Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 17, volunteer or make the decision to volunteer in your community. King routinely asked “ What are you doing for others ,” and January 17th is the ideal day to ask yourself that question. The federal holiday was first observed 36 years ago and in 1994 Congress designated it as a National Day of Service, inspired by King’s words, “everybody can be great because anybody can serve.” You can turn to Volunteer Match  to find volunteer opportunities right in your neighborhood or nearby surrounding area. Visit the web site, type in your zip code, and you will be presented with a variety of organizations seeking volunteers. And, if you are a leader in the workplace, encourage your team members to volunteer in the community as individuals. Or, organize team volunteer afternoons or evenings for your employees.

Now is a perfect time to read the leadership book,  Leading With Gratitude , by authors  Adrian Gostick  and  Chester Elton .  Published in 2020, 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.  Awhile back, the authors answered this question for me:  Question : During this most unusual and challenging pandemic time, 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 express gratitude at work than anyplace

“Four out of five adults report feeling that they have too much to do and not enough time to do it,” reports  Ashley Whillans , author of the book,  Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life . “These time-poor people experience less joy each day. They laugh less. They are less healthy and less productive.” And, in one study, time stress produced a stronger negative effect on happiness than unemployment.   Drawing on the latest science, Whillans teaches us how to escape the time traps that make us feel this way and keep us from living our best lives.   She explains that the  six most common time traps  are: Constant connection to technology. Obsession with work and making money. Limited value placed on time. Busyness as a status symbol. Aversion to idleness. The Yes…and then regret it effect.   Her playbook shows you how to :   take back the time you lose to mindless tasks and unfulfilling chores. improve your "time affluence.” free up seconds, minutes, and hours

  Why do some teams succeed while others stumble? Because hiring, developing and engaging talent requires careful decisions that are too easy to get wrong without data. In The Science of Dream Teams: How Talent Optimization Can Drive Engagement, Productivity, and Happiness , author Mike Zani introduces the science of “ talent optimization ,” a new discipline that’s a far more reliable way to manage your employees than your gut instincts.  “ Proper talent optimization lifts morale, builds teams, and turbocharges productivity ,” explains Zani.  With simple steps, Zani (a former US Olympic sailing team coach) shows how companies of any size can collect and analyze voluntary data about their employees to purposefully align a company’s business and talent strategies.  The book explores how CEOs and management teams can collect and use data to: Build effective teams of highly sought-after professionals while optimizing costs. Create a company culture based on coaching versus dictat

In  Bob Rosen ’s book,  Grounded: How Leaders Stay Rooted In An Uncertain World , he explains that there are six dimensions of being a healthy leader : Physical health : how you live. How you manage your mind and body – managing your energy and living a peak performance lifestyle. Emotional health : how you feel. This is about being self-aware and having positive emotions and the ability to be resilient, catching yourself when you have a counterproductive thought. This also includes seeking feedback from others about how you act and trying to be more reflective. Intellectual health : how you think. This is about asking questions, being deeply curious and seeing changes as an opportunity to grow, learn and reassess the way you see and talk about the world. Social health : how you interact. This is about authenticity. How do you build relationships? Are you being honest about yourself? Are you comfortable being vulnerable? Do you consider other people’s viewpoints? Vocational health : ho

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2022. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the traits and skills I wan

Some of my favorite parts of   Douglas Conant 's and   Mette Norgaard 's book,  TouchPoints , are these lessons for leaders: You need to have dual vision. You need to be able to address the most pressing need and do it in a way that makes your employees more capable and ready to take on the next issue. No leader can succeed by being only tough-minded or only tender-hearted . The perfect balance is to be both tough-minded on the issue and tender-hearted with people. Leading with heart doesn't mean you always decide in favor of the individual. It just means that when you need to make a tough-minded decision, you are acutely aware of how it will affect the people involved. The people who are the most committed to mastering their craft are often the most humble . That is because, instead of comparing themselves to others, they are moved by an inner vision of what they might achieve. Ask often, "How can I help?"  Doing so at the start of an interaction opens up space f

  This time each year, I select my pick for best new leadership book for the year. For 2021, my pick is, Heart First , Lasting Leadership Lessons From A Year That Changed Everything , by David Grossman , published in July 2021. Written by a wise, award-winning leadership and communications expert, Grossman supplies clear, timely, critical, actionable advice, how-to’s and tips for leaders as the pandemic continues to challenge us...and as we get past the pandemic. I selected this book because the book is easy to read, incredibly engaging, and is filled with inspirational and powerful stories of lessons learned by a wealth of leaders with diverse backgrounds. Plus, it covers today’s pertinent topics for workplace leaders, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and culture.  It’s a playbook you’ll want to read and then refer to time after time. And, if you read only one leadership book next year, make it this one . Reflecting on the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic, David say

Prepare to be inspired and then to work hard as you read  Bo Eason ’s book on how to be the best in the world at what you do. The book, published a few years ago, and is called,  There’s No Plan B For Your A-Game . Former NFL All-Pro and now one of the most in-demand motivational speakers and trainers, Eason provides you the four-step, real-world, game plan to help you reach your goals (declarations) and to play your A-game. Packed with uplifting personal stories, action steps and writing exercises, you’ll learn how to be accountable for developing your character, integrity, and commitment to reaching your goals. Plus, you’ll learn: Why obstacles are a good thing. The value of a “Never Do Again” list. How to leave behind those who don’t help you move forward. Why writing your success story in reverse is the best approach.  Bo Eason Eason shares the following great advice: Question: How can a person stay focused and not let distractions take her/him off course? Eason : When you hear peo