edition) , he shares that the following values and statements can shape a vision of greatness for your employees and company. Each starts with, “We want:” Consistency between our plans and actions. A willingness to share. To disagree without fear. Commitment to a long-term strategy. To create a safe workplace. To live our values. To have each person connected with the final product. To treat each person in a unique way. To overcome levels and hierarchy. Our people to be the business. A positive attitude, and less energy spent on bad situations. To see caring and love in all our actions. Every person to be responsible for building the business. To work as a team. Each person to have a place at the table. Each person to feel valued and respected. To provide meaningful work. Managers to exist to serve their employees. To eliminate nonproductive work. Each person to have the right to say no. Control of our own destiny. The freedom

Effective Storytelling Includes These Seven Elements

November 22, 2020

According to Kristi Hedges , author of the book, The Power of Presence , a good story includes these seven elements: Has a clear moral or purpose. Has a personal connection to the storyteller and/or the audience. Includes common reference points the audience can understand. Involves detailed characters and imagery. Reveals conflict, vulnerability, or achievement others can relate to. Has pacing (a beginning, ending, and a segue back to the topic). Serves to strategically underscore your intention (it's not randomly told).

Your Leadership Guidepost

November 21, 2020

Today's leadership thought is John Wesley's Rule : Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as you ever can.

Nine Lies About Work

November 20, 2020

I'm a big fan of Marcus Buckingham 's work, teachings and books, so I was eager to read his book, co-authored by Ashley Goodall . Titled, Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World , the book debunks what we've come to believe as basic truths in the workplace. What at first may seem provocative and counter-intuitive, you'll learn why the nine lies "cause dysfunction and frustration, ultimately resulting in workplaces that are a pale shadow of what they could be," explain the authors. Keep an open-mind as Buckingham and Goodall take you through these nine lies (each a chapter in the book) with engaging stories and incisive analysis as they reveal the essential truths behind these lies: People care which company they work for The best plan wins The best companies cascade goals The best people are well-rounded People need feedback People can reliably rate other people People have potential Work-life balance matters most Leadershi

The Book Of Mistakes For Leaders

November 19, 2020

Skip Prichard’s book, The Book of Mistakes , provides a motivating and inspiring fable and journey to finding the secrets to creating a successful future. This 175-page self-help tale, wrapped in fiction, teaches you the nine mistakes that prevent many from achieving their goals . Full of wisdom, this is a book for everyone, and particularly valuable to anyone who wants to be a better leader. I won’t reveal the nine mistakes, however, here are some of my favorite takeaways and snippets from the lessons the book teaches: Be the hero of your story, not a minor character in someone else’s. Know your inherent value. Surround yourself with the people who will help you achieve your purpose. The journey to success requires both risk and failure. Look at everyone you meet as a wise teacher. Be motivated, not intimidated, by another’s success. Successful people have a sense of urgency. Prichard has featured, interviewed, and studied over one thousand of the world’s most successful people, fro

Are You A Perceptive Listener?

November 18, 2020

" Perceptive listening requires you to be totally focused, completely mindful, and perceptive of the conversation -- about what is spoken and what remains unspoken," explains John Jantsch , author of the book, Duct Tape Selling . He adds, "Perceptive listening reveals things that a distracted or even mostly active conversation can't reveal." To be a perceptive listener , ensure you hear and interpret the words as they're said, and also consider what the person isn't saying. What they might really be thinking, and how they are acting as they speak.

8 Tactics For Making Better Decisions

November 17, 2020

These eight decision-making tactics from David Lahey ’s book, Predicting Success , are helpful to me and hopefully useful to you as well: Deep breathing , to clear your mind. Researching , to feel confident that you have all the information in front of you. Listing your options , in either verbal or written form, to keep the whole picture front of mind. Following through on the possible outcomes , complete with likely predictions and acknowledgement of whether they’re negative or positive (or design yourself a decision tree, that lays out every possible consequence visually). Testing your intuition , by imagining a committed decision and then gauging the corresponding feeling it inspires in your gut. Taking the time you need , so long as it doesn’t become an overly indulgent distraction. Evaluating your decision , an after-the-fact exercise that engages a conscious inventory of the lessons learned. Coming to terms with your pick , always cognizant of the reality that no decision is

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