Management Archives

The 5 Common Fears That Come With Leadership

What do leaders fear the most? What are their top insecurities? Leaders may seem invincible but they are also prone to fears and insecurities. In their book The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, leadership experts Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, and Ronald Heifetz point out five main fears that come with leadership: 1) disappointing people, 2) incompetence, 3) hard decisions, 4) failure, and 5) exhaustion. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the five toughest leadership fears.

To Overcome Resistance to Change, Appeal to Identity

Are you the kind of person who puts a lot of effort into making sure things stay as they are? Do you resist change? When you need to overcome resistance to change, it can help to appeal to identity—what kind of person someone is, what they value, and how they make decisions. You need to either align your proposed change with someone’s identity or align their identity with your proposed change. Keep reading to learn how to cultivate identity to overcome resistance to change.

Commander’s Intent: The Key to Effective Messaging

What is Commander’s Intent? How can using the commander’s intent principle help you communicate more effectively? The Army adopted the concept of “Commander’s Intent” in the 1980s. It refers to a concise statement that lays out the goal or intended outcome, allowing people to react to changing circumstances as they pursue a clear goal. You can use this concept to pinpoint the essence of a message that you want to communicate effectively to others. Read more to learn about Commander’s Intent and its application.

Biased Decision-Making: Don’t Let Distortions Decide

What constitutes biased decision-making? Are you guilty of it? We all tend to let our biases influence our decisions. While we can’t completely eliminate distorted beliefs, we can get better at managing bias—and keep biased decision-making at bay. Read more to learn how to recognize and mitigate biased decision-making.

The Role of Action Triggers in Habit Formation

What are action triggers? How can they help with habit formation? We set up action triggers to prompt particular actions. For example, when you’re drinking your first cup of tea in the morning (trigger), you create your goals for the day (action). Setting up action triggers to prompt desirable behavior is foundational in forming habits. Keep reading to learn how to use action triggers to facilitate habit formation.

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Quotes

Are you looking for The Practice of Adaptive Leadership quotes? What are some of the most noteworthy passages worth revisiting? In their book The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, leadership experts Ronald A. Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky teach you how to lead your organization through the difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous process of adaptation. Below is a selection of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership quotes with explanations.

The 5 Company Capabilities That Lead to Success

Creating Company Capabilities That Enable Success

What are company capabilities? How do you build company capabilities? Company capabilities are the resources and competencies a company needs to succeed better than its competitors. You build core business capabilities through customer research, innovation, branding, and an effective product-to-consumer strategy. Read more about how to build company capabilities that are vital for marketplace success.

Effective Change Management: 3 Ways to Make It Stick

Why is change so hard? How can you make change stick and keep moving forward? Getting people to change is only half the battle. You also need to make sure that change lasts. Effective change management relies on reinforcing behavior, giving change time, and recognizing the pattern that change follows. Learn about the three keys to effective change management.

How to Create Your Company’s Winning Aspiration

What is a company’s winning aspiration? Why must a company play to win? A winning aspiration is a statement of what success in the marketplace will look like to a company. Companies must always play to win because it is very difficult to win if you are only trying to compete. Companies that simply try to compete are at risk of being driven out by more aggressive competitors. Read more about the meaning and importance of having a winning aspiration for your company.

Patrick Lencioni: The 3 Key Qualities of a Team Player

How important is a teamwork culture in your organization? What do qualities do you look for when hiring for your teams? What do you think makes a good team player? Many leaders and organizations say they want teamwork, but they can’t define what they mean by a team player or prioritize identifying team players in their hiring process. Patrick Lencioni wrote The Ideal Team Player to answer this very question: what makes a good team player? In this article, you’ll learn about the three qualities of a team player, according to author Patrick Lencioni.