Having a solid leadership group is essential in business, which is why leadership development training is so important. Companies that lack leadership tend to suffer from higher turnover, decreased productivity, and lower morale.
For many, working at a start-up is a dream come true because they have the chance to help build a company from the ground up while being part of something special. Many start-ups also offer a relaxed workplace and flexible hours, which employees see as positives. The Bay Area where Leadership Development Institute is located and Silicon Valley are some of the most popular areas for high tech startups.At the same time, start-ups come with a lot of uncertainty and…
Building a Team That Executes and Makes Decisions with Accelerated Velocity
The business world is incredibly competitive, and leaders are always making decisions that could make or break a company. When you find yourself up against a deadline or dealing with a decision that could define your year, it’s crucial that you get it right.But, you’ll also want to make a quick decision so that you don’t miss out on an opportunity.So, how do you implement a team that will…
In today’s business world of ever increasing change, it is always easier to justify focusing on the immediate needs of the bottom line or latest crisis; and pay less attention to the underlying issues that ultimately drive long-term success. One of top underlying issues for most organizations is leadership development. Companies that develop effective and adaptable leaders are those that stay ahead of the change curve, learn to adapt and consequently grow and prosper. Are today’s employers confident that they…
We all spend more time in meetings than we would prefer to and for most of us they are energy depleting and at best moderately productive. Here are 3 simple suggestions that might improve the quality of the meetings you facilitate.1. Give Each Agenda Item an ObjectiveEssentially what are we trying to accomplish with each agenda item? The objective for each agenda item can be provided by the meeting owner or the person who asked to have a particular item…
Time marches on, and with it go corporate leaders. Everybody retires at one time or another, and to maintain solvency in the leadership ranks, companies must know in advance how they’re going to deal with these departures. The traditional way of addressing this is with succession planning.It’s important to have a plan in place to make the changing of the guard for executive management positions smooth and uncontroversial. The plan itself, however, is not as important as what the plan…
Today is the official launch of our new website and we are excited to share it with all of you.We are also beginning our 15th year of business here in the Bay Area.Our passion and vitality for our work seem stronger than ever. Much of this has to do with our continuous learning during the last 18 months.First we engaged with Phil Sandahl and his staff at Team Coaching International (TCI), where we went through their unique team coaching certification.…
A rising athlete relies on a good coach to provide the insight and direction that lead to greater skills. In the same way, smart business leaders tap into the proven expertise of executive coaches to help them develop the leadership and personal power needed to rise to the top of their fields. What’s it like to work with an executive coach? Why are these coaches so beneficial?Most of us have watched sports coaches in action. In nearly every case, we…
We have noticed a trending in the last 5 years between managers and their direct reports that concerns us a great deal. Managers have become less accessible, conduct fewer staff meetings, schedule infrequent one-on-ones and communicate downward less and less. We believe this growing trend is being driven by three particular things: managers being asked to manage and be individual contributors, more matrixed organizations that require significant cross functional collaboration and thus a greater time allotment and managers not being…
In our earlier post we mentioned our work with Kaplan and Kaiser the authors of the book The Versatile Leader. Today we would like to open up for discussion the concept of leadership versatility.From our perspective leadership versatility is the capability to flex as needed on a pair of opposing leadership virtues. We work with leaders to aspire to versatility in a two-sided sense. For example being direct and respectful of people's feelings or if you are a team leader…