Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

With only one one day left of 2017, it's time to identify your New Year's Resolutions for 2018. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of these 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and tomorrow, think about which couple you want to work on during 2018. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after...

In his book,  The Responsible Leader ,  Tim Richardson  explains that to create a  high-performance culture , you need to  plan and prepare  for the following moments to ensure the conversations surrounding them are both meaningful and intentional: recruitment and induction of new team members performance management discussions promotion interviews and talent management discussions coaching discussions customer sales presentations handling customer complaints and problems briefings to the press, analysts and wider market senior leaders' contact with, and briefings to, teams across the organization internal presentations with executive committees team meetings and management meetings Richardson's advice to  improve the quality of these conversations  is to consider: How clear is the principal message for the conversation?  How can you ensure that the content of the discussion is focused on the key message(s)? How can you ...

Here are the  seven smart things  you can do to  succeed in the future , according to leadership expert. John Baldoni, in his book,  Lead With Purpose : Make purpose a central focus. Instill purpose in others. Make employees comfortable with ambiguity. Turn good intentions into great results. Make it safe to fail (as well as prevail). Develop the next generation. Prepare yourself.

I'm a big fan of the magazine,  Experience Life .  Particularly the monthly  Perspective  column by  Bahram Akradi , the founder and CEO of  Life Time Fitness . Akradi tackled  self-reflection  awhile back. He firmly believes the business model that if you aren't innovating you are dying. And, to innovate, you have to regularly fine-tune both your business and your life. What better way to do that than to ask yourself  each day these four questions , says Akradi: Where did I do some good or make some progress today? Where did I let myself or others down? What can I do to keep my good habits going? What can I do to address any negative triggers or trends before they get out of hand? Thanks Bahram for this great advice.

According to  Ron Ricci  and  Carl Wiese , authors of the book,  The Collaboration Imperative , high-performing teams have the following characteristics: People have solid and deep trust in each other and in the team's purpose--they feel free to express feelings and ideas. Everybody is working toward the same goals. Team members are clear on how to work together and how to accomplish tasks. Everyone understands both team and individual performance goals and knows what is expected. Team members actively diffuse tension and friction in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The team engages in extensive discussion, and everyone gets a chance to contribute--even the introverts. Disagreement is viewed as a good thing and conflicts are managed. Criticism is constructive and is oriented toward problem solving and removing obstacles. The team makes decisions when there is natural agreement--in the cases where agreement is elusive, a decision is made by the team lead...

"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."   - Maya Angelou

Here are some tips for leaders responsible for writing an effective annual report for their nonprofit organization. Consider making these  objectives  for your report: To demonstrate accomplishments ( not activities ) ( results  and how you did it). To recognize important people (volunteers, donors, major funders, partners). To provide an account of your organization's work for the past year. To share your mission with a wide audience. To generate new donations, retain donors and grow partnerships. Consider these  audience sectors  when writing your report: Donors Volunteers Community leaders Future board members Supporters (in-kind) Elected officials  Potential partners, grant funding entities Allow  three to four months to prepare your report : Create and outline Gather an organize content Engage your management team Design Review/Proof Print Distribute Consider packaging your report with a  theme , such as ...

In addition to  Laurie Sudbrink 's,  Leading With GRIT , being a great book for leaders, it's packed with powerful leadership and life quotes. Here are some of my favorites: Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are - Kurt Cobain The respect you show to others (or lack thereof) is an immediate reflection on your self respect - Alex Elle You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - Harper Lee People only see what they are prepared to see - Ralph Waldo Emerson We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give - Winston Churchill If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you - Fred Devito The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new - Socrates The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to rely - Anonymous Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity - Simon Weil Good leaders inspire peo...

I really appreciate author  Valerie M. Grubb 's broader than typical definition of  work ethic for leaders , as she details it in her book,  Clash of the Generations . Here is what she says defines  work ethic for leaders : Honest . Be truthful in your dealings with employees, vendors, customers, and anyone else with whom you come in contact on behalf of the company. Full of Integrity . Maintain high-quality standards despite schedule pressures. Demonstrate and uphold values and principles that create a climate of trust. Law-abiding . Act within the statutes of the law and the company's rules and regulations. Trustworthy . Speak the truth even when no one else does. Be candid and forthcoming. Give credit freely for others' accomplishments. Stand by your commitments and own up to your mistakes.  Fair . Be fair and just in dealings with employees. Value and support diversity and inclusion across the board. Respectful of others . Display grace under pre...

