Building High Performance Teams Takes More Than Talent

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By Chris Cancialosi

We’ve all come across this type of person in our careers: the guy who is miserable to work with but who’s also “the top salesman we have.” Or how about “the smartest guy in the room,” who’s also the most unapproachable person you’ve ever met?  The talent may well be there but, in today’s increasingly networked workplace, it isn’t a guarantee of success.

Sometimes, very talented people just aren’t a good fit for your organization, but more often, the problem lies in a leaders’ inability to harness or align their employees’ talent to the mission. Either of these situations can cause employees’ talent to atrophy — or, worse, give them a reason to move on to a more engaging position at another company. Your job, as a leader, is to recognize when talent isn’t being used to its fullest potential and correct the situation. Continue reading →

Meet The Boss Of The Future

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by Jane Porter

The power is shifting, and what it means to be a great boss is taking a dramatic turn.

We work in an ever-changing, hyper connected, world-scattered workplace. As the way we work changes, so too will the boss’s role need to shift to meet those demands.

Take, for example, the very makeup of the U.S. workforce. One in every three Americans is a freelancer of some sort, according to a 2014 survey by Freelancers Union and Elance. This includes independent contractors, moonlighters, people working temporary or multiple jobs, and freelance business owners. Many expect this figure will increase to up to 50% by 2020, filling half the workforce with free agents.

What does this mean for the boss of the future? Continue reading →

Leaders Who Can Read Collective Emotions Are More Effective

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by Quy Huy

 

How a leader manages collective emotions can create or destroy enormous market value. It can also have a huge bearing on what large groups of stakeholders think of you.

One of the reasons Nokia lost the smartphone battle, despite holding a strong position before the iPhone came along, was its lack of speed and inability to react to changing circumstances. As I argued in a previous article, the reason for Nokia’s sluggish reaction was a collective fear among the company’s middle managers, not of the competition, but of losing status and resources within the organization. Continue reading →

How Emotional Intelligence Became a Key Leadership Skill

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By Andrea Ovans

Anyone trying to come up to speed on emotional intelligence would have a pretty easy time of it since the concept is remarkably recent, and its application to business newer still. The term was coined in 1990 in a research paper by two psychology professors, John D. Mayer of UNH and Peter Salovey of Yale. Some years later, Mayer defined it in HBR this way:

From a scientific (rather than a popular) standpoint, emotional intelligence is the ability to accurately perceive your own and others’ emotions; to understand the signals that emotions send about relationships; and to manage your own and others’ emotions. It doesn’t necessarily include the qualities (like optimism, initiative, and self-confidence) that some popular definitions ascribe to it. Continue reading →

Authenticity Is The Secret Sauce

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Image result for Scot HeathmanBy Scot Heathman

Nothing develops trust more than vulnerability…great leaders, authentic vulnerable leaders, require the ability to develop deep human connection
Dov Baron,
Author of ‘Fiercely Loyal‘

 

Just be yourself. How many times have you heard this statement in development sessions or during leadership training? I like this statement but it’s hollow. It’s missing something. Employees and subordinates are demanding leaders to become more authentic instead of just being themselves. Most subordinates know if you try being someone you’re not, especially in a key leadership position, it’s only a matter of time before you’re found out as an imposter. We see this all the time online. People try to be someone else with their online persona versus who they are in real life. It doesn’t work over the long run and you’re setting yourself up for personal disaster. The key is being authentic with your yourself and your organization. Be authentic with your subordinates. It is Authenticity that is the secret sauce in a recipe on developing deep human connections. Continue reading →