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
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
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
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