Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

What you don't see about yourself can hold you back as a leader. That's typical for many leaders. What we don't see is what we  can't  see: we have  blindspots . Your blindspots prevent you from achieving your greatest success.  “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems,” explains  Martin Dubin , author of the new book,  Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader . “Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward. The good news is that you can learn to do your own  blindspotting .”   “Most of us understand the idea of blindspots in a general sense—areas we can’t see, to take the term most literally, or places we have gaps that we may not even realize, to be a little more abstract,” says Dubin.  “But in the context of this book, I’m defining blindspots quite specifically: They are...

The book,  Power To The Middle , shows how  managers  are the crucial link between a company’s ground floor and top brass. “Too often company leaders view middle managers in a negative light as expendable employees who can slow down productivity and overall strategy,” explain the book’s authors and McKinsey partners  Bill Schaninger ,  Bryan Hancock , and  Emily Field .  “However, new KcKinsey research reveals that this outdated perspective needs to change and that well-developed managers  are  the strategy that companies must prioritize to succeed today,” they add.  Most importantly, by the end of their book, the authors sum up their insights and provide a  playbook  that will help senior leaders let go of the command-and-control mindset that has hobbled their managers for so long.  The authors define middle managers as the people who are at least once removed from the front line and at least a layer below the senior lead...

  Three years ago, wise, and award-winning leadership and communications expert David Grossman authored Heart First , which I named the Best New Leadership Book of 2021 .  I selected Heart First 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 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.   Now in 2024, Grossman has released Heart First For Emerging Leaders . Like the original book, this updated version is a treasure trove of valuable information. “The experience of the pandemic and ensuing social unrest helped many leaders realize the strength of bringing empathy, humanity, and authenticity to leadership. I believe as strongly as ever in the power of that human approach,” says Grossman. “The first version ...

Here is some great advice from the book,  Anticipate, the Art of Leading by Looking Ahead ,  by  Rob-Jan De Jong . Use these 13 energizing verbs more often when communicating: Discover  (instead of See) Explore  (instead of Discuss) Radiate  (instead of Display) Uncover  (instead of Show) Transform  (instead of Change) Engage  (instead of Involve) Mobilize  (instead of Gather) Stretch  (instead of Develop) Boost  (instead of Increase) Propel  (instead of Move) Deliver  (instead of Give) Grasp  (instead of Understand) Connect  (instead of Join)

" 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.

  Tasked with writing a business plan ?  Keep in mind that every business plan should contain at least these 10 elements/parts :  Executive Summary The Business – description of the business being proposed Market Demand Competition Strategy Resources Financials and Forecasts Risk, Opportunity, and Sensitivity Conclusion Appendices  For more information about writing an effective business plan, I recommend the book, The Standout Business Plan .  Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me a copy of the book.

The book subtitle in the headline above convinced me to read, Humanocracy , by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini . Available starting August 18, 2020, 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 s...

According to a Microsoft study a few years ago, the average attention span for us ever-scattered humans is now shorter that a goldfish's;  eight seconds . So, how do you stand out? How do you communicate effectively? How do you not waste time? Paul Hellman  answers these questions and gives you 100 fast and actionable tactics to make your eights seconds meaningful. It's all in his book,  You've Got 00:00:08 Seconds . He teaches you three key ingredients: Focus : How to say less with more meaning. Variety : How to stand out as  slightly  different. Presence . How to be notable and boost your reputation. Paul Hellman His tactics will serve you well in all these types of situations : Making presentations Interviewing Emailing Networking Storytelling Leaving voice mail Here are some of my favorite takeaways from Hellman's book: In one-to-one conversations , talk less than the other person. Ask at least one thought-provoking question per conversation. In meetings , s...

Flashback to 2016... 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-forward, practical and timely books on how to lead a transition through change effectively. H. James Dallas More specifically, Brown covers much more than tasks, timing and te...

Heed this advice from Julian Birkinshaw , author of the book,  Becoming A Better Boss , on how to be a better leader. Strive to  answer “Yes” to these three questions : Do you invest your time in things that help others to succeed? Do you invest in projects that will help the company in the long run, even if you won’t be around to get any credit for their success? Are you prepared to try out a new way of working that may fail, even if you risk looking foolish?

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 expla...

Flavio Martins ' book,  Win The Customer , teaches you  70 simple rules for sensational service . "These can be used as a top-down resource in organizations looking to develop or enhance a service culture," explains Martins. "They can also be used as a resource for individuals who want to transform the way service is handled from the ground up, even when lacking the full commitment and support from organization-wide training and change efforts." To deliver sensational customer service, you need to have the  right culture . Martin says that the right culture: Inspires  -- Culture isn't a mission statement; it's a statement of action. Fosters  -- When united in a common goal, people contribute to an environment where everybody willingly comes to work each day and pours their best efforts into doing what they believe will make the greatest difference. Transforms  -- When working toward a higher purpose, the right culture has a real, positive effect on the w...

Starting to choose which business books you'll read this summer? Here are some leadership books I highly recommend:

The authors of this leadership book recommend that you don't read their book cover to cover. But, if you're like me, you'll read the book that way. That's because I found,  The Little Book of Leadership Development , by Scott J. Allen and Mitchell Kusy, a compelling read, packed with practical tips and techniques for both leading and helping others to learn how to lead effectively. What you'll find is basically  50 one- to two-page chapters, each highlighting a leadership tip .  And, that's why the authors suggest you digest their book, finding the chapters/tips most readily useful to you. Some tips seem easy and no-brainers. Others are more difficult to implement. But, even the "easy" ones are surprisingly absent from many organizations, so they are well worth a reminder of what to do and how to do it correctly. Here are some of my favorite parts of the book that highlight the keen observations by the authors: As a leader,  if you are active, involved...

Here is some good advice from  Lee G. Bolman  and  Terrence E. Deal , authors of the book,  How Great Leaders Think : Good thinking is the starting point for good leadership. Leaders who can reframe—look at the same thing from multiple perspectives—think better. They create a lucid portrait of what’s going on around them and have a clearer vision of what’s needed to achieve desired results. Also, reframing involves shifting frames when circumstances change. Leaders can see and do more when they know how to negotiate four key areas of the leadership terrain: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. Great structural leaders: Do their homework. Insist on clear goals. Rethink the relationship of structure, strategy, and environment. Focus on detail and implementation. Experiment.  A designated leader is no guarantee that a team will be well led. An effective team requires leadership that aligns the group’s structure with the group’s tasks and circumstanc...

As a leader, if you are not already volunteering, what a great time to start. Make a commitment to yourself to start volunteering before next week starts! And, if you are a workplace leader who supports a volunteer program at your business, you already know that by encouraging employees to give back to your community you are: building teamwork motivating employees attracting new hires In fact, job seekers much prefer companies that have a strong volunteer program. And, a growing number of businesses are rewarding employees who volunteer by giving them extra vacation time and other incentives. Fortunately, throughout the U.S. there are hundreds of volunteer opportunities where employees can contribute individually, or where leaders can organize teams of employees to volunteer together on a routine and scheduled basis. To find organizations in need of volunteers, go to  Volunteer Match  and type in your zip code. You'll be presented a list of nearby volunteer...