Blog

IVOA Is Now Available as a ChatGPT Plugin

By Peter DiGiammarino

OpenAI has approved IntelliVen Operations Advisor (IVOA) for public availability as a ChatGPT plugin. Learn how to install and use IVOA to apply Manage to Lead methods, templates, tutorials, and rubrics directly in everyday leadership work.

Help Young People Choose Where to Grow

By Peter DiGiammarino

A simple visual exercise helps young people choose which skills to develop and gives parents, grandparents, mentors, and coaches a window into their thinking.

How Leadership Teams Build and Maintain Shared Clarity

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams perform better when they make individual thinking visible, work through different views, and develop shared clarity they can use.

Learning to Think Together

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams develop shared understanding by learning to think through important questions together. The progression is simple: What I think. What you think. What we think. What more we can discern. What we say. This progression describes a discipline that leadership teams can apply to virtually any consequential issue. Practiced repeatedly, the discipline becomes part … Continue reading Learning to Think Together →

Conversations Every Fast-Growing Leadership Team Needs

By Peter DiGiammarino

The people who work closely with leaders often know things about their strengths, contributions, and opportunities to grow that the leaders themselves cannot see. A simple, facilitated reflection process can turn that collective knowledge into meaningful leadership development.

Talk to Anyone. Direct No One.

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leaders need direct communication across organization levels to understand what is happening and test whether their messages are getting through. The key is to communicate freely without creating competing lines of authority.

How Manage to Lead Fits Together

By Peter DiGiammarino

Manage to Lead is an integrated leadership operating system that helps leadership teams develop shared understanding, improve organization performance, and create the conditions under which others can successfully lead.

The Meaning of Manage to Lead

By Peter DiGiammarino

Why Manage to Lead? The name reflects three complementary ideas: people manage in order to lead, the work of leadership must itself be managed, and leadership excellence requires the discipline to “manage” to lead. Together they form the philosophy behind the Manage to Lead leadership operating system.

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.

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 →

Six P’s to peak meeting performance.

By Peter DiGiammarino | October 27, 2023

Transform the way you participate in board sessions, executive reviews, operating meetings, design and code walkthroughs, All Hands meetings, interviews, and more! Adopt the **Six Ps** for enhanced individual and group performance. Prepare Read materials sent in advance with enough lead-time to reflect on their content. If you are the meeting owner, make it easy … Continue reading Six P’s to peak meeting performance. →

Prompt Engineering: How We Put Generative AI to Work For Our Business

By Breanna DiGiammarino | October 24, 2023

Summary: In just six prompt engineering iterations we achieved real business value with generative Artificial Intelligence in that we are now able to: Significantly reduce the time required to review and assess client submissions using our WHAT-WHO-WHY rubric. Provide a comprehensive evaluation and quality suggestions for each entry. Make explicit and accessible our assessment and … Continue reading Prompt Engineering: How We Put Generative AI to Work For Our Business →

Four Steps to a Smooth Transition

By Peter DiGiammarino | October 21, 2023

Below are four steps to smooth the transition out of a top role. It is critical to execute the steps in order. (See also: Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges): Get Out Clean Most leaders are not experienced at dismissing someone, especially senior people, so your departure may be chaotic and traumatic … Continue reading Four Steps to a Smooth Transition →

MtL Workshops: A Proven Way to Accelerate Your Team’s Leadership Skills, Alignment, and Growth

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 27, 2023

Are you looking for a way to help your team reach its full potential? If so, you may be interested in IntelliVen Manage to Lead (MtL) Workshops. MtL half-day Workshops help leaders develop the skills and knowledge they need to architect, build, govern, and change their organizations. MtL Workshops are based on a proven system … Continue reading MtL Workshops: A Proven Way to Accelerate Your Team’s Leadership Skills, Alignment, and Growth →

From Vision to Action! How to Align Your Team and Execute Your Plan

By Whitney Bembenek | September 10, 2023

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, having a clear and well-defined strategy to win the game you are playing is critical. It’s the roadmap that guides your organization towards its goals and ensures that every action and decision aligns with your vision. However, crafting and implementing an effective strategy can be a complex and daunting task. … Continue reading From Vision to Action! How to Align Your Team and Execute Your Plan →