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Leading the Dynamic between Uncertainty and Understanding

In 1996 I was working in Germany for a large pharmaceutical company. One of my areas of responsibility was the decision analysis process that determined the probability of success for the drugs we were developing. The goal of the exercise was to make a decision based on the certainty of a predicted outcome. Sound familiar? …

How not to change a safety culture

Today’s Wall Street Journal reported the story of the progress BP is making in re-characterizing its culture in the aftermath of the April 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. According to the Journal, new CEO Bob Dudley has created a new global safety division at BP, a company that also suffered a 15-fatality refinery explosion in Texas …

Training Assessments: Personality Counts

Personality theory and tests are useful also for management, recruitment, selection, training and teaching, on which point see also the learning styles theories on other pages such as Kolb’s learning styles, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and the VAK learning styles model. — Personality Theories, Types and Tests at www.businessballs.com Believe it or not personality really does …

Is your Light Under a Bushel or Shining Brightly?

This week is the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) celebrated as Candlemas in the Catholic tradition, Imboc in the Celtic tradition. It marks a time when the days get noticeably longer and there is preparation for spring. Perhaps you’ve seen more …

Power Networking: How Well Do You Do It?

Relationships are the bread of career life. So make and break bread with others. In times of change, contacts are the sources of information, opportunity and even power. Don’t let your everyday responsibilities isolate you from others. Move out from behind your desk. Move around in a variety of circles. Move quickly, eat hardy and …

Leadership and the Quest for Meaning

Gurnek Bains and his colleagues at YSC Consulting have written a book called Meaning Inc: The Blueprint for Business Success in the Twenty First Century. In it they argue that it is critical for leaders to create organizational cultures that have meaning and are meaningful for team members. This blog entry looks at the four primary challenges (or qualities) that the authors believe leaders will face in their attempts to create meaningful work cultures.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Based on five dysfunctions of a team Patrick Lencioni pinpoints the issue of building a great team and group behavior. “Team building is not complicated”, declares Lencioni, president of his own management consulting firm and author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Watch the short video below hear Patrick’s great advice:

Credible Board Leadership

Leadership development is an important aspect of the director role, and not just something that is recommended for executives. All directors should review their own leadership skills from time to time and determine what and how to improve.

Choosing the Words of Strategy

The strategist is one who is concerned about the future of his or her personal, family or organizational life, and spends time and thought considering the best possible direction upon which to set forth. Yes, this makes us all strategists. Strategy is, simply, chosen direction. Smaller, perhaps, than the mission or purpose of an individual, …