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Category: Leadership (Page 6 of 19)

Leadership: Ten lessons from Steve Jobs

10/11/2016 /

Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to achieve organizational goals.

All successful organizations and businesses need effective leaders.

The leadership of effective and well trained leaders is paramount to providing an agreed upon goal for the company’s success. Leaders are invaluable when it comes to formulating and communicating new strategic directions, as well as communicating with and motivating employees to increase dedication to organizational goals.

Ongoing leadership skills training is essential to making sure that leaders are on the right track.

In this article, there are some tips provided by Steve Jobs, founder of Apple and iconic leader, who invented the Macintosh computer for the masses and started a revolution of the idea  of the smart information technologies.

Under the watch of Steve Jobs, Apple was one of the most successful companies in history.

His beliefs set him apart from Western leaders and allowed him to focus on vision rather than reality. Spirituality combined with intensity allowed him to “think different” or imagine a new order of things. The “think different” philosophy embraces the need for simplication, innovation, confidence, collaboration, rebellion.

The 10 Lessons of Steve Jobs are excerpts from Walter Isaacson’s, “The Real Lessons of Steve Jobs,” published in the Harvard Business Review, April 2012.

Read more.

 

leadership

 

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Followership.png

Reason vs empathy in a presidential election

03/11/2016 /

According to the conventional wisdom, a good candidate in an election must be able to care about the problems and needs of people. Despite that, it’s not clear whether empathy really matters much to voters.

Although the capacity to sympathize with others’ suffering is often considered an essential virtue, some social psychologists assert that empathy may not be such a great quality in a leader.

Is empathy overrated as a guide for public leadership?

In his article published by the New York Times, John Tierney reports the point of view of different researchers on this subject.

On the one end, critics affirm that empathy is biased and parochial, it’s innumerate and it can be manipulated to inspire aggression. According to this view, “the best leaders have a certain enlighted aloofness”.

On the other hand, empathy is considered something that we can control and “it affords us opportunities to build more diverse and powerful social connections, and take control of our emotional lives”.

Notwithstanding this optimistic view of human nature, voters may at the end prefer reason to empathy.

Read more here.

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Image source: Flickr – Matt Brown -(CC BY 2.0)

 

 

5 Mistakes good leaders should avoid

20/09/2016 /

Steve Cartwright, in this article on Web Design, points out the five common mistakes made by leaders:

  1. Focusing on tasks rather than reaching the ultimate goal. You can’t lead others if you don’t know what you’re striving for, so be sure you’re clear and focused on the vision rather than the small tasks of the job.
  2. Checking up on employees rather than engaging them. Make it a point to get to know your team members: it’s important to get your vision across, and you can’t do that if you merely check in once in a while.
  3. Don’t stick to your own leadership style. You can learn from other leaders in history and in your business, but don’t mimic them when it comes to your leadership style: find your own way and stick to it!
  4. Resist change. Many leaders tend to do what they’ve always done in terms of leading. If you want your business or team to prosper and grow, take some time to expose yourself to new ideas.
  5. Hire people too fast to fill a slot. True leaders take their time when hiring and make sure they can complete the work and grow along with the company or team.

Leadership

Image source: Flickr – nist6dh  (CC BY-SA 2.0)

30 Websites That Will Make You Unbelievably Smarter

15/09/2016 /

Lolly Daskal, President and CEO of Lead From Within, provides a list of the best websites that can be used for professional and personal development. Instead of chasing after provocative headlines and weird old tricks, why not spend time on sites that will make you smarter in life, shrewder in business, and wiser in leadership?

1. TED Talks 
TED’s tagline is “ideas worth spreading.” TED Talks is a video collection in the form of short, powerful speeches on every subject imaginable (18 minutes or less).

2. Brain Pickings
Brain Pickings has interesting posts drawn from art, science, design, history, and philosophy.

3. 99U
99U’s actionable insights on productivity, organization, and leadership help creative people push ideas forward.

4. Lynda
Lynda has thousands of video tutorials covering technical, creative, and business skills, all taught by industry experts.

