Leaders Embracing Change
/0 Comments/in Character, Leadership Qualities, Management Styles/by David TownChange is an everyday occurrence. You’ll find well-rounded leaders embracing change and having the ability to recognize the opportunities that change can bring and to “Realign Rigorously”. In order to do this, the leader needs to become a pro at innovation. And, that means never start with “it can’t be done.” What is needed, is the ability to create new mindsets, break the mold, think outside of the box and innovate. ‘Success comes in cans’ is a great play on words that contains profound truth.
People have many reasons for resisting change including: Read more
Strengthening Organizational Culture Improves Performance
/0 Comments/in Character, Leadership Principles, Leadership Qualities, Management Styles/by David TownIn their book “Corporate Culture and Performance” John Kotter and James Heskett provide valuable insights into the impact that a strong organizational culture has on the long term performance of the organization. Their conclusions reinforce a popular quote: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Although the original author of this quote is not clear (many think it was Peter Drucker) the importance of it is clear. It is much more difficult to make significant changes to organizational culture than to organizational strategy. To be an effective leader, you must ensure that the organizational culture and strategy are strengthened and aligned to ensure that employees will act as you hope and expect them to, particularly when the going gets tough. Read more
Life – Maintaining Balance and Managing Commitments
/0 Comments/in Character, Leadership Principles, Leadership Qualities, Management Styles, time management/by David TownHave you ever had one of those days where you know you worked really hard and didn’t feel like you achieved anything? It’s often referred to as spinning your wheels. This often happens because we over-commit and fail to make good choices or have difficult conversations in order to maintain balance in our schedule and in our lives.
I worked with a CEO who I really admired for his skill at managing commitments and knowing how to respond to multiple priorities and requests for his time. One particular incident stands out for me. We were in a strategic planning meeting and the CEO declared that he had to leave at 3:30 p.m. because his son was playing in the city finals of high school basketball. The executive team worked very diligently to finish the meeting on time. Unfortunately, the deadline arrived and we were not done. Read more