leadership skills

Corporate CPR Episode 130: How Leaders Neglecting Strategic Skills Might Be Killing Your Company

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how leaders neglecting strategic skills might be killing your company.

Rich Horwath, founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, helps executive teams enhance their strategic capabilities. He is the bestselling author of eight books, including “STRATEGIC: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence.” Rich has assisted over a quarter million leaders in developing strategic thinking skills, with his work featured in Fast Company, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review. He has appeared on major TV networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX.

Key Discussion Points:

  • A consistent definition of strategy is crucial. Without a shared understanding, organizations waste time and resources. Strategy is the intelligent allocation of limited resources through a unique system of activities to achieve goals.
  • Establish clear planning horizons: short-term (quarterly), mid-term (annual), and long-term (three years). Ensure everyone in the organization understands and aligns their efforts with these time frames. Include specific milestones to track progress and adjust strategies as needed.
  • Engage in ongoing strategic thinking to gather insights and adapt plans. Use frameworks like business model innovation to foster creative thinking. Regularly revisit and adjust strategies through quarterly tune-ups. Maintain strong communication and collaboration across all organizational levels to ensure alignment and agility.
  • As Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, emphasizes, the key to effective time management is carving out time to think strategically rather than constantly reacting. This practice should be non-negotiable, with leaders dedicating at least 90 minutes weekly to high-level business thinking and 60 minutes with their teams to focus on strategic issues, not operational or tactical matters.
  • Strategic thinking sessions must have structure. Leaders should consider three main areas: the external environment (market, customers, competitors), the internal environment (culture, strategy, processes, systems, people), and innovation (emerging customer needs and future value). This structured approach ensures comprehensive analysis and forward-looking strategies that prevent obsolescence.
  • Team meetings should avoid monologues and status updates. Instead, focus on discussing key business challenges and making decisions. Prior to meetings, teams should share two-page action plans and come prepared with critical questions and issues to address. This approach maximizes the productivity and strategic value of team gatherings.

Top Takeaways for the Audience:

The Three A’s:

  1. Acumen: Always seek insights and learnings from every interaction, whether it’s a meeting, email, or casual conversation. Consistently ask, “What’s the insight here?” and make it a habit to record these learnings. This continuous accumulation of knowledge enhances strategic acumen.
  2. Allocation: Effective strategy involves deciding what not to do as much as what to do. Regularly evaluate and cut off activities that do not contribute to strategic goals. This disciplined approach ensures resources and attention are focused on high-impact areas.
  3. Action: Develop and maintain a concise, actionable plan (one to two pages) that guides strategic initiatives. Engage in ongoing, interactive conversations with your team throughout the year to refine and execute this plan, rather than relying solely on annual planning sessions. This fosters agility and responsiveness to changing conditions.

These three A’s—acumen, allocation, and action—provide a practical framework for sustained strategic thinking and effective execution.

How to Connect with Rich:

Website: https://www.strategyskills.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richhorwath/

Corporate CPR Episode 129: How Sticking to an Outdated Leadership Style Might Be Killing Your Company

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how not adjusting your leadership style for today’s people might be killing your company.

Graham Wilson specializes in helping top business leaders reach their full potential through advanced leadership techniques, simplifying complex concepts with his proven toolkit. His expertise spans leadership, strategy, innovation, change management, and elite team development. Having developed over 85,000 leaders, he is trusted by global organizations for his practical guidance and team-building abilities. With a background in the British Army and commercial experience at Dupont, Graham founded Successfactory over 26 years ago, witnessing firsthand how effective leadership drives extraordinary results.

Key Discussion Points:

  • Leaders must adapt to a rapidly changing world where traditional management can’t provide all the answers.
  • Effective leadership requires balancing clear direction, autonomy, and continuous performance conversations rather than outdated practices like annual appraisals.
  • Building a leadership culture involves setting clear organizational values, aligning behaviors with those values, and fostering trust by avoiding self-interest and inconsistency.
  • Leaders need to transition from traditional practices like annual appraisals and rigid KPIs to more agile and collaborative approaches that reflect the current business environment. Emphasizing cross-functional teams and breaking down silos can enhance organizational effectiveness.
  • It’s crucial to educate and mentor new graduates and employees not just on the immediate job skills but on the broader context of the business environment. Encouraging a mindset of giving before receiving, fostering empathy, and developing a thinking and problem-solving approach can prepare them for leadership roles.
  • Understanding that people are motivated by different factors, including purpose, autonomy, and mastery, is essential. Organizations should focus on creating an employee value proposition that attracts and retains talent by ensuring fair compensation and promoting a purpose-driven culture that aligns with employees’ values.