5. University of the People 
University of the People is a nonprofit, tuition-free online university based in California and committed to educational access and inclusion.

6. Learnist 
Learnist is a collaborative knowledge-sharing site where users create and curate “learning boards” composed of text, images, video, and audio.

7. Alison
Alison offers free online courses with certification and diploma options.

8. Mental Floss 
Mental Floss tests your knowledge through quizzes, brainteasers, and games.

9. Brain Pump 
Brain Pump lets you learn something new and feeds your curiosity, through a vast library of entertaining videos on topics ranging from chemistry to physics to history.

10. Peer 2 Peer University
Peer 2 Peer University is an open education project in which learners gather in lightly organized circles that meet at public libraries and other accessible sites.

11. Platzi
Platzi offers live-streamed courses–many free–on topics including web and app development, online marketing, interface design, and server administration.

12. edX
EdX, a collaborative project of Harvard University and MIT, provides free online courses and classes from the world’s best universities and other institutions.

13. OpenSesame
OpenSesame is a marketplace for business-oriented online training.

14. Udacity
At Udacity, find free online courses, self-paced with code reviews, when you want to make a career change or get a new job.

15. Coursmos
Coursmos is a micro-course platform with short video lessons on topics ranging from business to lifestyle.

16. Highbrow
Highbrow lets you choose one course and receive new knowledge every morning. Super-brief lessons are delivered to your inbox. Learn, grow, repeat … in all subjects: art, health, history, literature, logic, nature, philosophy, productivity.

17. Coursera
Coursera is a platform where anyone can take free online classes from 120-plus top universities and educational organizations.

18.  University Webinars
On University Webinars and Videos for Blended Learning, top college faculty, staff, and experts in their field share knowledge from their courses and programs, targeted for higher education professionals.

19.DataCamp
DataCamp is the most engaging way to learn R and data science. Learn in the comfort of your own browser via tutorials and coding challenges. A monthly or annual fee provides access to all courses.

20. CreativeLive 
At CreativeLive, take free live online classes taught by the world’s most inspiring instructors. Choose from video workshops in photography, video, design, business, audio, music, crafting, and software training.

21. Investopedia 
Investopedia is a premiere resource for investing and personal finance education, market analysis, and trading simulators. Access free educational content and tools.

22. Gibbon
Gibbon is a peer-to-peer learning network that connects users who want to teach one another and learn about anything. An enterprise knowledge portal for employee development and learning, individually accessible courses are also available.

23. BBC Languages
BBC Languages provides free online language Learning that includes the alphabet, phrases, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, activities, and tests. Free interactive tutorials come in 40 languages.

24. Future Learn
Future Learn has free courses in subjects including law, psychology, and teaching, offered in partnership with top universities and specialist organizations in the U.K. and around the world.

25. MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT OpenCourseWare is a web-based publication, open and accessible, of virtually all MIT course content.

26. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a digital library of more than 50,000 free e-books to read online or download. Included are book listings, a search engine, a newsletter, articles, and information on how users can help create more free e-books.

27. Quora
Quora: the best answer to any question. On Quora, ask a question on any topic or subject and receive an answer from an expert.

28. Udemy
Udemy is an online education marketplace with limitless variety: more than 30,000 courses, developed by subject-matter experts.

29. Skillshare 
Skillshare is a learning community for creators. Anyone can take an online class, watch video lessons, create projects, and even teach a class.

30. Inc.com
Inc.com is all about advice, news, tools, and services to help small businesses grow. Everything you read on Inc.com will make you a smarter leader and entrepreneur.

Website.jpg

Image source: Flickr – medithIT  (CC BY 2.0)

Seven steps for effective problem solving in the workplace

21/07/2016 /

Ask anyone in the workplace if problem solving is part of their day and they’d certainly answer “Yes!”. But how many of us have had training in problem solving?

Because people are born problem solvers, the biggest challenge is to overcome the tendency to immediately came up with a solution. The most common mistake in problem solving is to put the solution at the beginning of the process, when what we need is a solution at the end of the process.

Here are seven-steps for an effective problem-solving process.

