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Leaders can inspire, champion change, and engage followers who will stop at nothing to watch the vision become a reality. Being in a leadership position enhances your own personal and professional image, as well. But there are risks involved in leadership. Let’s discuss five common leadership risks and how you can avoid them.

History will tell you that leaders can become isolated. In an organizational environment, this is sometimes caused by growth. For example, leaders who start out in a small organization that grows in leaps and bounds can suddenly find themselves alone, without a proper support system and sounding boards. Perhaps the other leaders he or she relied on have their own groups to lead. There is also the possibility that the leader got lost in the shuffle – inspiration can cause people to charge ahead without stopping until the vision is complete. How can you avoid becoming isolated? One of the key ways is to maintain constant communication with other leaders and with the organization as a whole. Leaders who conduct “town hall” style meetings, even in bad times, will be able to keep in touch with the (more…)

Adaptive leadership is a step up from other leadership skills. Typically the term is applied to leadership situations that involve neither technical nor operational issues. Issues that require a form of adaptive leadership are normally problems that do not have the clarity of an operational issue, as well as a lack of clear solutions. How you, as a leader, react to adaptive issues will set the tone for problem solving going forward. Let’s first look at specific qualities of adaptive issues, and then discuss some ways you can lead adaptively.

With adaptive issues, you may notice a difference between what the organization would like to see happen and the reality of the situation. This could come about when the organization tries to create its vision, knowing that quite a bit of work is needed to make the vision a reality. Adaptive issues are those that require responses that are outside the norm or outside of the box. If you cannot respond to an issue with the normal “tool box”, then the issue may require an adaptive stance. An adaptive issue may also require leadership to make tough decisions or decisions that are not so popular. (more…)

General leadership is always a task that moves an organization forward. But creating and leading a high performance team may increase retention, efficiency, and even profit. In an age when buzz words sometimes get more notice, let’s look at high performance teams and determine how to make that team a reality instead of simply a popular term.

First, leaders must define what high performance really is. There are general leadership attributes that can be reached and exceeded by leaders at all levels and in all types of organizations. But the true definition of high performance leadership is going to center on the organization, its needs, and the way it will become a leader in its field. For example, simply providing customer service is not a high performance attribute. But providing 100% customer satisfaction in every customer interaction is a high performance standard, especially when that standard is measured and is part of accountability. So to begin creating a high performance team, determine what attributes create high performance at the individual, group, and organizational level. (more…)

Today’s organizations are finding themselves in chaos more often. Layoffs, poor economic conditions, and structural changes are causing leaders to become caught up in confusion, too. But if you follow a few guidelines and make some changes to your style, you can lead the organization through the chaos.

One of the first things to remember in unclear situations is that you must continue to think proactively and be proactive. What do you do in normal times? You think about the organization, where it needs to go, what’s going to get it there, and what issues could be obstacles. Why think any differently during times of chaos? You still have to lead the organization according to its vision and goals, but the issues may be different. When conditions start to “head south”, keep your head and think about how the issues have changed. What are the new obstacles? How can the organization react in its new condition? Your attention will be pulled in a thousand different directions, but take some time each day or week to think about how to move forward.
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Leadership is possible no matter where you are in an organization’s hierarchy. People in management and leadership positions had to start somewhere – and most of them got where they are by proving themselves as leaders before they were placed in a position to lead. But the difficult part is knowing what actions to take – and when. Here are five ideas that will help you create a leadership framework even if you aren’t the leader.

To begin with, learn to seek responsibility. This has two meanings. First, be on the lookout for responsibility higher than your own. In today’s environment, with shrinking staffs and budgets, many organizations need people who can take on further responsibility without looking for higher pay, more prestige, or even a higher position. This doesn’t mean that you should “sell out” or take on so much that your other duties will suffer. But it does mean that you should look for areas or subjects of interest and volunteer for projects or duties in those areas. Being on the lookout can also mean that you try to find ways to streamline processes or save money – and share those ways with management.

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I am a huge fan of Business Insider and their articles.  They posted  the

10 YouTube Videos Every Entrepreneur Should Watch

and I thought everyone who is in business for themselves should watch each and everyone of them.  Click on the image to be taken to the Business Insider page for all 10 videos.

As most leaders know, management is a separate entity from leadership. Many organizational leaders have difficulty doing one and continuing to do the other. And management is sometimes still looked upon as an operational piece of the organization, so leaders believe that they should employ “managers” to manage and “leaders” to lead. There are a few basic leadership principles that you can use to look at the organization’s operations differently – and pass on to the other leaders and managers down the line.

First, you must take a different view of the organization’s operations. As people progress up the ladder, moving from line to management and then to more senior levels, they may begin to see operations as someone else’s responsibility. This is a leadership failure, so you should always see the understanding of operations as part of your job. (more…)

Summary: Planning for the future takes much more than a University-centric view. You must go out into the world around you to see what’s going on – and create a proactive communication path that keeps you informed as things change.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make after successfully building the University is to become isolated. Even with the best assessments and surveys, you still have to keep your pulse on what’s going on within the organization and in the industry in general. If things are running smoothly, it’s easy to forget why the University exists – and all of the hard work you’ve put in to get it where it is.

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Summary: Every business has to reinvent itself, even in small ways, over time to stay competitive. The Corporate University must take steps to reinvent, as well. Here are some things to look at when considering a fresh, new approach – even after a short period in business.

The reinvention of the Corporate University should occur, even in small measure, regardless of what you’ve discovered in an assessment or re-evaluation. You’re not looking to change the overall brand, because you want that to stay indelibly identified with the organization and its University. But you do want to make small changes and publicize the successes or coming successes of the University.

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Summary: After any maintenance phase for the Corporate University, you must take the time to re-evaluate all aspects of the program. This re-evaluation is bigger than an assessment, so let’s look at how to accomplish it.

First, you must take the information you’ve gained in the assessment and analyze it. Are courses being utilized, both online and in the classroom? Are additional resources, such as Quick Reference Guides, being accessed and used as well? From the course assessments, you should be able to determine if the course materials and content are useful and appropriate for the job functions, especially if you surveyed participants and their managers after thirty or forty-five days. You can also determine if the online course deployment strategy is working. In addition to the courses, you must determine if the staff is being used appropriately. (more…)