Blog

Developing Shared Ways of Thinking and Working

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams develop shared ways of thinking and working by making thinking visible, strengthening it together, and cultivating leadership disciplines that shape organizational culture.

Making Thinking Visible

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams can only examine, improve, and build upon thinking that becomes visible. This essay explores why revealing observations, assumptions, reasoning, and questions enables leadership teams to develop stronger shared understanding, make better decisions, and improve organization performance.

Leadership Conversations Start Before They Begin

By Peter DiGiammarino

This essay builds on the ideas introduced in The Leadership Team’s Most Important Asset. Leadership teams create enormous value through conversation because conversation is the primary way they develop, maintain, and continually strengthen a shared understanding of the organization they are responsible for leading. Leadership conversations take place in meetings, at offsites, through online exchanges, … Continue reading Leadership Conversations Start Before They Begin

The Leadership Team’s Most Important Asset

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams talk for hours on strategy, priorities, budgets, talent, and performance. Turning those discussions into coordinated action is agonizingly difficult. The core reason is simple: leaders rarely operate from a shared reality. Even large, well-run organizations are known to spend significant time and money, including on consultants, to evaluate whether they are “ready for … Continue reading The Leadership Team’s Most Important Asset

Conversations Every Fast-Growing Leadership Team Needs

By Peter DiGiammarino

As organizations grow, leadership conversations naturally focus on strategy, fundraising, sales, product, and operations. Those conversations are essential. Yet one conversation often receives far less attention than it deserves, even though it may have the greatest impact on the organization’s future: What do the people around me know about my leadership that I don’t? Every … Continue reading Conversations Every Fast-Growing Leadership Team Needs

If executive offsites are so valuable, why do we only have one or two a year?

By Peter DiGiammarino

Executive offsites have been part of running a business for decades because they work. Leaders wouldn’t continue investing the time, money, and energy it takes to step away from the day-to-day business if they didn’t. Organizations have become increasingly distributed, while AI has dramatically expanded what leadership teams can accomplish together between meetings. Together, those … Continue reading If executive offsites are so valuable, why do we only have one or two a year?

MtL Alumni: Strategy Offsites Start Before You Go

By Peter DiGiammarino

Great strategy discussions start before people walk into the room. As planning season approaches, remember that the best discussions never begin when leadership gathers for an offsite. They begin weeks earlier. Strong teams clarify and share their thinking before they meet. They compare perspectives, challenge assumptions, sharpen priorities, and work together toward a shared understanding of … Continue reading MtL Alumni: Strategy Offsites Start Before You Go

Your Team’s Leadership Workspace is Now Available

By Peter DiGiammarino

For years, IntelliVen has helped leaders: Get Clear. Align. Grow. Together. Effective leadership requires clear thinking, disciplined execution, and alignment across decisions and actions. With this post, we announce the availability of the IntelliVen Leadership Workspace, a collaborative environment that brings together the Manage to Lead tools with AI-guided support to help leadership teams draw … Continue reading Your Team’s Leadership Workspace is Now Available

Revenue Leads Expenses

By Peter DiGiammarino

Most leadership teams know the problem. They set an annual revenue target, build spending around it, and move forward as if the planned revenue inflow is already on its way. If revenue later develops more slowly than hoped, the organization is forced to pull back, delay hires, cut initiatives, and explain why the original plan … Continue reading Revenue Leads Expenses

Before You Build, Get Clear

By Peter DiGiammarino

Before You Build, Get Clear AI makes it easier than ever to build, prototype, and automate. It does not make it any less important to think. When the cost of building drops, the cost of building the wrong thing rises. Remember Peter Drucker’s aphorism that ends wtih “… are you doing the right thing?” That is … Continue reading Before You Build, Get Clear

The Evolving Leader: Leading Through Stages of Organization Maturity

By Peter DiGiammarino | May 9, 2024

Organizations, like living things, go through distinct stages of growth and development. This maturity model helps us understand the characteristics of organizations at various points in their journey, and how the role of the leader must adapt to navigate each stage successfully. This post explores the five stages of organizational maturity: Concept, Startup, Credible, Sustainable, … Continue reading The Evolving Leader: Leading Through Stages of Organization Maturity

Embracing Uncertainty: A Leader’s Path to Growth and Adaptability

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 26, 2024

Leaders are often confronted with complex decisions that can shape the trajectory of their organizations. Amidst the pressure to find the “right” answer, it’s easy to become mired in indecision, oscillating between various options and seeking input from every possible source. However, true growth as a leader lies not in the pursuit of a singular … Continue reading Embracing Uncertainty: A Leader’s Path to Growth and Adaptability

