Leadership Skills

For any CxO or company seeking to adopt or scale Agile for their software development groups – get ready for some organizational soul searching! The mindset and processes of Agile reflect back your culture, your enacted (not espoused) Theory of Management, and the structural inefficiencies of your org chart…and these are just the beginning! Culture …

As a coach to ambitious, pro-active leaders, I often find they quickly embrace change themselves but don’t know how to bring along their colleagues or staff. So how do you get everyone on board the change train that is gaining speed and heading out of the station? In Seven Truths about Change to Lead and …

ew facilitators truly understand the power of the pen. When facilitators don't record what participants say or when facilitators record their own words and not the words of the participants, we are abusing the power of the pen. Abuse of the pen can very easily lead to participants dropping out, participants arguing with the facilitator, and participants not buying into the overall result. How does the facilitator prevent abuse of the power of the pen? Here are two ways:

Figuring out what your people want can feel like an intricate puzzle especially when different employees require different things. However, there are basic things that most employees want from their boss. At a recent workshop, I asked people: “What makes a great boss – someone who can lead and motivate you”? Here’s what they said …

Many times my executive coaching clients express frustration because others do not meet their expectations. When you set clear agreements at the beginning of a project or new work relationship, you can avoid pitfalls and misunderstandings. Here are some questions to help you set clear agreements in an effective and collaborative “coach approach” manner. What? …

How perfect is your memory? When you leave a group meeting, do you walk away remembering everything discussed and decided? If not, keep that pen and pad with you. And, if you're the one facilitating meetings, it's especially important for you to record the results of the meeting to keep the group's commitment and follow-through. Meeting notes are more important than you think, and in fact, looking beyond just meeting minutes, facilitators need to be responsible for the meeting documentation. The documentation from a facilitated session serves as the official record of the results of the meeting. So, how do you know what to record?

I have facilitated Action Learning groups for several decades and taught others to facilitate, as well. While there are numerous pitfalls that action learning facilitators can fall into, here are some of the most common, especially among new facilitators. Each of the pitfalls can detract from the participation and responsibilities of members in the Action …