Greg Acton shares an evergreen post on setting your goals in leadership to ensure effective, and not merely expected, results. The capstone ROTC class is titled, simply, “Leadership.”  Mine was taught in 1998 by CAPT J.A. Fischbeck, a nuclear-trained former skipper of the USS La Jolla (SSN 701) and later the director of the Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory. Our final exam was to write an essay on the topic “Do you get what you inspect, or expect?”  I chose the…

David A. Fields shares an article designed to make your day (and maybe your life) a little better with tips on how to be happier as a consulting firm leader. “You don’t have to run a consulting firm, you know. You could return to a corporate role or enter an entirely different profession like law, accounting or dairy farming. If you’re going to lead a consulting practice, consulting should make you happy. Just sayin’. Most consultants I encounter seem to…

Susan Drumm shares a podcast from the Enlightened Executive series on maintaining self-control and being an effective team leader. “What skills are most important in being an effective leader? Is it the ability to inspire? The ability to be innovative or master strategic decision-making? Jim Hotaling believes that while all these attributes matter greatly, they’re nothing without the skill of resilience. Jim previously served as Commander in Chief Master Sergeant of the Air National Guard, advising senior executives within the…

Darryl Stickel shares an evergreen article that is designed to help leaders build trust by examining the role that our emotions play in our decisions to trust. Both love and hate are blind. The vast majority of the existing literature on trust takes a rational actor perspective. That means the authors assume people are always reasonable and rational, and the work focuses on the cognitive process that takes place when we decide to trust someone. If you’ve ever dated someone…

Umbrex is pleased to welcome Gisela Linge with Strategy Meets Reality.  Gisela Linge spent three years as Director Corporate Strategy & Development at a leading global automotive supplier and has been working as an independent consultant since 2019. Prior to her Strategy role, she was as a team leader in Product Management and Strategic Procurement at BMW and started her career after her PhD in economics at McKinsey, where she became part of the operations practice, focusing on Procurement projects….

Susan Drumm shares the latest episode from her podcast series, The Enlightened Executive. In this episode, she interviews CEO Ben Lytle on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  The Fourth Industrial Revolution is coming, bringing technological advancements we can’t imagine. How can you prepare yourself to stay ahead in this ever-changing digital world? Ben Lytle is a successful CEO and serial entrepreneur. He has launched five companies, including two currently on the New York Stock Exchange. His best-known company, Anthem, is number…

Greg Acton shares a podcast where he discusses problem solving and leadership with Steve Caldwell at Manager Mojo. While leadership entails guiding people in the direction of success, it also requires the ability to look at problems and seek solutions. How you frame those problems can have much to do with the solution arrived at. Mark Twain once said, “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know, it’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”…

  Barry Horwitz identifies why it is important to address the predisposition to the positive and how it often arrests the growth and improvement of the company.  Back in the early 90s, I joined the senior management team of a regional retail chain. I was new to the company and had moved there from out of town. The rest of the leadership team was made up of longstanding executives — people who had been there for years (in some cases,…

  Sean McCoy shares a concise post from his company blog that identifies six levers to influence behavior. Our third article in a series about incentives. Incentives are powerful levers for business leaders to change behavior. Sadly, incentives are often under-utilized and mis-used tools. Employee behaviors are a crucial element to every aspect of a business. In some regards, the only way to implement a CEO’s strategy is to change behaviors. If behaviors are not changing, plans are not being…

  David Hensley shares a post on management that looks at the socio-political environment, the capabilities of the leader, and the alignment of the organisations’ people, policies and systems as the basis for the development of three paradigms. We’ve observed – as we’re sure you have – that different managers and leaders have very different management/leadership styles. And that those styles don’t always fit the expectations of their organisations. We’ve also noted that whilst the miscommunication and dysfunctionality that a…

  David Edelman explains how the foundations of Theater provide powerful tools for leaders to connect, motivate, and deliver during times of constant dramatic change.  When a theater is empty, the tradition is to keep a lone bulb lit on the stage — a ghost light — really for safety, but superstitiously to keep away the bad spirits lurking in the building. Sadly, most theaters right now are lit merely by their ghost bulb, but in the absence of action…

  In this article, Robyn M. Bolton provides a few practical steps that can be taken to help build and improve innovation in the workplace.  According to a 2018 survey by NPR and The Marist Poll, the most common New Year’s resolution is to exercise more.  Not surprisingly, losing weight and eating a more healthy diet ranked third and further, respectively (“stop smoking” was #2, in case you’re curious). Hitting the gym to drop weight and build muscle is a…

