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When Does Being a Jerk Matter?

person David Harper
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So we’re approaching the end of the year, the time when we reflect on what we’ve done during these past 330+ days and what lies ahead. If you’re a leader, you’ll likely also reflect on what your team has done during these past 330+ days and what lies ahead for them. In particular, you may ask yourself, “Do I have the team needed to accomplish our 2019 objectives?” And so, here are 3 quick questions…

Does Your Leadership Influence Travel at the Speed of Light?

person David Harper
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The James Webb Space Telescope In October 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.  According to NASA, “JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable…

Take 15 Minutes to Save Your Job

person David Harper
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Take 15 minutes, and save your job, your department, and possibly, your company. How? You won’t need your smartphone, laptop, phablet, email, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Periscope, text messaging, or IBM’s Watson for this. Just your head, a pen, a piece of paper, and 15 minutes. Now, think of the key roles in your team, department, and/or company. Got them? Good. Write them down in a column on the left hand…

Give Them the Gift of Experiences

person David Harper
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This past Christmas, my wife and I decided not to give gifts to each other. For previous Christmases, we each had said “no more gifts”, but one of us would ultimately violate the mandate and end up buying the other something. Well this year we each said, “No more gifts”, and we actually kept to it. Instead, we “gave” ourselves several dinners out, just the two of us, during the…

4 Key Behaviors for Frontline Leaders

person David Harper
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McKinsey has recently published research on key leader behaviors (particularly among frontline leaders) based on a global study of 180,000+ people from 81 countries.  Of 20 possible behaviors, 4 emerged as noteworthy, accounting for 89% of the variance between between strong and weak organizations in terms of leadership effectiveness.  The 4 behaviors are (not in rank order): Be supportive Operate with a strong results orientation Seek different perspectives Solve problems effectively. Although McKinsey…

Why Your Executive Coach is Overrated

person David Harper
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I recently Googled the term “executive coaching” and received nearly 1.5 million hits. Frankly, I was a bit surprised. I was expecting more, because it seems like everyone and their uncle and aunt is a coach these days. (Full disclosure: Count me in; I too have worked with numerous executives and managers, one-on-one, for periods ranging from several months to over a year.) The array of coaches is a bit…

Stop Playing to Your Strengths.

person David Harper
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Photo by Philip Kromer “It’s much easier to play to your strengths than to compensate for your weaknesses.” “You’ll go a whole lot further developing your strengths than developing your weaknesses.” “No one got promoted by improving a weakness; focus on your strengths.” And so it goes. The business literature is filled with articles and blog postings touting the value in playing to one’s strengths vs. developing or overcoming one’s…

Not Your Father’s War for Talent

person David Harper
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In the late 90’s, the War for Talent meant companies’ demand for capable employees outstripped the available supply, in part because the growth in the economy was accelerating demand.  Now, we still have a war for talent, but it’s due more to supply side issues, specifically a lack of supply, which is chilling, given our meager economic growth.  ACT, the college test company, recently reported “Only 39 percent of ACT-tested…

person David Harper
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Billy Beane became famous for his use of data-based decisions (or sabermetrics) in baseball.  It led to the 2003 book Moneyball by Michael Lewis, as well as the 2011 Oscar-nominated film starring Brad Pit by the same name.  You may not be  a manager of major league team or one of Hollywood’s leading actors, but you can at least make use of some fascinating statistics regarding leadership development.  Click here to learn…

Is this the beginning of the end of HR as we know it?

person David Harper
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Some companies are doing away with HR as we know it, and instead, are transferring HR’s responsibilities to managers.  Isn’t that what we want, managers who are more actively involved in and responsible for the development and management of their people?  Or is there a downside to this?  What do you think?  Read more here. Photo credit: Alex E. Proimos / Foter.com / CC BY
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