Positive Leadership: Why Women Make Better Business Leaders

Positive Leadership: Why Women Make Better Business Leaders

Positive Leadership: Women Should be as Ambitious as Men

Tory Burch says women entrepreneurs should find their passion and be just as ambitious as men. She founded the Tory Burch fashion label in 2004. Her clothing line is now carried in more than 800 stores worldwide. She also heads the Tory Burch Foundation, which offers mentorship opportunities to women entrepreneurs and provides micro-loans to women-owned businesses. 

Positive Leadership: Women Should be as Ambitious as Men

Positive Leadership: Integrity is the Most Important Characteristic of Leadership

‘Integrity is the basis of trust. It is one quality that can’t be acquired. It must be earned.’ Warren Bennis

Corporate ethics has to be more than a buzzword or a slogan. A culture of integrity can be a major corporate asset with a value as great as a company's trademarks, patents, or brand name.  

Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, leads the most aggressive and successful criminal prosecutors office in the United States specialising in white collar crimes. He has led the insider trading prosecutions of Raj Rajaratnam, the head of a major hedge fund, and Rajat Gupta, former head of McKinsey and Company, and has never lost a criminal insider trading prosecution. His office has also prosecuted major Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, and securities fraud cases, and has a particularly intimate view of the benefits of integrity as a valuable business asset. 

(For the full speech, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTv3e5iZNOM )

Positive Leadership: Integrity is the Most Important Characteristic of Leadership

Positive Leadership

Positive Leadership

Positive Leadership: Turning a Goal into a Question

Turning a challenge statement into a challenge question consistently turns the finger of responsibility away from others and back to ourselves. Someone “out there” is no longer responsible for solving the problem. Instead, someone “in here,” me, is responsible for making change happen.

The mere act of translation ratchets up a sense of personal responsibility for identifying and implementing a solution to a problem.

Try it!

Positive Leadership: Turning a Goal into a Question

Positive Leadership: Reaffirming Your Core Values Helps You Perform Better

People who thought deeply about their most important personal values committed 44% fewer errors in a button-pushing task than others, says a research team led by Lisa Legault of Clarkson University. Self-affirmation appears to alert people to their mistakes, allowing them to improve performance. Past research has shown that self-affirmation also offsets the ill effects of mental depletion and boosts self-control.

Positive Leadership: Reaffirming Your Core Values Helps You Perform Better

Positive Leadership: What Makes Apple Great

‘Apple has changed every day since I have been here. But the DNA of the company, the thing that makes our heart beat, is a maniacal focus on making the best products in the world. Not good products, or a lot of products, but the absolute best products in the world. In creating these great products we focus on enriching people’s lives—a higher cause for the product. These are the macro things that drive the company. They haven’t changed. They’re not changing. I will not witness or permit those changes because that’s what makes the company so special….Creativity and innovation are something you can’t flowchart out……Everybody in our company is responsible to be innovative…..We want diversity of thought. We want diversity of style. We want people to be themselves. It’s this great thing about Apple. You don’t have to be somebody else. You don’t have to put on a face when you go to work and be something different. But the thing that ties us all is we’re brought together by values. We want to do the right thing. We want to be honest and straightforward. We admit when we’re wrong and have the courage to change. And there can’t be politics. I despise politics. There is no room for it in a company…….I think we have a responsibility to make products that have a greater good in them……………we want to provide a product that changes people’s lives in some way.’ 

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple (From a BloombergBusinessweek interview) 

Positive Leadership: What Makes Apple Great

Positive Leadership: Influencing Up

David L. Bradford shares his top tips on how to influence your boss and overcome power gaps in his new book "Influencing Up". Bradford is the Eugene O'Kelly II senior lecturer in leadership (emeritus) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Allan R. Cohen of Babson College co-wrote the book. 

Learn more about "Influencing Up" : http://www.influencewithoutauthority.com

Positive Leadership: Influencing Up

Positive Leadership: Advice for Leaders Under 30

Positive Leadership: Advice for Leaders Under 30

Positive Leadership: Leading in a Crisis

“You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible.” ~ Anton Chekhov

Those who excel under fire do so because: 

• They have the right values and beliefs. Great leaders live by a set of principles that guide them when the need arises. 
• They are inherently courageous. There is not an absence of fear, but management of it. Anyone who has overcome intense fright will tell you that there isn’t a better ‘rush’. 
• They are prepared. Their organisations are disciplined to assess threats and map out ways to deal with the crisis when it occurs. The CEO has to believe this day will come, and when it does, the company will be prepared to cope from the moment the crisis occurs to the point that recovery procedures begin. 
• They know how to communicate. Getting the right ideas into the heads of others is paramount. In the case of a recall or an environmental disaster, the first concern is public safety, not the financial interest of the shareholders. 
• They live and breathe the company culture. If the culture is right, the decision-making is much easier.

Positive Leadership: Leading in a Crisis

Positive Leadership: Happiness

Positive Leadership: Happiness

Positive Leadership: The Power of 'Thank You!'

Thank You!

There are two powerful words every leader needs to learn, know and use daily.  It doesn’t matter whether you lead a group of 2 or 200, these two words will change your team and the culture of your organisation.

