Most organization and team cultures today focus on racing to identify actionable solutions. The most effective leaders, however, take time to ask questions that get people to share their thoughts and feelings en route to identifying actionable solutions.
Over the years I’ve come to believe that rushing to a solution is often unwise and that the journey is as valuable as the destination. Here are four reasons why.
I’m excited to share that IMD, a top-ranked business school in Switzerland, has published my article “Leadership Insights of a Hostage Negotiator.” In it, I share lessons based on IMD professor George Kohlrieser’s experience using connection to successfully navigate difficult negotiations.
| Date: | February 3, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Appearance: | Article Published by IMD |
| Outlet: | IMD |
| Location: | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Format: | Other |
Imagine you are a hostage negotiator sent into a hospital to speak with a man named Sam who is holding a pair of scissors at the throat of a nurse. You know from your briefing that Sam had been seriously injured from a stab wound inflicted by his wife during an argument over the custody of their children. Upon entering the room, you find Sam screaming and yelling that he is going to kill everyone.
What would you do?
Leaders must be resilient if they are going to prevail in the face of inevitable challenges. One of the most interesting examples of resilience today comes from the world of sports where Kirk Cousins, a Washington Redskins quarterback who has been consistently underestimated, is helping lead the turnaround of a team that has had only one winning season over the last seven years.
One of the greatest turnaround stories in all of history is also one of the most unlikely. It is the story of Queen Elizabeth I, a twenty-five-year-old woman who inherited the throne of England in 1558 having no leadership experience, faced prejudice in a time when women were considered grossly inferior to men, and lived with frequent threats of death. Despite these obstacles, she overcame the odds and led her country from near financial ruin to one of the most powerful kingdoms on earth. She is a timeless example of how a leader can connect with people and bring out the best in them.
We connect with some people and not with others. Great leaders master how to connect with just about everyone and that’s one reason why people want to follow them.
There are many facets to connection. Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram have written an excellent book titled 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time that provides insight into an important aspect of connection.
If you’ve ever been hired into a leadership role, you know how difficult it can be to lead when you are viewed as an “outsider.” It’s crucial to establish trust and connection with your new colleagues quickly, but how?
Leaders who find themselves in this challenging position can look to a widely unknown example from the American Revolution for inspiration and guidance: Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, more commonly known as the Marquis de Lafayette.
The Sunday New York Times article on Amazon’s workplace culture has generated all kinds of buzz. Most commentators join the attack, while some defend Amazon’s practices. The stories are all over the map, from branding Amazon as an evil empire to describing its culture as one that’s apropos for an challenging entrepreneurial trail-blazer.
What are we to believe and what does this controversy say about the modern workplace?
