Loyalty I have often wondered what breeds loyalty? Affiliation to political parties, supporting your local sports team, playing for the same club year after year, working for the same company, loyalty to the same brand of perfume and simply taking a person’s side are examples of loyalty that we exhibit all the time. Firstly, what …
Distinguish yourself Effective leaders follow a certain template whenever they take on a new assignment or lead a new team. I have witnessed firsthand some very successful leaders and found a pattern in how they start setting things in motion. They make a solid first impression. I have found ten behavioral aspects that distinguish effective …
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As you go through life and your career, every once in a while you will encounter some setbacks. They could set you back in your personal life, career, business and even health. Some are complicated and require a lot of courage and determination to overcome. Change management or self-development (“sharpening the saw”) is a critical …
Listening with Impact In Part 1 of “listening with impact” we saw two examples of how listening helps in gaining respect from people. In this part let’s start with the excellent interview by McKinsey with the CEO of Amgen, Kevin Sharer. Kevin advocates the quality of listening with only one objective, i.e. to “comprehend”. Unless you …
Listening Listening, both active and empathetic listening are important tools for effective leadership. Practicing and making listening a habit provides huge benefits, not limited to the following: a. It leaves a lasting impression on the other person b. By listening you make the other person feel respected c. Listening builds a certain level of trust, …
Two different styles The Pygmalion Effect comes from a branch of psychology, called Positive Psychology and essentially deals with expectation laid upon people. The concept can be used in influencing others’ behavior by changing your own. In simple terms, the higher the expectation from students, the better their performance. Teachers, by changing their behavior towards …
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Influence others A very important “collaborative” skillset to have is to ensure successful outcomes when you engage with people. Effective leaders are skilled at influencing others’ behavior by changing their own. This skill can be learned and practiced. I have done it and so can you. When I worked for State Bank of India more …
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Ambiguity In part 1 of this story, we read about an exemplary decision taken by Virginia Herold, of the California Board of Pharmacy. We continue with our analysis of the decision. Our analysis of the decision: As a leader, understanding when to stress for perfection and when to go ahead and do things is a …
Aiming for Perfection A key distinguishing skill of a leader is making decisions. Especially when clear, complete and valuable information is not available. More so, when your decision affects a large number of people or stakeholders. Even more so when the task is complex, scope is not within your control, has a long duration and …
What cannot be measured cannot be controlled. When you measure, you can control. When you can control, you can improve. Andrew Carnegie: One evening as the sun was setting and the workers had left for the day, Andrew Carnegie was walking past the finished steel storage area in the steel manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. He …