Maximizing the Value of Review Meetings

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 21, 2024

Periodic reviews are critical for keeping important initiatives, functions, and projects on track in an organization. However, maximizing the value from review meetings takes thoughtful effort from both the reviewers and those presenting their work (the reviewees). Too often, one or both do not put in the necessary preparation or exhibit good practices during the … Continue reading Maximizing the Value of Review Meetings

Gain the Ultimate Leadership Edge: The Art of Helicoptering Up

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 5, 2024

As an emerging leader, you’re likely facing a number of high-stakes situations – important meetings, presentations, negotiations, and other career-defining moments. In these pressure-filled scenarios, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment, reacting instinctively rather than consciously guiding your actions toward your desired outcomes. This is where the leadership technique of “helicoptering up” … Continue reading Gain the Ultimate Leadership Edge: The Art of Helicoptering Up

Emerging Leaders: Mastering Group Process for Success

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 5, 2024

As an emerging leader, the ability to effectively navigate group work is a critical skill. Too often, we find ourselves in situations where groups become mired in the easy tasks, neglecting the more challenging but equally important aspects of the work. In this post, we will explore key strategies to help you and your teams … Continue reading Emerging Leaders: Mastering Group Process for Success

Launching the First Cohort of the Enhanced “Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance” on Maven

By Peter DiGiammarino | February 3, 2024

We’re thrilled to announce that IntelliVen’s flagship course, Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance is about to debut on Maven with significant upgrades and enhancements. Since it was developed for American University in 2010, the 10-module MtL course has empowered hundreds of leaders and their teams to achieve breakthrough  improvements in performance and growth. … Continue reading Launching the First Cohort of the Enhanced “Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance” on Maven

Balancing Act: Navigating the Complex Interplay Between a Portfolio CEO and Private Equity Managing Directors

By Peter DiGiammarino | January 18, 2024

This post is based on remarks IntelliVen CEO, Peter DiGiammarino, made about what Private Equity Operations partners do for portfolio CEOs at a National Private Equity International Operating Partners Forum Panel Discussion in Sentry Center, New York City. Panel Topic A view from the portfolio company CEO on: Management autonomy and sponsor inclusion; striking the right … Continue reading Balancing Act: Navigating the Complex Interplay Between a Portfolio CEO and Private Equity Managing Directors

Scaling User Engagement: Implementing Community Strategy for Business Growth and Loyalty

By Breanna DiGiammarino | December 22, 2023

Once there are more users of your company’s product than you can keep in touch with individually on a regular basis, it is likely time to implement a community engagement strategy. The primary objective of a community strategy is to engage a high-priority subset of users in a forum that enables them to connect with … Continue reading Scaling User Engagement: Implementing Community Strategy for Business Growth and Loyalty

Dual-Track Goal Setting: Harmonizing Management Ambition with Stakeholder Assurance

By Peter DiGiammarino | December 20, 2023

The best approach to setting annual performance goals for an organization is to simultaneously pursue two paths, one for the management team and one for the board, investors, and lenders as outlined below. Stakeholder Plan: The Under-Promise-Over-Deliver Approach Target Audience: Board, Bankers, and Investors Objective: Manage downside risk while maintaining credibility. Strategy: Present conservative, achievable … Continue reading Dual-Track Goal Setting: Harmonizing Management Ambition with Stakeholder Assurance

How to Find a Job

By Peter DiGiammarino | December 2, 2023

It is a job to find a job … and most of those who are Open-to-Work do not do it well; in part because there is little time to find a new job while employed and, when unemployed, a sense of despondence, depression, or desperation may make it hard to perform at peak levels. Three … Continue reading How to Find a Job

How to Sync Your Leadership Team’s Skills with Organizational Growth

By Brent Green | November 13, 2023

If you are a CEO or a senior leader of a growing organization, you know how critical it is to have the right mix of skills, knowledge, and behaviors among your top team to drive growth and performance. How do you adapt your team’s composition and dynamics to match the needs and demands at different … Continue reading How to Sync Your Leadership Team’s Skills with Organizational Growth

Beyond the Paycheck: An Employee Guide to A Dream Job

By Briana Hilton | November 9, 2023

Employee satisfaction is influenced by factors well beyond the paycheck. Research highlights the crucial role of elements like company culture, leadership quality, opportunities to advance critical skills, and career advancement opportunities in influencing workplace contentment across various income levels. As Open Sourced Workplace notes, organizational culture, leadership behavior, skill development, and career advancement are intertwined, … Continue reading Beyond the Paycheck: An Employee Guide to A Dream Job