When you express these words, generosity flows.  When you fail to use these words, it can send a negative message.  Its absence says, “I can accomplish the vision without you.  You don’t necessarily matter.  You are not essential.”

A leader is only as good as her people.  Just like a great coach is only as good as his players.  Do your players know you appreciate them?  Do they know without them nothing gets accomplished?

Thank you can change your team.  It can change the way your people come to work every day.  Your success is built on the hard work of others.  That’s a fact.  It’s true for every leader.

Are you grateful for their contribution and efforts? More important, do they know it?

Thank you helps a leader create a generous and grateful culture.  Everyone wants to be appreciated.  Everyone wants to know they matter.  Anyone can issue a salary cheque.  People want to know they make a difference.

Leaders set the tone and culture of an organisation.  If you want to have a generous and grateful culture, learn to say thank you often.  It’s free and has a huge ROI.

People don’t read minds.  If you don’t tell them they are appreciated, they may assume you don’t.  True or not, it carries a negative impact.

Five Simple Ways to Say Thank You

1. Details count.  Be specific with your thank you.  If you want impact, it’s in the details.  Don’t be vague and generic.  Be specific as to what they did and how it impacted the team, department or organisation.  Let them know you are grateful for their contribution and effort.

2. Let the public know.  When you give a “thank you” and praise in public, you create loyalty.  Your team will go through a wall for you.  Bragg about them in public and mean it.  It can have more impact than a monetary reward.

3. Be true and authentic.  If the “thank you” is not sincere, it doesn’t matter.  It has to be honest.  It can’t be over used and fake.  People will see through unauthentic praise.  It will have a negative impact.

4. Write it down.  People love to get encouraging notes.  Keep blank note cards in your desk or close by.  Every week, write someone on your team a thank you note.  Take a few minutes and write out a note.  Be specific and let them know what they did, how hard they work and what it means to the organisation.

5. Equal opportunity.  Your “thank you’s” need to reach the front lines.  The people who create and impact the bottom line.  Go deep down the organisational chart with the thank you.  It’s not just for high-level employees.  Practice equal opportunity praise.  Everyone makes a difference and helps you achieve your vision.  Let all of them know it.

There is tremendous power in thank you.  Create a culture of generosity and gratitude.  You are only as good as your people. They need to know it!

Positive Leadership: The Power of 'Thank You!'

Positive Leadership: What We Can Do To Help You

Positive Leadership Limited 2013 from Graham Watson

Positive Leadership: What We Can Do To Help You

Positive Leadership: The Ultimate Measure of a Man

Positive Leadership: The Ultimate Measure of a Man

Positive Leadership: Illusions of Success

Positive Leadership: Illusions of Success

Positive Leadership: Success Secrets

'Show up, speak up, look up, team up, dont give up, lift others up.'

From the power of presence to the power of voice, leadership expert Rosabeth Moss Kanter describes how to navigate through the process of making a difference in the world.

Harvard professor Kanter describes lining up partnerships, managing the miserable middles of change, and sharing success with others. She tells stories of great leaders and ordinary people who use the six success factors to show up, speak up, look up, team up, never give up, and lift others up. This is an up-lifting talk.

Leadership Expert Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a professor at the Harvard Business School, Chair and Director of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative, and author of SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies CreateInnovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good.

Positive Leadership: Success Secrets

Positive Leadership: Counting Back

New Zealand scientist and an all-round disruptor, Sir Ray Avery, has a unique approach to keeping himself on track and motivated - he counts down how many days he has left on the planet to ensure that he makes the most out of life.

“I’ve got about 5,625 days to live,” the 65-year old told an audience of entrepreneurs recently. “When you’re born, you’re born with 30,000 days. That’s it. The best strategic planning I can give to you is to think about that… Every day I do a chart on what I’ve achieved and where I want to be. And it makes you scary-as-shit clever.”

Most of us don’t like to think about ‘the end’, but the idea of a reverse engineered calendar means that instead of having x amount of days left, we have x amount of days to fill with life.  An inspirational thought.

Positive Leadership: Counting Back

Positive Leadership: Why Leadership Matters

It matters because it shows that you really care.

It matters because you lead with a sense of purpose.

It matters because trust connects and enables you to make a difference.

It matters because you inspire and teach.

It matters because you drive out fear and believe in a great future.

It matters because failure is ok.

It matters because you don’t treat people like a number; you treat them like you want to be treated.

It matters because you know you don’t have all the answers.

It matters because people follow you (the leader) first and the vision second.  Who you are matters.  Your character and integrity count!

It matters because those who are willing to work hard will stand out.

It matters because positive choices trump negative voices.

Positive Leadership: Why Leadership Matters

Positive Leadership: My One Word

Positive Leadership: My One Word

Positive Leadership: Motivation to Succeed

A great video from our friend Scott Savor. Some of the best lessons and words of wisdom from successful people all over the world!

Success leaves footprints...follow them!!!!

Positive Leadership: Motivation to Succeed

Positive Leadership: What is Required to Produce Innovative Leaders?

