This last week I've been working with an organization to seek out diverse perspectives before launching a new project. It's been enlightening to hear what people from different states, race/ethnicities, and backgrounds have to say in listening sessions and focus groups. And it reinforces my belief that seeking out diverse perspectives gives leaders greater insight. … Continue reading Seek out diverse perspectives
Blog
Leading remote teams in a COVID-19 world
Years ago, when telework was just emerging as a “thing,” I developed and delivered training to help leaders managing remote teams at the University of Minnesota. While it was useful training, it dealt with managing remote work teams during normal times, NOT times of crisis. Leading teams during this COVID-19 pandemic is unique and none … Continue reading Leading remote teams in a COVID-19 world
Make it OUR story
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about creating a compelling vision story, with the underlying assumption that the vision is often crafted by a leader and their leadership team. While that may often be the case, I’ve found the sooner leaders engage everyone in the organization in making the vision part of their collective … Continue reading Make it OUR story
Avoid the tyranny of too many good ideas
“Try not to do too many things at once. Know what you want, the number one thing today and tomorrow. Persevere and get it done.” –George Allen In my work consulting with leadership teams in higher education over the last 30 years, it seems that one of the biggest challenges for leaders is to narrow … Continue reading Avoid the tyranny of too many good ideas
Create a compelling story
“People change what they do less because they are given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they are shown a truth that influences their feelings.” – John Kotter As leaders, we can increase our effectiveness in communicating our organization’s vision and mission, by remembering that we must appeal to people’s emotions first. As John … Continue reading Create a compelling story
Building skills for managing change
Last week I shared a post about the importance of communicating for buy-in; however, that is just one part of managing change! Successful change in organizations also requires new behaviors, new mind-sets, new skills and new abilities. They are one of the key building blocks that sustainable change efforts are built upon. But what can … Continue reading Building skills for managing change
Communicating for buy-in
In my experience, many people view change as loss. This is true, even if it is a very positive change. Think about your own experience in leading or being a part of change efforts. Have you ever heard people express concerns, like: “We’re already doing our best, how can we do more?”“What are those people … Continue reading Communicating for buy-in
Build a change engine!
Research has shown that 70% of all change efforts fail. So faced with that daunting statistic, what can leaders do to ensure that their change effort is successful? According to a 2010 transformational change survey conducted by McKinsey and Company, organizations that implemented successful change efforts had three elements in common. 1) STRUCTURE: The change … Continue reading Build a change engine!
Common pitfalls in leading change
In the last month I've talked with several colleagues in higher education, non-profits, and associations who are either leading change efforts or frustrated by the way current change efforts are negatively impacting people in their organizations. One colleague asked me to focus some of my blog posts on leading change, so I agreed to dedicate … Continue reading Common pitfalls in leading change
Seek out diverse perspectives
Seeking out diverse perspectives can give leaders an important edge in today’s world. Whether embarking on a enterprise-wide change initiative or making decisions that will impact a unit, organization, or community, diverse perspectives can give us the information we need to be more effective. They can keep us honest, keep us from moving into groupthink, … Continue reading Seek out diverse perspectives
