3 Steps to Create Team Engagement with Strategic Priorities

Effective change means bringing your team along.

  After years of leading teams and advising companies across industries on how to align their people+process to be effective in executing the strategic plans, one fact is very clear to me. Poor execution will sink strategy every time. At the heart of failed execution are three realities. Too many priorities impact employees’ ability to…

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Leaders, Don’t Look Back. You’re Not Going That Way.

Who could’ve imagined we’d be here when we began 2020? I certainly didn’t. Our strategic plan looked very different than the reality of today. In fact, it is completely outdated and irrelevant. Sound familiar? As I look to the future and design for the new reality, I am grounded in three truths. 1. It’s Not…

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3 Ways to Predict a Successful New Hire

Acquiring talent certainly takes people skills, creative grit, and a discerned ear for both the embellished candidate’s accomplishments as well as the diamond in the rough. Even with all of those skills refined, good hires can be missed, and bad hires mistakenly made. Why? Because most talent acquisition strategies are well-oiled machines around eligibility –…

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3 Steps to Improve Your Execution Strategy Now

Have you ever experienced a solid strategy that has fallen flat? What seemed logical and straight forward often becomes convoluted or misconstrued in execution. Solid strategy can’t withstand ineffective execution. So, what can you do? For leaders who are deeply invested in conversations involving the strategy of the company, it seems baffling as to why…

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5 Steps to Allow Employees to Fail Safely

Lessons Learned from Failing in Business

One of the most important elements of being a strategic leader is allowing your employees to experience failure and learning from their mistakes in an environment where they are encouraged to experiment and take calculated risks. For some leaders, this concept may have you feeling uneasy even just reading this far. Much of business today…

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5 Tips to Gain Buy-in for Your Plan

Gain Influence and Buy-in

Have you ever had your budget slashed during one of the many rounds of line item revisions? Or been told the project you’ve spent months researching is now on hold due to a “shift in priorities”? It’s a frustrating reality of business. Whether you’re leading a project in which you own the budget, or you…

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Top 7 Leadership Mistakes to Avoid in High-Growth Times

Houston We Have a Problem

When times are good, it’s not uncommon to let your guard down and fall to the pressure of quick and easy wins. Unfortunately, with those decisions come long-lasting consequences. Don’t get caught off guard making these mistakes! Read on to know what to avoid so you don’t fall prey to this tempting trend. 1. Assuming…

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How to Make Your Positive Feedback More Valuable

Positive Feedback is Good

A few weeks ago, we discussed the value of specific, positive feedback and how it can make a huge difference in employee morale and performance. When we explain exactly what they’re doing right and why it benefits the company, we help the people we supervise to grow and excel. This type of feedback means pushing…

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Why is Critical Thinking Important in Business?

Critical Thinking is Important for Business

Recently I was included in an Up Journey article where I answered the question ‘Why is Critical Thinking Important’? Below is an excerpt from that piece and three steps to take to incorporate a critical thinking framework in your organization. As a former business executive and now the owner of a boutique organizational strategy consultancy,…

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