Six Questions To Ask Your Employees Today

As explained in John Baldoni's, book, Lead With Purpose, Marshall Goldsmith suggests all leaders make it a habit to regularly ask their employees these six questions:

Where do you think we should be going?
Where do you think you and your part of the business should be going?
What do you think you're doing well?
If you were the leader, what ideas would you have for you?
How can I help?
What suggestions or ideas do you have for me?

Comments

Six-pillar Roadmap For How To Move From Merely Surviving To Truly Mattering

In the new book, The Mattering Effect: Creating A Life Of Meaning And Worth , podcaster and author John R. Miles reframes today’s most common struggles and empowers individuals and institutions alike to break bad habits and reclaim a sense of worth and belonging. “Organizations have spent the last decade chasing 'engagement' and 'psychological safety,' yet global productivity is stalling and 60% of employees report they do not feel valued in the places where they spend their days,” shares Miles. He calls this “The Great Erasure”—a condition where high-achievers become highly visible to the organization while becoming invisible to themselves. In addition, Miles argues that many of today’s most common struggles—burnout, anxiety, loneliness, and disengagement—are not personal failures or mindset problems. They are the result of unmattering: the gradual erosion of felt significance within modern systems that reward performance while overlooking presence. Fortu...

Seven Ways To Be A Collaborative Leader

Edward M. Marshall 's book, Transforming The Way We Work -- The Power Of The Collaborative Workplace , remains relevant today, more than a decade after Marshall wrote it. Particularly useful is the book's section that teaches readers how to be a collaborative leader. Marshall says that there are seven different, important roles and responsibilities of collaborative leaders when leading teams , and those leaders should select the appropriate style to meet the team's needs. The seven roles are : The leader as sponsor -- You provide strategic direction, boundaries and coaching for the team. You also monitor progress and ensure integrity in the team's operating processes. The leader as facilitator -- You ensure that meetings, team dynamics, and interpersonal relationships function effectively. You also ensure internal coordination of activities among team members. The leader as coach -- You provide support and guidance and you serve as a sounding board. The lea...

How To Be A Conversational Superstar

Each year, I select my pick for the best new leadership book released that year. As published earlier on my blog, my pick for 2023, was When Everyone Leads . Some years, among the many books about leadership that I read, there is another book that is so good, it becomes my runner up for the best new leadership book of the year. That runner-up book for 2023 was, The Communication Code , by Jeremie Kubicek and Steven Cockram . Today, let's take a look back at that book: “Effective communication is the lifeblood of every healthy relationship,” explain Kubicek and Cockram, whether that relationship is at work or at home. And effective communication is essential for successful leadership. Fortunately, the authors' book provides a proven series of easy-to-implement skills, techniques and powerful strategies via what they call the Communication Code that anyone can use to make their communication, relationships deeper and more prod...

Questions You'll Likely Be Asked At Your Next Job Interview

Many Human Resource (HR) managers have moved away from questions like "What's your weakness?" and prefer behavior-based questions , which ask you to: describe how you handled specific situations at your former jobs If you are about to interview for your next leadership position, be prepared for questions like these (from an article in Reader's Digest ): Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged . What was the situation, and what did you do? Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you did not personally like . If you could come to work with only three tools to get your job done, what would they be ? What personal and professional development have you been engaged in outside the workplace over the past year? Describe your Outlook calendar on a typical day

How To Improve The Way Teams Think, Collaborate And Make Decisions Under Pressure

“Great decisions don’t happen by accident—they happen by design,” shares Dr. Ricardo Valerdi , author of the new book, The Five-Tool Team: Bringing Out The Best In People To Make Better Decisions . This book is not about finding perfect answers. It is about building a framework that allows you to make good decisions repeatedly, even when conditions are imperfect, information is incomplete, and outcomes are uncertain. More specifically, Valerdi reveals a practical framework for improving the way individuals and teams think, collaborate, and make decisions under pressure. Drawing on lessons from sports, business, engineering, and real-world experience, Valerdi shows how the most effective leaders build teams that question assumptions, analyze consequences, and make choices grounded in clarity rather than instinct or urgency. “Writing this book has been a phenomenal journey that started in 2018 when I was a visiting professor at the United States Military Ac...

Good To Great -- Still A Must Read

Near the top of virtually every list you'll see of the best leadership books, you'll find Good To Great , by Jim Collins. The book, five years in the making, and published in 2001, addresses the all-important question of: Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how? Some of the lessons from the book are : "Leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted." "Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights." "Good-to-great companies use technology as an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it." "Engage in dialogue and debate." Good-to-great companies are those who have the ability to get and kee...

How To Be A Tough Enough Leader

Tomorrow brings a compelling and timely book about how tough enough you need to be as a leader to lead your team to greatness without being a jerk. The book is Tough Enough , by leadership coaches John Baird and Matt Hunter . The authors explain that building a high-performing team requires a new form of toughness―not based on bullying and bravado, but rather pushing for exceptional results in a way that is firm, fair, and respectful. Drawing on decades of coaching top CEOs, elite founders, and ambitious leaders, Baird and Hunter break down seven specific habits that define the strongest, most effective leaders, from being clear about the company culture to strategically unleashing emotional thunder. They set the record straight on when to prioritize understanding and empathy, when it’s time to be direct―and, most importantly, how to do both at the same time. Their no-nonsense approach gives readers the tools to calibrate their toughness and compassion in a ...

Change-friendly Leadership

Because Dr. Rodger Dean Duncan delivers so much timely, straight-forward and relevant wisdom in his book, Change-friendly Leadership , reading it is like talking with your trusted best friend. Or, listening to your favorite teacher. Or, soaking in the thoughts from your respected mentor. That's why you'll want to spend plenty of time reading the book. Reflecting on the messages. Absorbing the discussion, And, then likely re-reading it. Or, at least certain sections. Duncan demonstrates in the book how humanness, approachability , and friendliness are necessary but often overlooked elements of making change successful in an organization. He teaches leaders the foundation for effectively engaging people's heads, hearts and hopes -- all necessary to enable effective and lasting (sustainable) change in today's constantly changing world. Duncan refers to this as leadi...

Today's Leadership Quote By Theodore Roosevelt

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty...I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well." -- Theodore Roosevelt

Thoughts From The Book, Decide

Two of my favorite observations made by author Steve McClatchy in his new book, Decide , are: Goals : The reason so many people fail to achieve their goals is because they have not committed to defending a time in which they will work on their goals. Management vs. Leadership : Management is keeping things the way they are today. Management Maintenance . Leadership is moving things forward from where they are today. Leadership = Improvement . Steve McClatchy

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog