The ability to be self-motivated and lead others is a highly important attribute in the workplace today. Strong leadership ability is on most business education and corporate performance competency lists and there are many philosophies on effective leadership behaviors. From surveys, research, stories and history, there is one method for leading that stands out as inadequate at best and highly damaging at worst -fear.
While resistance serves as a marker for looking more deeply at something going on inside, if we don’t get a handle fairly quickly during these moments, it will be counterproductive to remain in that state, as it can get in the way of productivity, morale, engagement, and achievement on the job. Here are three actions to take to resist resistance.
In the world of talent development, employee engagement is a high priority. Learning leaders have a unique vantage point from which to usher in, facilitate and revise strategies that affect a large part of the organization, particularly as it pertains to preparing people affected by large-scale change. However, they can’t do this in a vacuum. They need collaborators who trust them, and that requires internal negotiation skills that allow them to overcome objections, explore mutual interests and commit to a win-win outcome through a joint problem-solving process.
A reminder of the positive impact of practicing gratitude.
In this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) environment, there is an immense opportunity to develop and hone the competencies that support individuals as they navigate the challenges of today's workplace. At the core is a need for interpersonal savvy that includes the ability to communicate well and develop effective relationships based on principles of trust and value.
It's common to work with or for someone who occasionally dispenses good advice on how to handle complex interpersonal situations, but is pretty unlikely to take their own advice. Whether it is how to talk a customer down from a bad experience, how to deliver straightforward feedback to an employee or how to negotiate collaboratively for project resources, after a while, all you're reminded of concerning this person's leadership is "do as I say, not as I do."
March has been dedicated as Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8. With this season of reverence for women’s accomplishments upon us, I was curious about the qualities of powerful women from around the world. After reading several articles such as The Top 20 Influential Women in the World Today, The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, and 150 Women Who Shake the World, I considered what are the overlapping skills that they bring to the world to be so influential?