Hierarchies have been taking a bad rap. The mantra for a number of years has been to ‘flatten’ the organizations. Hierarchies were not only seen as inefficient, but worse: as a mechanism for the out-dated belief that leaders must ‘control from the top down’. In place of hierarchies, flat organization advocates argued for a more […]
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Why are some people more open to change and others instinctively resistant to anything that significantly alters the status quo? The key is often in an individual’s basic attitude toward change. Some people will default to an unfavourable, negative attitude toward change that leads to resistance, while others have within them a favourable positive attitude […]
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There are three key contexts driving the need for ‘inclusive leadership’: 1. Globalization Increasing globalization demands a new global mind-set from leaders, team members and organizations. The ability to engage with people from different cultural, social and educational backgrounds, is an essential skill for any leader. For multinational corporations developing business in emerging economies, the […]
Read More… from Inclusive Leadership: Aligning the Different
Leaders drive the process of organizational learning and adaptation by providing time and space, granting the freedom to explore and fail, and by encouraging those around them to look at things in new ways. This research examines the characteristics of a core set of leadership relationships, providing insights to help leaders reflect on their own […]
Creating positive societal and environmental impact whilst retaining competitiveness has become an increasingly popular concept for companies in recent years—also known as ‘creating shared value.’ A term first coined by Harvard Business School’s Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer in 2011, creating shared value refers to policies and practices that enhance the competiveness of […]
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The use of reference points — for example, a monthly sales quota of 20 sales — is at the heart of reference-dependent behavioural economic theories, the most influential being “prospect theory.” According to prospect theory, an outcome is evaluated based on a reference point. Failure to achieve the reference point (19 sales instead of 20) […]
It sounds so obvious. It is obvious. But far too few managers actually do it. We are talking about the most basic of leadership tasks – spending as much time as possible working closely with their direct reports and other employees for whom they are responsible. By so doing, they will have a far greater […]
Read More… from Back to Leadership Basics: Make Time for Your Team
Virtual teams, made necessary by globalization and possible by technology, are now common in business. They’ve taken over traditional functions such as procurement, manufacturing, IT and finance, as well as newer activities such as global supply chain and global service delivery. They’re often assembled for new-product development and R&D. And they’re increasingly found at the […]
Traditionally, research on leadership development has put behavioural competencies under the spotlight; training, coaching, on-the-job experiences and mentoring are all intended to facilitate the development of these behaviours. But are these models too simplistic and incomplete for today’s complex business environment? In a White Paper published by the Center for Creative Leadership, Marian N. Ruderman, […]
Read More… from An Holistic Approach to Leadership Development
While a sense of humour can be an effective leadership tool, it depends on how that humour is used. Humour that targets or belittles followers undermines the leader’s influence. On other hand, humour that is self-deprecating can increase the connection between a leader and his or her followers. Self-deprecating humour is especially potent for transformational […]
Read More… from How Transformational Leaders Use Self-deprecating Humour
