Inward Blog
Viewing entries tagged with 'leadership'
Trust Doesn't Come with a Title...It Has to Be Earned
May 14, 2015
Trust is at the center of all relationships. In fact, I would go as far as to say that without trust, there is no relationship. One of the greatest leaders of our time, Jack Welch, made the statement in a recent interview that there are two principles of successful leadership today, truth and trust. When trust is violated, our relationships both personally and with our business associates become strained. And if it is violated, it is extremely difficult to restore. Think about the impact of high trust or a lack of trust on our ability to lead others or on our willingness to follow others. When I completely trust what a leader says as demonstrated by what he/she does, my level of engagement goes through the roof and I’ll take the hill for him/her.
Posted by Rick DeMarco at 11:00am
Is culture really important?
May 7, 2015
Every organization has a culture, whether it’s clearly articulated or not. So what exactly is “culture”? Merriam Webster simply defines it as a “way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization.” Defining the culture always comes down to articulating the values and beliefs of the leadership. For example, if family values are a core belief of leadership, the culture will be one that supports a strong work/life balance focus. Or if innovation is important to the leadership, the culture will be one of continuous improvement and leadership in the market. Apple is an obvious example of an innovation culture. So if vision represents what an organization is trying to achieve, culture defines how people are going to behave and what values they are going to embrace while they strive to achieve that vision.
Posted by Rick DeMarco at 11:00am
Company Culture, Mission, Vision & Values, Employee Engagement, Brand Engagement, Leadership
Put A Face on Your Customer Experience Programs to Avoid Failure
May 5, 2015
It is both logical and common knowledge that there is a direct correlation between high customer experiences with high levels of employee customer experiences. When aligned properly, it provides incremental revenue and customer satisfaction. There have been numerous studies cited by the NRF and Gallup, which substantiates this finding. Yet, all too often I see external customer experience programs falter and fail. They start out with a lot of enthusiasm and support and after about six months, new initiatives and priorities come into play and the customer experience program wanes while the focus shifts somewhere else. Ultimately management loses interest or doesn’t see the benefit/value. The programs get canceled and get the bad rap of being ineffective. I often hear clients say, “we’ve tried that before and it failed.”
Posted by Allan Steinmetz at 11:00am
Customer Experience, Employee Engagement, Brand Engagement, Leadership
How Well Do You REALLY Know Yourself? Effective Leaders Need To Be Authentic!
April 23, 2015
In order to inspire and engage others, leaders need to know and understand the people they manage. But there is an important dimension to effective leadership that is often neglected because of the fast pace and constant demands that we face. And that is to take the time to really know yourself. That means fully understanding why you see the world the way you do, knowing your values and your non-negotiables, understanding your vision, goals, and objectives, and knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Let’s look at each of these more closely.
Posted by Rick DeMarco at 11:00am
Leadership, Leading Change, Self-improvement, Professional Development
If It Feels Good, Do It! Passionately!
April 9, 2015
Can you think of a job or task that you have performed in the past for which you had no passion or commitment? Something that you were ordered to do by a superior or even a parent and that you did simply out of compliance or obedience? How was that different from a job in which you were passionate about what you were doing? When someone is passionate about a task or job, they are much more willing to go the extra mile and become fully engaged and committed. Effective leaders understand that they may have the ability to order someone to do something, but they will never gain total commitment until that person shares the same values, passion, and vision as the leader. Stan Slap wrote a book called “Bury Your Heart in Conference Room B”. The title intrigued me so I picked up a copy. Stan builds the case that a leader can buy temporary loyalty from an employee with stock options, bonuses, reward and recognition programs, or even equity in the company. But they will never capture their heart until that employee feels like they can live out their values on the job. And that commonality of values and beliefs drives a common passion that results in a strong culture of employee engagement and team alignment. [Read more...]
Posted by Rick DeMarco at 11:00am
Change management, cultural transformation, employee engagement, leadership, tips
Rome wasn’t built in a day…and why it matters
April 7, 2015
There is an old saying, “Rome was not built in a day”. It took patience, tenacity, cooperation, a well thought-out plan, passion (and probably some back braking slave labor). History shows it took a cross- functional team to make the magnificence of Rome shine. It was not simply about the Emperor and what he envisioned, it was also about the parliamentary procedures, having an Army and the funding that made it happen. Cooperation. Shared purpose. Clarity of purpose. And vision. [Read more...]
Posted by Allan Steinmetz at 11:00am
Change management, cultural transformation, employee engagement, leadership
Technical Competency Is The Tip Of The Leadership Iceberg
April 2, 2015
What Lies Below The Surface Are Strong Interpersonal Skills
Posted by Rick DeMarco at 11:00am
leadership, change management, cultural transformation, employee engagement, professional development
Is taking on social issues good for business or good for society?
March 31, 2015
Over the last month or so we have been reading reports about how several companies have been adopting new policies in regard to important social issues such as racial diversity and increasing the minimum wage. Just this past week Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, fostered a conversation about race relations in America by asking all of his baristas to write #racetogether on all of their Starbucks cup orders. In January, Aetna raised the public conversation around increasing the minimum wage for its hourly employees suggesting that it is time for American business to be more engaged in improving the lives of people across the country. Walmart has made similar moves to increase hourly wages in recent weeks.
Posted by Allan Steinmetz at 11:00am
#racetogether, CSR, Social Justice, Business Ethics, Leadership, Starbucks, Aetna, Walmart
Leadership Has Nothing to do with a Title
March 26, 2015
When I deliver workshops or keynotes on the behavior of effective leaders, I often look across the room and watch people nodding their heads in agreement and then commenting about how much better things would be if their boss would just shape up. Although it’s great to see the agreement with these principles of effective leadership that drive team alignment, here’s the problem. Leadership has nothing to do with title or position and everything to do with behavior. Remember, this blog is about effective leadership and employee engagement, not about organizational structure, which is clearly defined by title and position.
Posted by Rick DeMarco at 11:00am
Employee Engagement, Leadership, Workforce Transformation, Cultural Transformation, Team Alignment, Change Management, Team Building
Basketball great John Wooden on leadership
March 24, 2015
John Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood," as head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including an unprecedented seven in a row. An old colleague/friend of mine Ralph Cutcher sent me an email reminiscing about the March Madness season. It got him thinking about John Wooden, who was a favorite leader of his when he was one of the most winningest coaches for UCLA. Wooden was famous for his quotes. Ralph’s favorite, "Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out", says it all. It's a great “attitude adjuster”. Ralph went on to list a series of quotes that are attributed to John wooden which I found to be quite fascinating. I asked if it would be okay for me to share them on our blog for inspiration and contemplation and he agreed. So here they are:
Posted by Allan Steinmetz at 11:00am
March Madness, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Workforce Transformation, Cultural Transformation, Team Alignment, Change Management, Team Building