SPECTACULAR IDEAS AT WORK
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So many of my clients struggle to initiate, keep up with, or proactively plan for executive succession, and through my work, I have crystalized a perspective on the 5 biggest things that get in the way of impactful succession planning. This is a serious issue because the cost of avoiding your succession plan or getting it wrong can be potentially catastrophic to a business.
Managing Partner of Spectacular at Work adds to Mursion’s talented board of advisors focused on innovation and thought leadership.
If recent history has reinforced any message about our work, it’s that leadership matters.
For our own company, as well as our clients, Pride month gives us an opportunity to reflect on our leadership and whether we are doing enough to support our LGBTQ employees, colleagues, and clients.
A common theme has emerged in our work over the past few years, and it is not a positive trend: Younger employees who are smart, motivated, and have the potential and desire to do great work, are not looking up the corporate ladder with longing anymore. They want nothing to do with the work lives their bosses are living.
A lot has to come together for your true authentic self to be the effective, right choice for your organization and team. Recently, I’ve found myself in a few separate situations with clients, senior leaders from large organizations, where I’ve recommended that they do NOT bring their authentic selves to work.
When you’re the boss, effective communication with your team can be especially fraught. We all know the difficulties team members have telling their manager bad news or disagreeing with a senior executive at their company, even when it’s an important message the leader should hear.
We recently wrote a call to action for leaders: despite the challenges we are all facing at work, this is not the time to put employee development plans on hold. It is easy to think that with COVID-19, there is just too much going on to expect our employees to think about their development.
With the world in the state it is, this is an easy time for businesses to put off the things that aren’t mission-critical, and while we’re all adjusting to a new way of working, development has taken a back seat. Some may say that was inevitable, but we call B.S. on that. Making sure that your workforce—and especially your highest potential employees—continue to learn, grow, and get better at their jobs remains centrally important.
What is a not-so-warm leader to do in a time that requires a little more warmth and fuzz? We often take our clients through an exercise that has them identify where they find themselves on this chart, looking at the relationship between being results-focused and warmth-focused, and we have some ideas for how you can provide more connection and support in these uncertain times.
Like many of you, we are adjusting to a new normal here at Spectacular at Work as Chicago is a “shelter in place” locale since the start of the week. As we deal with the ramifications, we are also dealing with the professional fall-out. Being spectacular at work has rarely been so important
As a leader, it’s your job to get results with a team; to get the best from them and to make sure you have the best people from the start. To do that well, you have to think about inclusion, equity, accessibility, diversity, and the role they play in your team or organization. If you’re not, then you’re not doing your job as a leader.
What happens when you’re hired to be a change agent in a company that’s stuck in molasses.
CEO succession planning is not easy. Knowing what your company will face in the future, trying to prepare executives to run your company, and then selecting the best possible candidate from a group of internal contenders (and comparing them with highly qualified outsiders) is a truly complex challenge.
Performance management should be a core, on-going responsibility for all supervisors, managers, and leaders within an organization. Those professionals require the structure and protection of a thoughtfully designed, codified system for assessment, feedback, and reflection in order to do that work effectively and in a consistent, fair manner that holds up to outside scrutiny.
In my experience of being a boss, I’ve come to believe that most leaders are more concerned with being liked than being respected. What is driving your behavior as a leader?
We think we’re supposed to want to grab that Boss brass ring, because many our co-workers are clamoring to break out of the cube farm and earn the right to an office with an actual door. But what if the glamorized idea of leadership just isn’t for you? What’s a stellar individual contributor in a workplace that’s all about climbing the ladder, not contentedly camping out on the third rung, to do?
You probably know someone who has recently been on an “offsite” with their team or company; you might actually know a lot of someones who have. In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in the attention and dollars organizations are willing to spend on building a company culture in the right way, and offsites have become a popular way to help do just that.
Accountability is one of the biggest stressors we see leaders struggling with, from first-time managers to CEOs. Being a leader means getting results through other people, so how do you make sure your people are responsible and held accountable for their results, so you can be accountable for yours?
By now, you’ve probably heard: burnout is real. A word and a concept that’s permeated our culture is now an official diagnosis according to the World Health Organization.
One of the most daunting things about being a leader is that you’re almost always being watched by your team, and that it almost always matters– even when you think the stakes are low or there are no stakes at all. There are always stakes in leadership.
Still, the perks, confidence, and security that come with being a HI PO are pretty great. So, what does it take to become a high potential? Here’s a quick list that will get you back out there doing all of those things that will (hopefully) get you on that list.
It’s finally here: the Spectacular feedback model. The four steps you need to hit to frame your positive and negative feedback conversations.
Being a HI PO is a great thing for a career. It is a designation, more often made informally, that indicates who the company is betting on to become their future rock star. There is an expectation, or at least a hope, that these folks will eventually lead the company. Do you know if you’re considered a HI PO?
The person you are today, not the you that showed up on your first day.
As a new manager, it can be difficult to get the support, training, or onboarding you need. These tips will help you be successful as a new manager.
One of the hardest situations a manager can face is giving feedback to a person with a wildly inaccurate perception of their abilities or performance.
And This Is What To Do About It
Leaders fret about whether they have the talent they need to compete in the ever-changing market in which they play. This is one of those nagging concerns for CEOs. One of the reasons this concern doesn’t go away is many CEOs recognize that their company doesn’t have the talent management skills that enable a stable and predictable flow of quality leaders.
There are few things worse as the incumbent leader of a team than inheriting crappy team members because the leader before you had no spine.