Monthly Archives: December 2010

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Overcoming Leadership Myopia

Howard Behar and Michael Lee Stallard

American leaders need to wake up and smell the coffee. Research from two well-respected organizations makes it clear that we have a big collective blind spot that’s dragging down productivity, innovation and economic performance. Earlier this year, a Conference Board research report showed that job satisfaction is at the lowest level since the organization began measuring it more than 20 years ago. The report went on to show this has been a long-term downward trend rather than a temporary decline due to the Great Recession.

Another well-respected organization, the Corporate Executive Board, came out with a research report last year that showed 90 percent of employees are either not aligned with organizational goals or not engaged and giving their best efforts. It’s nearly impossible to pull out of difficult economic seasons when nine out of ten employees are just showing up for the paycheck. We need everyone to pull together in the same direction to lift us out of this slump. What can be done?

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TED: Brene Brown on Connection





Thanks to my friend David Zinger, head of the Employee Engagement Network, for bringing this outstanding TED presentation to my attention.  It features Dr. Brene Brown speaking about her research on the importance of connection to joy and flourishing in life.  Over the course of her remarks, Dr. Brown touches on issues of shame, authenticity, courage, worthiness and numbing our emotions to cope with pain.   It’s a thought-provoking presentation that I highly recommend. It’s relevant to leaders and individual contributors, and it applies to both work and life outside of work.

If you would like to hear more about Dr. Brene Brown and her work. Check out this excellent interview on public radio. Additional information can be found at Dr. Brown’s website.

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Free Linkage Leadership Webinars

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Jason Pankau and I spoke on a webinar for Linkage about maximizing employee engagement and alignment.  You can see the 60-minute webinar at this link.  You may also be interested in other free webinars offered by Linkage at this link.

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Mrs. Hesselbein: “To Serve is to Live”

Frances Hesselbein, To Serve Is To Live. from Leader to Leader on Vimeo.

In Fired Up or Burned Out, we wrote about Frances Hesselbein, the former CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA and current chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute As we were about to part following lunch, I’ll never forget Mrs. Hesselbein looking me directly in the eyes and saying “just remember, to serve is to live.” Here is an outstanding video about Mrs. Hesselbein’s life entitled “To Serve is to Live.” Check it out.

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Talent May Get You to the Top, But…

…it takes character to keep you there.  John Wooden, the late legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach once stated this in so many words.

Wooden’s observation came to mind when I read a New York Times‘ article today entitled “The Day the Patriots Empire Began to Crumble.”  The article argued that the Patriot’s lost their lustre when its coach, Bill Belichick, was caught cheating.

Over the years, the leaders of the Patriots, Coach Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, did so many things right.   I wrote about many of them in a chapter Fired Up or Burned Out.  Belichick’s cheating, however, diminished one of the three elements of a Connection Culture: the element of “Vision.”  The element of Vision exists when everyone in an organization is motivated by the mission, united by the values and proud of the reputation.   Belichick’s cheating was not in keeping with the Patriot’s core values.  It also tarnished the organization’s reputation.  the cheating caused players and fans lost some of their respect for Belichick and the Patriots.  They were not longer felt as proud to say they were members of the Patriots’ organization. Pride in one’s identity is emotional in nature and research shows that emotional connections are 4X as important as rational factors when it comes to the amount of effort people put in their work.  The Patriots lost some of that emotional connection and as a result their players have not been as fired up as they once were.

Hopefully, Belichick learned a lesson and in time can gain back the connection, respect and trust he once had.