Grolistic

Cultivating Dialogue

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It’s understood that communication is an essential ingredient of effective leadership. What is less often realized is that two-way interaction, dialogue, is the most impactful method of communication for influencing those you seek to lead. The word ‘dialogue’ is actually a contraction from the Greek words for “through” and “words” which suggests a focus on discovering meaning. The ancient Greeks learned that people reasoning together, rather than as individuals, are more likely to uncover the …

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Navigating Disruption

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Today’s tech driven world appeals to our search for predictability. We have instant access to an abundance of information, perhaps too much of it. We’ve come to expect consistency from the brands on which we rely; Starbuck’s coffee is the same worldwide, and Amazon will deliver your package as close as possible to tomorrow.  But working against this predictability, and undermining its expected outcomes, is the persistent disruption of routine, perpetual change that challenges us to repeatedly …

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3 Vital Tasks for Welcoming a New Leader

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The start of a new year may find you welcoming a new leader to your team. Key to your onboarding effort is emphasizing the need to build relationships that are essential for the leader’s success.  Guiding your new leader to accomplish these 3 tasks will support that objective, and help establish the leader’s effectiveness and credibility:  1. Align current circumstances with expectations. New leaders must quickly gain clarity about the path ahead and your expectations for them. As …

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Accelerating Progress

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It won’t be long before excessively busy schedules, endless meetings and heavy workloads again become the norm. Before that happens, there’s an opportunity to assess your, and your business’, journey from “what is” to “what can be.” It’s an exercise that can help accelerate your progress in 2022.  Like most leaders, the professional portion of this evaluation often touches on your three primary functions: Your management role – the responsibility for guiding your people to achieve goals …

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Reflections

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With the year-end approaching, it’s a good time to assess your progress – personally and professionally.  Amidst continued uncertainty, it’s constructive to hit pause and reconnect with guiding values and beliefs, to count blessings, to reflect on what’s been achieved, and to appreciate those accomplishments which make you most proud.  Months or years from now, there will be new experiences and new skills, new friends, family and customers, new successes and challenges, new titles or …

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3 Steps for Conflict Resolution

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To secure a team’s commitment to a direction, decision or action, it may be necessary for a leader to resolve differing opinions. This is accomplished by striving to get all opinions on the table, and then employing empathy, discovery and tenacity to move towards a resolution.  1.      Leveraging empathy. Leaders who begin a conflict dialogue by empathetically listening to the differing perspectives, seeking to discover why the differences exist, know that this process accelerates resolution while enabling the various stakeholders to learn …

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Investment Priorities

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For leaders, there are always problems – a parade of challenges that command your attention. Systems are down, people or organizations are working against you, or there’s a compelling difficulty that needs resolution.  There are always opportunities as well – innovative ideas or new relationships waiting to be embraced. These are chances to create value, to share or give, to move faster, or to make something better.  And there are always limits – limited time, energy, money …

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Developing CEO Successors

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When the need to identify a CEO successor becomes urgent, the probability of finding the best person is improved when that need is anticipated in advance. Developing CEO successors should be a deliberate, robust process involving your advisors or directors, and potentially the successor candidates themselves. Many companies rely on external organizations, experienced with succession issues and methods, to help develop and support this process.  One key element in productive succession planning is purposefully identifying and developing potential …

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Applying Liminal Agility

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Leaders are expected to improve results, which means they are consistently challenged to drive change. Change is a disruption. Few people welcome disruption which makes it the root cause of resistance to change, and every leader’s primary obstacle to be overcome for successful implementation of needed change. In their new book, “Unleashed,” Rick and Amy Simmons, founders of the telos institute,explorea process of liminal agility that leaders may use to transform disruption into opportunity, accelerating the …

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Job Satisfaction Drives Progress

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Leadership is a people business. Results are achieved by influencing and inspiring your people to ask why, take responsibility, and make a difference for customers, teammates, and the business as a whole.  During this time of unrelenting change and adaptation, it becomes clearer that your people are your most sustainable competitive advantage. They are the face of your business, doing the meaningful work and delivering the experiences that build enduring relationships. Growth relies on these relationships.  One system …

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