Rise to the Challenge

Why all the fuss about workplace leadership?

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:04:54 +0000

For anyone who has ever been under a manager who has not handled their people well will immediately understand the dangers of poor workplace leadership capacity. Not only does it undermine individual performance, which impacts negatively on business performance, but poor leadership can also lead to higher levels of sick leave, stress leave, staff turnover and on the list goes.

The positive take-away is that managers can work on their leadership skills, including managing their people. This is not to say every individual who engages in leadership development will morph into the perfect leader. But I do believe everyone can improve their capacity to lead if they so choose. Where leadership development fails is when managers refuse to engage in reviewing and challenging their own leadership style or only give it lip service. You can’t expect to turn up to a 3-day program or engage in years of theoretical study and expect to come out as a great manager without taking the learning and applying it back in the workplace effectively. I liken it to playing golf. I could provide you with the best golf coaches, training books and DVD’s in the world, but unless you actually pick up a club and give it a swing you will never know how to play golf properly.

So, if you are reading my comments and are still asking yourself what all the fuss is regarding workplace leadership then I suggest you sit back and take a good look at your own leadership capacity and of those around you. For others who are interested in developing their leadership skills be mindful you don’t need to morph into someone you’re not, just tweak the edges a little!

The leader as follower

Maree — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:05:14 +0000

I was discussing with one of my clients during the week that one of the important reasons for managing up is to personally experience its merits. To truly understand what it is like for a direct report to manage up, the manager needs to be using the same process for themselves with their own manager. Only then will they begin to appreciate how difficult or confronting the task can be and also how rewarding and beneficial.

I would love to hear your own thoughts, experiences, challenges and questions in managing up: either your own situation with managing up to your boss or with enabling your team to manage up to you.

One of the epiphanies my client had after our conversation on managing up was recalling her initial response to a directive from her boss that had left her feeling disempowered and angry only to have a lightening-bolt moment seconds later that her behaviour was exactly the same as that of one of her own direct reports earlier in the week whom she had treated similarly to the way her boss had treated her. At the time she found her direct report’s response over the top and here she was reacting in the same manner. What had occurred? Neither manager had enabled the opportunity for their direct report to express their needs and the style of delivery that would best suit a successful outcome. On the other hand it could also be equally said that neither direct report was aware enough or willing enough in the moment to manage up successfully. So who is responsible for the sucessful facilitation of managing up? That’s something to consider for another day…

Workplace Leadership Whitepaper

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:24:10 +0000

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id iaculis nisl. Sed quis sapien et felis euismod venenatis. Nullam laoreet, ipsum a volutpat scelerisque, risus felis ultricies ipsum, non tristique odio libero non lectus. Morbi quis velit quis nibh bibendum mattis id non nisi. Donec at nibh neque.

Ut pretium leo non sapien cursus fermentum. Nunc pulvinar molestie nulla, eget condimentum enim porttitor eget. Cras facilisis vulputate nunc, sit amet auctor ligula pretium quis. Nunc ac tempor eros. Aliquam luctus, nibh accumsan luctus interdum, orci tellus sollicitudin lacus, at tempor nibh massa sed ante. Cras tristique quam eu est accumsan id facilisis ligula congue. Phasellus vestibulum hendrerit neque vitae hendrerit. Donec vitae fermentum libero. Donec malesuada tempor urna, in tincidunt quam ultrices non. Nullam non turpis mauris. Sed mattis dignissim nunc, rhoncus suscipit ante semper id.

Leadership Research test

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:53:17 +0000

testing leadership research category

Test Resources Item

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:52:41 +0000

Test News Item 2

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:51:51 +0000

Test News Item 1

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:56:37 +0000