  Set sail with Chris Rooney as he explains what a bosun is and why your business needs one.  The Bosun is the deck boss of a ship, also known as the “Chief of the Boat.”  The most experienced and trustworthy operator, they have charted the world and mastered every role.  They are the human conduit through which the vision of the Captain becomes realized action and the patient teacher by which an inexperienced crew can become an exceptional, effective…

  Discover thirteen ways to improve leadership on the shop floor in this older, but always relevant, post from John Sturdivant.  Frontline operations leaders have a tough job, and I’ve seen huge ranges in styles and effectiveness. The best leaders are caring, but know when to be tough. They have their priorities straight, and say no to everything else. They have invested time and effort into building an infrastructure for team performance. And most importantly, they have mutual trust with…

  Robyn M. Bolton provides key tips that you can take to motivate corporate executives into action.  Things we know we should do because they’re good for us: Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day Floss twice a day Get 10,000 steps a day Buy insurance Consistently invest in innovation Let’s be honest, the above list could also be titled, “Things we know we should do but don’t.” Why?  Why do we choose not to do things that…

  Priyanka Ghosh shares a case study on the steps taken to address a slump in the business cycle combined with frictions in the Leadership Team. SITUATION The Middle-Eastern unit of global energy company was facing a challenging period due to a slump in the business cycle combined with frictions in its Leadership Team. As the Middle East business had grown, the Leadership Team had expanded to reflect the broader set of service lines and increased levels of functional support….

  Caroline Taich shares how to make the mindset shift from uncertain operator to confident corporate leader. Dave was one of my first clients as a management consultant. He was in a rotational leadership program at the regional utility. He became the leader of procurement for the construction services category overnight – without any training or preparation. My job was to guide him through the procurement process to identify cost savings. Dave was taking a risk. In this new role,…

  Leadership is not a one-size-fits all position. Every leader adopts a different style based on their strengths, passions, and talents. Bernie Heine provides a process that can help you understand your strengths and leverage the overlap of passion and talent. The Zone of Leadership explained Get INTO Your Leadership Zone. What are YOU really good at? What are you passionate about? We are talking here about knowing yourself, knowing what’s really important to you, what you do very well,…

  Aneta Key shares a short message that shines a light into the importance of leaders spending valuable time on scenario planning, and how following military training can guide business strategies.  It is important for leadership teams to regularly work through scenarios across time horizons.  Strategic decision-making is at the core of leadership and is what Aneta Key facilitates among clients. It is also one of the core areas explored in the GrowthKey leadership development programs. This question is a…

  Dan Markovitz shares a new video series on the root cause of CEO overwhelm and provides a downloadable PDF on why the best CEOs don’t feel overwhelmed.  As many of you know, I conducted a study of CEO overwhelm this winter. It wasn’t entirely surprising that CEOs (and other leaders) who embraced lean habits and principles in their work felt less overwhelmed by the demands on their time and attention.  In the study, I made a few brief suggestions…

  Geoff Wilson provides a reality check and a sage reminder to plant your feet firmly on the ground when looking to the future.    Times of crisis require a change of perspective and a call to action. So, here we are, weeks into a bizarre world of isolation, uncertainty, and pain.  If one thing is likely, it’s that after weeks of responsiveness, you may now start to see real signs of resignation and capitulation.  But, you may also see…

  Leadership has its own set of unique challenges during times of crises; Luiz Zorzella provides a post that identifies a few of the common obstacles faced and how to overcome them. During a crisis, we are all pushed to make strategic, life-changing decisions. Often we need to make these decisions under a lot of uncertainty and with incomplete and faulty information. Below, I review some of my favourite cognitive biases with a couple of examples of how they may…

  Geoff Wilson asks you to take a moment to look to the future and determine the impact of the legacy you want to leave.  We all leave a legacy of some sort. Ryan Newman’s survival of NASCAR’s worst wreck ever highlights the contrasts of passive and active legacies. Do you know the legacy you are leaving with your business, team, or organization? It’s surprising how little this topic actually gets highlighted when managers and executive teams focus on their…

Thinking about kicking off the New Year with the goal of transitioning from senior to executive leadership? Stephen Redwood provides advice on how to achieve the goal.    When coaching clients I am often asked the question: what do I need to know to make the transition from being an already experienced leader to being effective as an executive leader It’s an interesting, and sometimes surprising, question given that they will already have years of experience as leaders. I believe…