Top Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Speed Up by Slowing Down: Take the time to think and reflect before acting. Being efficient and effective requires thoughtful consideration to ensure you’re doing the right things, not just doing things right.
  2. Self-Awareness and Authentic Leadership: To lead others effectively, you must first understand and lead yourself. Delve into your values, beliefs, and strengths. This self-awareness forms the foundation of authentic leadership.
  3. Play to Your Strengths: Focus on environments and roles where your strengths can shine. You can compensate for weaknesses with support from others, but leveraging your strengths leads to greater satisfaction and success. Remember to align your work with what gives you a fulfilling life, continually reassessing and adapting as your circumstances evolve.

How to Connect with Graham:

Website: https://www.grahamwilson.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leadershipwizard/

Corporate CPR Episode 127: How Perfectionism Might be Killing Your Company

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how perfectionism might be killing your company.

Jessica Osborn is passionately committed to building and developing global teams that deliver exceptional business outcomes with a human-first, growth mindset. She has successfully coached over 27 team members into leadership and cross-functional roles aligned with their career goals. Recognized for her contributions to company culture leadership, Jessica has received awards for exceeding net and gross retention with multi-million-dollar SaaS account portfolios across various verticals. An expert in improving customer journeys, lifecycle management processes, and product development through customer feedback and data, Jessica is also a thought leader in Customer Success. She has shared her insights at numerous industry events, including Success Fest Austin (2023) and Success Fest Vegas (2022).

Key Discussion Points:

  • Impact of Perfectionist Leadership: A perfectionist leader can set high standards that may lead to an environment of fear and isolation if mistakes are not tolerated. This can result in anxiety and paralysis within the team, hindering productivity and collaboration.
  • Difference Between Quality and Perfectionism: Quality involves setting and communicating clear standards and expectations. In contrast, perfectionism demands flawlessness, often leading to excessive time spent on tasks and potentially never completing them due to fear of imperfection.
  • Encouraging a Healthy Culture: Successful organizations foster an environment where failure is seen as a learning opportunity rather than a catastrophe. This involves clear objectives, open communication, reflection on failures, and flexibility to pivot when necessary, creating a more agile and innovative team dynamic.
  • Embrace Vulnerability: Leaders who admit their mistakes foster trust and learning. For instance, GoCardless CEO Heroki’s openness about his failures garnered a positive response from employees.
  • Promote a Growth Mindset: A growth mindset encourages viewing failures as learning opportunities, fostering resilience and creativity. In contrast, a fixed mindset leads to blame and stagnation.
  • Balance Ambition with Empathy: Drive teams towards goals while understanding their challenges. Supportive environments prevent burnout and maintain morale through team-building and celebrating both wins and learning moments.

Top Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Evaluate whether you and your team have a growth or fixed mindset. Identify one action to foster a growth mindset.
  2. Set a tone where it’s okay to fail. Introduce a “wins and oops” segment in meetings to normalize and learn from mistakes.
  3. Share something personal with your team to build trust. Challenge yourself to be open and honest about your own experiences.

How to Connect with Jessica:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicareserosborn/

Which Is Better: A Manager or a Leader?

/ Jana / Leave a comment

It’s time to do away with the archaic manager vs. leader dichotomy! The comparison was developed in a time where we didn’t really understand what leadership was. A time when bosses were autocratic, and people worked more to provide for their family and less for personal fulfillment. Now we get it. We understand the concepts of management and leadership. Staying in this mindset is limiting. It causes people to say things like, “I’m a manager. I don’t need to be a leader,” or, “Since I’m a leader, I shouldn’t be doing these management pieces.” It’s time to move our thoughts away from a discrete manager/leader model to a management spectrum and leadership spectrum.

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