Personal Excellence = Team Excellence May 2, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Balance, Business, Leadership, Learning, Life, Personal Development, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: balance, business, Leadership, learning, personal development, relating, teams, teamwork
add a comment
Peter Senge has a slightly different definition of leadership. He sees it as having the capacity to effect creative tension. That is, the ability to hold on to and articulate a consistent vision for oneself, for a department, or for an organization.
We’re all leaders; we all have the capacity to effect creative tension. But many people don’t have the confidence to pull it off, so they end up waiting for permission, acceptance, or approval. They’re going to have a long wait.
This tension is sometimes nothing more than the relentless pursuit of excellence for yourself and for your organization.
Don’t be afraid to stand for something. Believe in it, support it, promote it, obsess on it. Excellence is a state of mind AND an end-in-mind.
…
Team Change May 1, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Coaching, Leadership, Life, Management, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Change, coaching, Leadership, Life, management, teams, teamwork
add a comment
All teams struggle with change. That’s a good thing.
If everyone agreed to no change, very few positive breakthroughs or improvements would occur.
Change that is only introduced from the top is usually tame, predictable, forced or faked.
Change is a team effort, not an individual one.
…
Change Rules April 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Leadership, Life, Management, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Change, Leadership, Life, management, teams, teamwork
add a comment
……
Any form of team change requires:
- A clear and common goal
- A shared vision
- A prevailing attitude of responsibility and accountability
- An atmosphere of trust and respect
……
PS – a team is:
a family, a couple, a department, a customer and supplier,
a car owner and mechanic, etc.
……
Leader Shift April 25, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Coaching, Leadership, Life, Management, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, coaching, Leadership, Life, management, relating, teams, teamwork
add a comment
A shift in thinking and perspective is in order regarding leadership.
There is massive attention placed on who and what a leader is, and it’s evidenced by thousands of books and periodicals. Nearly all of them focus on the person at the top.
Leadership is always about more than one person. There are a multitude of leaders at all levels of an organization.
Regardless of your position, you are a leader based on your values, vision, and commitment to continually learn. To be fully successful in this endeavor, be trusting and trustworthy, and be respectful.
…
“With the greatest leader above them…When all is finished, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves.’” – Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching
…
Why Do We Fear Change? April 24, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Coaching, Learning, Life, Relating.Tags: business, Change, coaching, learning, Life, relating
add a comment
Change is a funny thing; we know we need it yet we resist it like the dickens.
And the primary reason people resist it is fear.
Fear of the unknown, fear of extra work, fear of not knowing what to do, fear of looking foolish, or fear of additional responsibility are a few of the reasons.
Change is normal and change is good, but sometimes it is hard.
The older we get, it seems, the more we crave predictability. Perhaps life simply wears us down until change becomes a huge inconvenience regardless of its size.
I believe that change keeps us young. It’s like having children in the house. You’re forced to pay attention and keep up.
…
Leadership Blink April 23, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Leadership, Life, Personal Development, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Change, Leadership, Life, personal development, teams, teamwork
add a comment
Consider these as two more arrows in your quiver when you want to create, support, or effect change.
The qualities these arrows represent are seldom discussed openly within organizations but they are sorely needed - Trust and Respect.
They may sound clichéd, but answer this question honestly – do you typically embrace and support initiatives proposed by someone whom you do not trust and respect?
In his book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell posits that we all make decisions in the blink of an eye without recognizing how our biases and judgments factor in.
Forget about your knowledge, experience, or title, can people trust and respect you, or not?
…
Ha!! Slogans vs Action March 22, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Life, Management, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Life, management, relating, teams, teamwork
add a comment
I had a conversation with a manager from our cable company recently. Minutes before, one of the company’s customer service folks had hung up on me after I expressed my dissatisfaction with the rep’s ability to solve my problem. I asked to speak to a manager. Click.
“I’m very sorry,” the manager said, “that is clearly against our policy!” He immediately got to work resolving my problem and succeeded.
When I asked how the offending CSR would be dealt with, he responded, there was no way they could trace that call. There were too many employees in too many locations.
So, in other words, you have a policy that you cannot enforce? “Well, yes,” he replied, “but it’s a strong policy.”
Who knows? Maybe there is a way to track calls; maybe there isn’t. Regardless, they have a nice slogan, which I’ve added a few words to the end for clarity sake.
“Every … employee is dedicated to meeting the commitments above and to exceeding your expectations”…except if you’re looking to speak to their manager.
…
Thinking is Overrated. DO Something! March 13, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Change, Leadership, Life, Management, Personal Development, Teams.Tags: business, Change, Leadership, Life, management, personal development, teams
2 comments
Thinking is overrated. DO Something.
It’s as easy as that and as difficult as that.
Forget about habits, elements, cheese, laws, secrets, and agreements, there is one thing that everyone can do right now, without hours of training, without over-thinking, and without spending hundreds of dollars learning it from someone else. It’s called doing.
“We have a strategic plan. It’s called getting things done.”
– Herb Kelleher
Stop waiting to be told what to do and how to do it. Figure it out yourself. Don’t be reckless but don’t be helpless either.
This is not the time to be shy or self-conscious. Only you can make it happen. Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for the right time. Create your own momentum. Do.
“Action expresses priorities.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
…
(DO = How to perform, accomplish, act, complete, achieve, create, and execute in two letters.)
…
Expectations Travel Both Ways March 7, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Job Search, Leadership, Life, Management, Relating.Tags: business, job search, Leadership, Life, management, relating
add a comment
Got a new job, new assignment, or a new project? Regardless what it is, don’t wait for your copy of clear and concise instructions to be delivered during a well-coordinated handoff meeting. It’s not going to happen.
What to do? Start asking questions. Lots of questions. And if you don’t get answers, start asking more questions. And if you still don’t get answers, start doing what needs to be done, that is, your job. Be thorough, be precise, and over deliver.
Now if you happen to be the manager of that person taking on this new job, assignment, or project, it’s your job to set a goal, state expectations, and offer support. Don’t expect the new person on the block to be asking questions in these times of economic fear. Very few will challenge the status quo, much less their boss, by pestering you with probing questions.
In other words, both parties have an equal responsibility to set and receive instructions, provide feedback, and deliver results. Both share the burden…and likewise should share in the joys of success for a job well done.
Everyone has a boss. Even your boss. But don’t assume that he or she is fair, courteous, or concerned. Do your job, do the best you can, ask questions, over-deliver where you can, and don’t look back.
…
Team Flow February 13, 2012
Posted by Jeff Pasquale in Business, Creativity, Leadership, Learning, Life, Management, Relating, Teams, Teamwork.Tags: business, Leadership, Life, management, teams, teamwork
add a comment
Team flow is simply the ease of getting things accomplished.
A team will flow effortlessly when these 3 things do not exist – fear, blame, and conceit.
A lack of fear, blame, and conceit will open the space necessary for great ideas to grow and flow throughout a team.
You cannot police the flow of your team; you can only be alert for when you are being fearful, blame-focused, or self-important.
The power of this threesome is such that if even a single member of a team embraces one of them, the team’s flow, or ability to accomplish, will be diminished.
…
