The Power of Politics and Persuasion
September 1, 2010 by Di
Filed under leadership, politics, power, reward
The most successful leaders use power, political savvy and persuasion to bring their ideas to fruition. Many executives, however, are uncomfortable with power or office politics, viewing them as the dark side of workplace behaviour. They believe job satisfaction, morale and commitment erode when politics dominate the environment.
But research clearly shows that being politically savvy and building a power base pay off. In “Power Is the Great Motivator,” a classic 2003 Harvard Business Review article, leadership consultants David McClelland and David Burnham examined managers’ primary motivations and success in achieving results.
Ethical Slips and the Irresistible Urge to Cheat
August 17, 2010 by Di
Filed under ethics, integrity, leadership
Even with a solid foundation of good moral values, no one is immune to making unethical choices.
Ethical slips and traps are rampant, from telling white lies that protect a friend, to ignoring a gut feeling and following orders when we know better.
Not a month goes by without some highly publicised ethical scandal. Be it tax evasion, executive pay excesses, sexual dalliances and outright fraud, many individuals are simply unable to resist temptation.
The Top 3 Ways to Engage Employees
July 27, 2010 by Di
Filed under engagement, leadership, performance management, reward, weaknesses strengths
The No. 1 reason why most people leave their jobs is the feeling they’re not appreciated.
According to Gallup research, what employees want most — along with competitive pay — is quality management. When they feel unappreciated and disapprove of their managers, they leave or join the growing ranks of the disengaged.
3 Steps to Positive Leadership
Creating a Culture of Execution & Accountability
June 11, 2010 by Di
Filed under accountability, coaching, integrity, leadership, responsibility, values
“Execution is the great unaddressed issue in the business world today. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to other causes.” ― Ram Charan, author of What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards that Work.
In the year 2000 alone, 40 CEOs of the top 200 companies on Fortune’s 500 list were fired or made to resign. When 20 percent of the most powerful business leaders lose their jobs, something is clearly wrong.
The Three Biggest Mistakes Executives Make When Leading Behavioural Change
June 2, 2010 by Di
Filed under accountability, coaching, leadership, performance management, trust
Why is it that leaders frequently fail to hold people in their organisations accountable for their behaviour? Implementing such recognised measures as performance management, job design, program evaluation, risk management, and planning to achieve better job performance, furthermore, consistently fails to deliver it. The basic problem is that it can be profoundly difficult for leaders to change their own behaviour, let alone influence sustained behavioural change in others. Three basic mistakes contribute to this problem.
Failure to Confront Problem Behaviour
Transparency & Trust: A New Metric for Leadership
May 26, 2010 by Di
Filed under change leadership, integrity, leadership, performance management, power, sustainable leadership, trust
We need a better way to evaluate our business leaders, assert James O’Toole and Warren Bennis in a recent Harvard Business Review article “A Culture of Candor,” (June 2009). It’s no longer prudent to judge American corporate leaders’ performance solely on the extent to which they create wealth for investors.
Moving forward, a new metric is proposed: the extent to which executives create organisations that are economically, ethically and socially sustainable.
Turning Complaints into Commitments
April 21, 2010 by Di
Filed under change, change leadership, communicating change, leadership
What are people complaining about in your organisation?
- “We never have a chance to really talk about the big picture of our work. We’re under so much pressure to deliver what is needed now. There’s little opportunity to understand how things tie in with larger goals; consequently, there’s no breathing space for creativity or innovation.“
- “I’d be able to grow and develop at work if I didn’t have to babysit around here…If my subordinates didn’t come to me for every little decision and if they would take more initiative, I’d be freer to do the same in my own job.”
- “There’s too much talking behind one’s back here. People talk about others, but rarely to others. I don’t feel people come to me directly; I find out about things from other people. If I knew and had a chance to talk to the person with a complaint, then we could confront the issues and work on solutions.”
Leading From the Middle
February 7, 2010 by Di
Filed under change leadership, leadership, opportunity, resilience, responsibility, sustainable leadership
In these uncertain times, credibility and trust in senior leaders and their capacity to move organisations has taken a nosedive. Now is a golden opportunity for leaders in the middle to step up and launch a rescue operation to fill the gap and advance their career.
Leaders are almost by definition people who change minds. —Howard E. Gardner, Leading Minds
Think or Sink: The one choice that changes everything
January 19, 2010 by Di
Filed under change, change leadership, coaching, leadership, opportunity, resilience, success
What if you could get anything that you wanted without having to change your circumstances? What if you could master your mind so that it would actually alter your experience? What if you could be happy and stress-free regardless of what was going on around you? What if 2010 could be your greatest year ever because you discovered the ONE choice that changes everything?
Wouldn’t you be even the teeniest bit interested? 
Relax, Don’t Worry: The Brain Science of Productivity
December 17, 2009 by Di
Filed under goals, leadership, performance, productivity, success
Everyone you meet these days is overworked and out of time. In our tech-enhanced world, we have more timesaving helpers and systems than ever before.
My name is Di Worrall, and I'm an author, corporate change specialist and executive coach. I wrote the new release book - A Climate for Change - How to ride the wave of change into the 21st Century and create a more sustainable and prosperous future for you and your business. You might be a business leader or you might be in the business of coaching, consulting or training business leaders. I created this blog as a companion to the book and to help you and your clients navigate the current climate of change and uncertainty, and lay the foundations for a more sustainable future.
