Keyword: Coaching & Mentoring

Why so many leaders try to delegate performance management

Ask any manager what they dislike most; they say it is having difficult conversations with team members who aren't achieving results. Managers freely admit that dealing with poor performance is a big weakness and that it can strike dread into their week. Every day, experienced and otherwise resolute people avoid addressing concerns with their colleagues. Strong leadership is not being shown where it is most needed.

CEOs want their senior team to 'be strategic'. Managers aren't being promoted until they 'become more strategic'.

Everyone would agree that leadership and strategy are desirable, but what does being strategic really mean? These buzzwords are mentioned daily at work but often misunderstood. Good leaders are offered little guidance on how to become more strategic and how this translates to day-to-day work.

The Bigger Picture

Although it is a management cliché, being able to see the bigger picture remains surprisingly difficult in the middle of a busy day. Tackling a specific issue whilst also observing the wider situation requires an agile mind.

Henry Mintzberg " (2009) "Managing" Berrett Koehler. USA

A well overdue tribute to the busy manager...

A midlife crisis is the classic explanation for feelings of frustration, irritability and futility, especially for mid career, 40' or 50' something, high performers. But this explanation is deeply inadequate and somewhat insulting for people who have always succeeded and aspired to make a difference. This article offers another interpretation of the midlife crisis, where uncomfortable feelings are seen as part of the development of greater leadership capacity.

A common challenge for leaders (and coaches of leaders) is talking too long. When we are passionate and knowledgeable, it can be easy to say too much and “go on about it”, sadly losing our audience and potential supporters. It can help to be reminded to tweak our communication skills, whether we are talking with one other person or with larger audiences. Becoming more aware can be all that is needed to have more impact.

If a leader asks three questions before meeting with others then executive impact will soar:

Professor David Lane has graciously allowed us to reprint this article he co-authored with Sarah Corrie.

I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s. (William Blake)

You should never belong totally to any cause or system. (John O’Donoghue)