Why good leaders make you feel safe [ TED Talk : Simon Sinek ]

Positive Leadership: A Framework for Boosting Organisational Performance Smart organisations can achieve improvement and business benefits by equipping leaders with the capabilities to create a positive culture that leads to thriving performance. One of my favourite leadership development frameworks, and one I use a lot in accelerated leadership programs for large organisations, comes from the field of Positive Organisational Scholarship (POS), positive psychology in the workplace. It is particularly relevant when developing future leaders because it guides them to create a positive climate that enhances resilience and wellbeing in themselves and the people they lead while equipping them with skills to inspire high performance and manage people positively every day. Striving for the exceptional Kim Cameron designed the Positive Leadership model based on his empirical research on organisations that achieved exceptional success. As a result of this training, the change project exceeded expectations and the team won the award for best team in the business. 1. 2.

What it really means to lead more effectively through empowerment | McKinsey&Company February 17, 2020In our last blog post, “Busting a management myth: empowering employees doesn’t mean leaving them alone,” we discussed how leaders’ fundamental misunderstanding of “empowerment” often results in management styles that doesn’t deliver for managers, employees or the organization. What then does it mean to truly empower those you manage, and what actions can you take to drive results? Genuine empowerment requires leaders to be involved, to be of service, to coach and mentor, to guide, to inspire – it means frequent, highly involved interactions, just of a different nature than the autocratic and controlling style. Why is genuine empowerment so difficult to achieve in an organization? What are concrete actions leaders can take to empower others and improve the speed and quality of decision-making in their organization? 1. Define “in scope” vs. 2. 3. 4.

Nine Principles for Co-Creating Culture Change How do you help organisations achieve positive, rapid and sustainable change? Traditionally change in organisations has been a top-down, linear, compliance process; first designed and then implemented. In today’s fast paced and complex world this takes too long and is too hard. People resist the pressure. To create that kind of positive, forward-thinking change we need to do it together. Co-creative approaches to organisational change such as Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space, and World Café have some very distinctive features that differentiate them from more familiar top-down planned approaches to change. Here are nine principles to guide co-creative change. Change is a many-to-many rather than one-to-many process. In co-creative change a lot can happen in a short space of time as conversation (and change) takes place simultaneously amongst people in various groups rather than relying on a linear transmission from top to bottom. The world is socially constructed.

How to Ensure Leaders are Ready to Lead Change | Change Management Review In change leadership we talk about “organizational readiness” to prepare employees to embrace change. Rarely do we speak of “leadership readiness.” Yet Prosci, a leading change research firm, reports year after year that lack of sponsorship is the number one cause of change failing to meet its objectives. It’s time to talk about “leadership readiness.” There are three primary barriers to leadership readiness: Leaders don’t fully understand their role.Cross-functional dysfunction erupts due to lack of alignment on approach, intent or outcomes.Leaders don’t solicit enough feedback to engage employees. Each of these result in changes that do not live up to their potential. How leaders fulfill their role Three things successful leaders do regularly: Provide active and visible support for the change.Understand the behavior impact caused by the change.Repeatedly communicate the need for change. Provide active and visible support. Understand the behavior impact. Repeatedly communicate. Summary

The 10 Traits of a Positive Community “Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” – Paul Ryan Humans are made to live and work with others; we are social beings evolved to exist within communities. The quality of the communities productive to the degree of engagement and happiness individuals can draw from community interactions and sadly some communities promote feelings of self-doubt and isolation. Positive communities are groups that inspire their members in ways that promote sense self-discovery and group connection, encouraging members to express their beliefs and values, as well as build relationships with others. The Importance of Positive Communities Involvement in a positive and encouraging community has a tangible impact on individual self-awareness and fulfillment. Positive community experiences also provide members with a sense of belonging and the feeling of being able to express themselves without feeling judged. Promote Fairness

Building effective change leadership in your organization | Changefirst Change leadership has always been an important component of implementing successful change. But the need for effective change leadership has been brought into even sharper focus by the increased level of change that organizations have had to deal with in recent months. It may seem obvious, but too often we have seen this core concept only given lip service, with change leaders appointed (sometimes) but without those individuals embracing their role and visibly living the change. The three change leadership roles Effective change leadership is built on three separate leadership roles, each with different levels of power to provide direction, guidance and support across the depth and breadth of the organization impacted by change. For successful change leadership, these roles use their power to operate effectively as a network. There is no substitute for active sponsorship from top leaders, however effective change leadership is not just about the words and actions of senior people.

Can You Make Organizational Change Easier? Are you struggling to get people on board when it comes to embracing change in your organization? If you’re nodding your head you’re not alone. In fact, studies continue to suggest that up to seventy percent of attempts end in failure. So how can you work with people’s brains to make change easier? “Context is critical in understanding how you can take organizations forward,” explained Garry Davis, a positive psychology and organizational development thought leader, when I interviewed him recently. “Every organization has its own unique history and culture, and within this teams have their own subcultures, and individuals have different motivations for their response to changes.” For example, Garry explained that when you work in a positive culture where your abilities are acknowledged and valued, your sense of worth is high, you are more likely to experience an upward spiral of wellbeing that will help you engage, contribute and continue to perform throughout a change process.

The Science of Leadership in Team | DCE Magazine Summer 2020 Creating the right conditions for success is key to leading effective teams – in natural disasters or the workplace. “Teams can achieve incredible results. My mission is to elevate the performance of teams everywhere. Armin Pajand knows what effective leadership looks like. Back in 2017 he moved to Houston just days before Hurricane Harvey decimated the region, taking a position as Associate Director for Leadership Development at Doerr Institute amid disastrous conditions. But Pajand put his skills to work immediately, helping to organizing more than 2,000 student volunteers in a massive clean-up and recovery effort. “Our team was mobilizing and coordinating volunteer efforts out of our office,” said Pajand, advisory board member for the DCE's Organizational Leadership & Communication certificate program. Leading a team requires a distinct skill set, whether on the front lines of disaster or in the office conference room. Teamwork in the 21st century Managing emotional needs