  1. Identify the issues
  2. Understand everyone’s interests
  3. List the possible solutions (options)
  4. Evaluate the options
  5. Select an option or options
  6. Document the agreements(s)
  7. Agree on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation

Read the article written by Tim Hicks

Problem solving

Image source: Flickr – pierpeter (CC-BY-NC 2.0)

 

 

 

Getting around the limits of empathy

14/07/2016 /

Although empathy is considered to be at the heart of several crucial sectors – from product development to customer service, including also leadership, failing to recognise its limits can impair individual and organisational performance.

As Adam Waytz brilliantly describes in its article there are three main problems you can run into when dealing with empathy, and luckily three valid recommendations for getting around them.

Problem #1: It’s exhausting

Being an heavy-duty cognitive task empathy depletes our mental resources.

Several studies on health and human professionals, as well as those who work for charities and other non profits, show that empathy is exhausting, in any role in which it’s a primary aspect of the job.

Problem #2: It’s zero-sum

Empathy doesn’t just drain energy and cognitive resources – it also depletes itself.

The more empathy we devote to one aspect of our life, for example our job, the less is left for others (family for instance). Moreover the zero-sum problem leads to another type of trade off: empathy toward insiders – people in our team or organisation- can limit our capacity to empathise with people outside our circles.

Problem #3: It can erode ethics

Empathy can cause lapses in ethical judgment. Extreme loyalty toward insiders may push us to take their interests as our own and to overlook transgressions, or even worse to behave badly ourselves. With actions like cheating or stealing to benefit those in the immediate circle people put empathy for a few before justice for all.

So how to rein in a land of excessive empathy?

As a manager there are a number of things you can do to mitigate these problems.

1. Split up the work

2. Make it less of a sacrifice

3. Give people breaks

Despite its limitations, empathy is essential at work.Understanding and responding to the needs, interests and desires of human beings involves some of the hardest work of all. Managers shouldlook for ways to give employees breaks,Encourage individuals to take time to focus on their interests alone. When people feel restored they’re better able to perform the demanding task of listening to what others need.

Empathy

Image source: Flickr – AleKsa MX (CC-BY 2.0)

 

 

Image source: https://locallocale.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/empathy-schmimpathy-why-bother-nathan-mctague-empathy-parenting-advice/

Six questions to full engage yourself in life and work

05/07/2016 /

Asking active questions it is very important in our daily life. Simple, active questions can change our behaviour because they reveal where we are succeeding and where we need further improvement. And in doing so, they rivet our attention on what we can actually change. In his book, Triggers: Sparking Positive Change and Making It Last, Marshall Goldsmith outlines six active questions that fully engage us in life and work.

The Daily Questions are immensely useful for three reasons because they help us identify what we really want, not what we think we want and they motivate us in areas where we need it.

There are six daily questions in total.

  1. Did I do my best to set clear goals today?

2. Did I do my best to make progress toward my goals today?

  1. Did I do my best to find meaning today?
  1. Did I Do my best to be happy today?
  1. Did I do my best to build positive relationships today?
  1. Did I do my best to be fully engaged today?

By asking The Daily Questions, we remind ourselves that if we want we can control our lives.

Read here the full article

Six questions

Image Source: Flickr – Noelia (CC – BY – NC – ND 2.0)

5 sentences to get what you want

23/06/2016 /

Certain words and phrases have surprising power to influence your listener and are particularly helpful at getting the desired response.

“They increase our effectiveness in communicating clearly and up our ability to get what we want,” says famous writer Wendy Capland.

Let’s try some phrases Capland suggests and see if they make a difference:

1. What I heard you say is …

People are more likely to listen to you if they feel they themselves have been listened to.

2. Help me understand …

Rather than jumping to the conclusion, you’re wisely pausing to get all the facts.

3. Would you be open to the possibility …

It softens the request and allows the listener to take the next step.

4. My request is …

The more specific you are about what you want and when, the likelier you are to get it.

5. I’m not sure, but let me get back to you in …

Much better than “I don’t know. Let me think about it.”

Read more here.

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Image source: Quotesgram

 

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