Innovations result from unique ways of looking at problems that produce original solutions. 

However, because research and innovation require long time frames, the pressure on business-unit leaders to produce near-term success often results in funds being shifted from innovative projects to product development and product extensions. Large organisations that are heavily dependent on previous successes frequently squeeze out innovative ideas and the innovators who create them. Not infrequently, the most innovative ideas run into significant difficulties in their infancy and get killed or underfunded in favour of high-profitability development projects.

To overcome these pitfalls, organisations need innovative leaders at the top willing to sacrifice near-term financial results to support their innovators through success and failure. The characteristics of great innovative leaders are dramatically different from traditional business managers. 

Here are five essential qualities they must have to lead innovation:

Passion for innovation. Innovative leaders not only have to appreciate the benefits of innovation, they need a deep passion for innovations that benefit customers. Just approving funds for innovation is insufficient. Leaders must make innovation an essential part of the company's culture and growth strategy.

A long-term perspective. Most investors think three years is "long-term," but that won't yield genuine innovation. Major innovations can change entire markets as the iPod and iTunes did, but they take time to perfect products and gain adoption by mainstream users. Leaders cannot stop and start innovation projects as if they were marketing expenses; they must support innovation regardless of the company's near-term prospects.

The courage to fail and learn from failure. The risks of innovation are well known, but many leaders aren't willing to be associated with its failures. However, there is a great deal to be learned from why an innovation has failed, as this enhanced understanding can lead to the greatest breakthroughs.

Deep engagement with the innovators. Innovative leaders must be highly engaged with their innovation teams: asking questions, probing for potential problems, and looking for ways to accelerate projects and broaden their impact. That's what HP's founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard did by wandering around HP's labs and challenging innovators.

Willingness to tolerate mavericks and defend them from middle management. The best innovators are rule-breakers and mavericks who don't fit the corporate mould and are threatening to middle managers following more typical management approaches. That's why innovative leaders must protect their maverick's projects, budgets, and careers rather than forcing them into traditional management positions.

How can companies develop innovative leaders capable of ascending to top management? They need to identify these emerging leaders and then give them their most challenging projects, while protecting them from failures and organisational conflicts.

Positive Leadership: What is Required to Produce Innovative Leaders?

Positive Leadership: True Leaders

Positive Leadership: True Leaders

Positive Leadership: Irrational Optimism

In Bounce, Matthew Syed quotes Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, one of the most successful football (soccer) coaches in the English Premier League, on how athletes must approach competition:

'To perform to your maximum you have to teach yourself to believe with an intensity that goes way beyond logical justification. No top performer has lacked this capacity for irrational optimism; no sportsman has played to his potential without the ability to remove doubt from his mind.'

Positive Leadership: Irrational Optimism

Positive Leadership: How to Train Your Brain to Stay Focused

As a businessperson, you have a lot on your plate. Staying focused can be tough with a constant stream of employees, clients, emails, and phone calls demanding your attention. Amid the noise, understanding your brain’s limitations and working around them can improve your focus and increase your productivity.

Our brains are finely attuned to distraction, so today's digital environment makes it especially hard to focus. "Distractions signal that something has changed," says David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of Your Brain at Work. "A distraction is an alert he says, 'Orient your attention here now; this could be dangerous.'" The brain's reaction is automatic and virtually unstoppable.

While multitasking is an important skill, it also has a downside. "It reduces our intelligence, literally dropping our IQ," Rock says. "We make mistakes, miss subtle cues and fly off the handle when we shouldn't, or spell things wrong."

To make matters worse, distraction feels great. "Your brain's reward circuit lights up when you multitask,” Rock says, meaning that you get an emotional high when you're doing a lot at once.

Ultimately, the goal is not constant focus, but a short period of distraction-free time every day. "Twenty minutes a day of deep focus could be transformative," Rock says.

Try these three tips to help you become more focused and productive:

1. Do creative work first. Typically, we do mindless work first and build up to the toughest tasks. That drains your energy and lowers your focus. "An hour into doing your work, you've got a lot less capacity than (at the beginning)," Rock says. "Every decision we make tires the brain."

In order to focus effectively, reverse the order. Check off the tasks that require creativity or concentration first thing in the morning, and then move on to easier work, like deleting emails or scheduling meetings, later in the day.

2. Allocate your time deliberately. By studying thousands of people, Rock found that we are truly focused for an average of only six hours per week. "You want to be really diligent with what you put into those hours," he says.

Most people focus best in the morning or late at night, and Rock's studies show that 90% of people do their best thinking outside the office. Notice where and when you focus best, then allocate your toughest tasks for those moments.

3. Train your mind like a muscle. When multitasking is the norm, your brain quickly adapts. You lose the ability to focus as distraction becomes a habit. "We've trained our brains to be unfocused," Rock says.

Practice concentration by turning off all distractions and committing your attention to a single task. Start small, maybe five minutes per day, and work up to larger chunks of time. If you find your mind wandering, just return to the task at hand. "It’s just like getting fit," Rock says. "You have to build the muscle to be focused."

Positive Leadership: How to Train Your Brain to Stay Focused