Here are some good tips for leading a successful business operation from the handy booklet,  144 Ways To Walk The Talk ,  by  Eric Harvey  and  Al Lucia : Involve your team in setting standards that are achievable but also require everyone to stretch their knowledge and skills. Remember that regardless of what you say, it is the performance you're willing to accept that becomes your true standard. Work as a team to stay abreast of technology advancements. Have different employees read different trade and professional magazines and blogs. Ask others to share key learning from workshops, webinars, seminars and conferences they attend. Make it easy via meetings and or within an Intranet forum/Blog area to share what everyone is learning and hearing. Ask each member of your group to identify the three most significant obstacles to their performance. Create a master list and develop strategies to eliminate them. Then, reward employees for identifyin...

To help you bring out the best in your team, you need to get close and understand their skills, abilities, and motivations. So, the authors of the book,  Your First Leadership Job , recommend you hold  getting-to-know-you conversations  with each of your direct reports. Ask these  open-ended questions . Let each team member know the purpose of the meeting in advance. And, don't cheat by adding in work-specific questions. What do you enjoy doing most as part of your work? Why? What do you  miss most about the jobs you've had in the past? Why? What things about your current job do you enjoy the least? Why? How do you cope with or relieve stress? To help you do your job, what could I change about: Your work environment? The content of your work? How you get your work done? What form of recognition do you prefer or not prefer?

"Connection is what transforms a dog-eat-dog environment into a sled-dog team that pulls together," says  Michael Lee Stallard , author of the book,  Connection Culture . "Connection builds an emotional bond that promotes trust, cooperation, and esprit de corps among people in the workplace." Based on  shared identity, empathy, and understanding , connection moves primarily self-centered individuals toward group-centered membership. "Without that sense of connection, employees will never each their full potential," states Stallard. The  10 ways you can improve your connection skills  are to: Recognize varying connection needs Be present in conversations Develop the ability to empathize Develop the habit of emphasizing positives Control your tone of voice Negotiate with the mindset to solve a problems rather than to win Provide autonomy in execution Learn to apply the five languages of appreciation  Apologize when you make a mistake Deve...

Anticipate: The Art of Leading by Looking Ahead , gives readers practical guidance and concrete techniques to help leaders become more visionary. In his book,  Rob-Jan de Jong  provides the developmental framework for visionary capacity, focusing on two key skills: The ability to see change early The ability to connect the dots Rob-Jan de Jong De Jong makes a clear distinction between the company vision and your personal vision. And, in this book, he helps you increase your  personal visionary capacity  for your personal leadership whether or not you are hierarchically in a senior position. The book includes many exercises and examples, along with QR codes to access videos with additional content that can be viewed on your Smartphone. Some of de Jong's tips for  how to think like a visionary and be a source of inspiration  to your organization and teams include: Deliberately break your normal, everyday patterns. Develop a set of apprec...

Soon, I will announce my choice for best book about leadership for 2017. In the meantime, let's flash back to last year's winner. Here is that blog post from about a year ago... After reading nearly 30 new books about leadership this past year, my pick for  2016's best new leadership book  is,  Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change , by  H. James Dallas . Technically, the book came out in the fall of 2015, but gained its popularity and momentum in 2016, hence my selection as my 2016 pick. Virtually every business is undergoing change. And, one of the most difficult things for a leader to do is to successfully lead a change initiative. And, change is what most employees fear most. That's why, says Brown that on average nearly 75 percent of change initiatives fail. What's more... When the rate of external change exceeds the rate of internal change, the end is in sight. Fortunately, Brown has written what I consider to be one of the most straight-fo...

In the book,  The Optimistic Workplace , author  Shawn Murphy , explains that the following beliefs are essential to helping create a  positive work experience : The team is more important than any individual . For optimism to be strong, a cohesive team is vital. People need to believe the team will be there for them when needed. A team is weakened when the first priority is the needs of each person, or when ego dictates a team's actions or inaction. And, avoid relying on the usual suspects, the same few superstars, to handle high-profile projects. There's value to experiencing joy at work . Joy can open brains to better see connections and various options to solve work problems. Joy is about playing. Play at work is useful when creativity and innovation are needed. The usefulness of creativity and innovation at the workplace is linked to increasing employees' knowledge and skills.  Doing good is good for business . It's not just about philanthropy. Do good b...