Tag Archives: leaders

Get Aligned, Manage to Lead, People Matters

Why every organization needs its leader to try not to do anything.

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Every organization has, or needs, a leader. And it is true that the power of one committed, clever person can make all the difference in the world. But no one individual, even the greatest leader, does anything of much significance alone.

The simple truth is that it takes a team to lead an organization. The action motivated by this truth is for the leader to decide what kind of leader to be and then to attract, collect, and align his/her top team and collect followers.

The best leaders figure out that it is not all about them. It is about their organizations and the decision to either manage or lead is a false dichotomy. The one in charge needs to manage in order to lead and, indeed, can and should Manage to Lead his/her organization to achieve the stated vision. The top person’s job starts with managing his/her own self to lead. Continue reading Why every organization needs its leader to try not to do anything. →

Presentations

IntelliVen CEO to appear as World Strategy Week Panelist on the Role of Leaders in Strategy Success

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World Strategy Week World Strategy Week is a worldwide, virtual event featuring the best experts and leaders in strategy, strategic planning, and strategic management to inspire, engage and innovate.

Leaders are on the hot seat in today’s shifting business and social environment.  Leadership skills and practices that might have delivered results and strategic success in a more static environment are less likely to work now. Continue reading IntelliVen CEO to appear as World Strategy Week Panelist on the Role of Leaders in Strategy Success →

Focus, People Matters

Volunteer to Improve the World … and Yourself

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Act Intentionally...Persist Variously
Act Intentionally…Persist Variously

While putting full attention on accomplishing one thing increases the odds that the thing will be done well, it is all too easy for the career minded professional to end up doing nothing other than their work!

They would be wise to realize that top performers at all levels make time for other things such as family, recreation, exercise, spiritual development, and even volunteer work.

Participating in volunteer work can add a healthy perspective to life and position for growth which makes it all the more rewarding to find a way to pitch-in. Continue reading Volunteer to Improve the World … and Yourself →

People Matters

Advice and Lessons from Women Leaders Who Drive Change

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Figure 1: A leader sets direction, aligns resources, and motivates action.

On April 29, 2014 IntelliVen sponsored the San Francisco Bay Area Organization Development Network (BAODN) panel discussion on the topic of Women Leaders Who Drive Change.

BAODN President Steve McGee facilitated the discussion in front of an audience of over 40 people at Big Heart Pet Brands Headquarters, One Maritime Plaza in San Francisco.

Panelists:

  • Christine Hunter; Vice President of Talent at Big Heart Pet Brands, formerly Del Monte.
  • Rochelle Kopp; founder of Japan Intercultural Consulting, wrote a book for non-Japanese about working at Japanese company, and teaches cross-cultural business communication.
  • Dena McFarland; was part of a significant change at Xerox where they restructured the company yet didn’t lay off anyone.  She was also a consultant for hospitals to change their mindset from physician-centered to patient-centered.
  • Jeanamaria M. Alayaay; co-facilitated Lean Startup Product Development training for the White House Presidential innovation fellows and Presidential leadership programs, Enterprise Ireland (the Irish government’s tech accelerator), Evernote, and Microsoft Imagine Cup.  She works at Luxr.

A rough summary of key points panelists offered in response to opening questions follows:

Advice from women who drive change:

Get Aligned

Bi-weekly One-on-One Executive Meetings

Stick Figures of Leaders in ActionLeaders whose direct reports submit regular (e.g., monthly) status reports on progress, problems, and plans should consider re-working their approach to include more frequent (e.g., bi-weekly), one-on-one, real-time meetings to discuss progress and to collaborate and align on how things are going, priorities, and next steps.

Specifically, top leaders ask each direct report to prepare and submit a day or so ahead of meeting one-on-one:

  • An update on progress since last meeting, including a read-out of measures previously agreed upon to track progress.
  • A list of the top three or so things s/he is working on, and for each:
    • What s/he seeks to accomplish
    • What has been done so far to accomplish it
    • What has happened as a result of what has been done so far
    • What has been learned from above
    • What s/he plans to do  next.