The late James MacGregor Burns, Ph.D. wrote in his seminal 1978 book, Leadership, “If we know all too much about our leaders, we know far too little about leadership. We fail to grasp the essence of leadership that is relevant to the modern age and hence we cannot agree on the standards by which to measure, recruit, and […]
Category: Executive Effectiveness
A Ladder of Inference is Made of Values
How do we make sense? Researchers and scholars have been trying to understand how we make sense of our experiences for ages. Chris Argyris and Donald Schoen created the ladder of inference model to describe human decision-making. This model shows how we become consciously aware of available data and attribute meaning to that data, ultimately […]
Warning: This is a POOPy Post on Doing Your Business
“If you want to be the boss, you must deal with a lot of sh#t!” said my usually reserved Dad, who was then President of Dix Enterprises, Inc., a mid-sized athletic equipment reconditioning company. I worked with my Dad the month before I started graduate school, and I had asked him what it was like […]
Stop Trying to Fit In
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. Oscar Wilde There is a real problem with trying to fit into a role or corporate culture that is misaligned with your values. Fitting in takes more willpower than you have available. You cannot tap into your natural motivation to find the role satisfying. You cannot force yourself […]
Why Some People Hate Working Virtually
Jennifer, a Senior VP of a large corporation, slammed down her cellphone in frustration when she read the latest corporate email announcing their indefinite extension of virtual work from home privileges of most employees. What motivated Jennifer’s intense reaction to the announcement? Jennifer is one of the estimated 20% of humans who is naturally motivated […]
Effective Executives Are Power Providers
When I think of an effective executive, I think of a power block. An effective executive is plugged directly into the organization’s power current. They are the power providers for those connected to them. An effective executive is a surge protector for their team. They provides safety in storms to prevent those connected to them […]