The 4 Leadership Styles, and How to Identify Yours

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bill-taylor

by Bill Taylor

 

 

We all want to be part of a great success story. To run, start, or play a senior role in a company that wins big or changes the course of its industry. To launch a brand that dazzles customers and dominates its markets. To be the kind of executive or entrepreneur who creates jobs, generates wealth, and builds an organization bursting with energy and creativity.

Which means that all of us, no matter where we are in our career, have to wrestle with the big questions of leadership: What is our personal definition of success? What does it mean to make a difference and have an impact? What is the best way to rally colleagues to our cause, to handle problems and obstacles that inevitably arise, to revise plans in the face of setbacks or to stand pat no matter the odds? How much do we rely on our own ideas and experiences, and how widely do we seek the advice and support of those around us? If we hope to succeed, we need to understand how we lead. Continue reading →

Why Marissa Mayer’s Ultimate Talent Acquisition Strategy Failed

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by Cale Guthrie Weissman

Though the writing has been on the wall for months—if not years—Yahoo has finally been acquired. Verizon has scooped up the company to the tune of $4.8 billion. For many, this is the beginning of the end of a years-long saga to fix a seemingly broken digital media company; Verizon says it will use the new assets to build a digital media empire. For others, it’s just another chance to pile on the blame game for CEO Marissa Mayer.

All the same, there’s one big question that hasn’t quite been answered, and perhaps never will be: What exactly went wrong? While there are hundreds of facets to this broad question, there’s one big strategy Mayer opted to take as chief executive: acquisitions. Over the course of her four-year tenure, she acquired more than 50 companies and spent more than $2 billion. Continue reading →

Five habits of people who get promoted to leadership

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by Rebecca Newton

Are you one step away from a senior leadership role? The secret to getting over the line and being promoted to that new leadership level can be one simple thing: giving yourself permission to lead.

People are often told that in order to move to their next level they need to “work on their leadership.” Except that, confusingly, the feedback they get on how they lead people and teams is already positive. There doesn’t seem to be any question of their leadership skills at all. The issue may not be how they lead others (influencing and facilitating) but rather how they lead the firm (driving the business forward). Continue reading →

How leaders can let go without losing control

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by Mark Bonchek

Massive iStock_000008828650Small[1]flocks of starlings, known as murmurations, exhibit a rare combination of speed and scale. The birds coordinate themselves with remarkable agility to find food and avoid attacks. Schools of fish do the same.

What’s noteworthy in these murmurations is the lack of a leader. Instead, each bird follows three simple rules: (1) move to the center, (2) follow your neighbor, and (3) don’t collide. The rules enable each bird to act independently while ensuring the group acts cohesively.

Every organization today wants to achieve both alignment and autonomy. Can what works for birds and fish also work for people? The answer comes from a surprising place: the battlefield. Continue reading →

Listening is an overlooked leadership tool

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110-Melissa_Daimlerby Melissa Daimler

 

“What do you think?”

I ask this question a lot. My team knows that when they come to me with a question, this is likely the question I’ll come back with first. Sometimes I even preface it with, “I don’t know.” As leaders in our organizations, it’s up to us to coach colleagues and our employees through finding that answer. More often than not, when I ask this question, my team has a better answer than I do — or one that I hadn’t thought about before. Continue reading →