Behavioral science proves it: your world is perfectly designed for the results you are getting. Leaders who want to achieve ambitious goals need to be able to change people or change people. Unfortunately, a challenging talent marketplace gripping every business is often delaying timely people changes that matter. Leaders feel trapped between tolerating performance below expectations or having the employees to deliver results. When you accept poor performance, everyone pays the price. It affects team effectiveness, talent retention, company culture, growth prospects, financial stability, innovation, and, ultimately, your leadership credibility. Making difficult decisions in leadership can't be escaped. But you can strive for better leadership habits that bring out the best in your team, and you can refuse to tolerate poor performance. Here is one practical performance improvement tool and four leadership habits proven to elevate people, profit, and purpose. Isn't poor performance better than a critical role vacancy? Right? Employee labor costs are often among the most significant budget line items. The benefits of effective performance management are well documented beyond the obvious benefit of increasing revenue. Effectively applying performance reinforcement leads to increased organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Also known as discretionary effort, OCB is performance management's "Holy Grail." It cracks the code to the full potential of a team and organization. Evidence links effective performance management with positive individual and organizational outcomes such as increased productivity, decreased employee turnover intentions , reduced absenteeism, improved operational efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. Performance is contagious. Tolerating poor performance reinforces poor performance. Failing to bring out an employee's best undervalues your team. When performance falls below the standards of the job, the employee, team, and organization suffer. A study revealed that underperforming employees comprise more than 15% of organizations. Reduced productivity, inferior products and services, and team morale issues stem from tolerating poor performance in the workplace. Are you accidentally tolerating poor performance? Below are four common and dangerous accidental habits leaders develop in a company culture that tolerates poor performance. If you recognize one or more of these symptoms of  tolerating poor performance, now is the time to take action. Accidental Habit #1: Don't let performers know how they are performing. Too often, leaders avoid providing feedback on performance. Providing clear expectations and giving feedback are essential for employees to achieve high-performance levels. Sadly, the lack of this feedback is a common challenge for poor performers and high performers. Leaders often don't feel equipped to provide specific feedback or lack the will to have a difficult conversation about an employee's performance. Avoiding a difficult conversation often worsens the situation for the employee and the leader. Accidental Habit #2: Design and provide tools without input from performers. Time constraints and an overreliance on past understanding are often behind the faulty decision-making why leaders don't solicit employee input from followers. Employees cannot perform at high levels without the proper staffing, equipment, or budget. Accidental Habit #3: Pay poor performers the same as good ones. Leaders pulled in multiple directions often lack direct performance observation and performance documentation to quantify the difference between the top and bottom performers. The result is often that poor performance gets rewarded equally with high-performance levels. Accidental Habit #4: Don't develop team members. Sometimes, leaders don't invest in coaching and developing employees out of fear that developed employees will find another job. In a fast-paced digital marketplace, training investments must match the pace of change so that employees remain current and capable. How to avoid tolerating poor performance Just stop it! Ok, that's probably not the most helpful advice. One of my favorite Bob Newhart skits presents this oversimplified advice for a client seeking help. If you need to laugh before jumping to real advice, here is the video. To avoid tolerating poor performance, it is helpful first to understand the factors that influence performance. Psychologist and founder of the field of human performance technology, Thomas Gilbert, argued that environmental and individual are the two fundamental performance factors influencing our behavior. Environmental Factors : Factors that the leader controls Individual Factors : Factors that the performer controls He identified that the primary environmental factors are information, tools, resources, and incentives. And identified that skills, knowledge, capacity, and motivation are the primary individual factors. These six factors are described below in the Behavior Engineering Model. You can apply the model like a checklist to understand where to optimize performance and uncover what followers need most to improve their performance on any given task. When using this model to diagnose opportunities for improvement, a simple way to get started is to ask employees in team meetings or one-to-one: Which of the six factors would help them immediately improve their performance? When asking this question, be prepared to be surprised and follow up with probing questions such as: What is the real challenge? Or What else? In my application for the Behavioral Engineering Model, I have polled hundreds of employees across many different industries, and the most frequently selected performance improvement factor needed is information and feedback, followed by tools and resources. The only exception that I have found is with new hires, who often choose skills and knowledge. Four life-changing leadership habits Leaders who avoid tolerating poor performance tend to have the following good leadership habits: Leadership Habit #1: Provide timely feedback for high performance Timely feedback is not once a year or a month. Performance feedback is best when given as close to being in the moment as possible. Leadership Habit #2: Ask for input before making decisions that impact others Remember, those closest to tasks have unique insights, and likely, many changes have occurred since the last time you performed the task. Leadership Habit #3: Provide incentives for good performance Compensation for the work is not enough. The rewards and incentives you provide can be as simple as saying thank you. Leadership Habit #4: Invest in developing followers Career development is frequently one of the top reasons employees leave their current jobs. Find out what employees need to help them achieve higher performance levels and provide opportunities to learn and grow in those areas. One of the best ways to avoid tolerating poor performance is to create an environment that brings out the best in followers. The Behavioral Engineering Model can help you take action and make changes in ways that matter most. Accidental leadership habits and ineffective leadership approaches are not destiny, and all leaders need to continually develop at a pace consistent with the change in the leader's world. If you want to learn more ways to maximize performance, you will want to check out my book, Life-Changing Leadership Habits. Are those you lead growing, serving others, and prepared to surpass you? References: Daniels, A., & Daniels, J. (2006). Performance management: Changing behavior that drives organizational effectiveness. Performance Management Publications. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Gallup. (2023). Global engagement survey. Gilbert, T. (1978). Human competence: Engineering worthy performance. McGraw-Hill. Faragher, J. (2006). Employers lose 32m a year, tolerating poor performance. Personnel Today , 1. Plump, C. (2010). Dealing with problem employees: A legal guide for employers. Business Horizons , 53(6), 607-618.

Despite R&D being risky and expensive, businesses are betting big on innovation to fuel growth and competitive advantage. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta are investing billions annually. The R&D budgets from the top 100 innovation leaders total over $720 billion, an increase of 15.3% from the prior year. But evidence suggests that executives remain dissatisfied with their company's innovation performance. As the world rapidly changes, businesses and people must change. Culture is the one thing that impacts everything. An innovation culture supports beliefs and feelings about the importance of innovation, as well as habits that encourage research and development. Here are three proven steps that will move your company closer toward an innovation culture. Benefits of an innovation culture It is no secret that culture is a powerful force multiplier for your company's mission and values - and when properly harnessed, it can become a powerful competitive advantage. Companies with a positive culture experience 8x more profitability than S&P 400 firms. Organizational culture defined is "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." Edgar Schein Although innovation requires taking risks, failing to innovate can be fatal to a business. The proven benefits of innovation include: increased competitive advantage improved operational productivity reduced costs and increased revenue improved commercial value enhanced problem-solving One modern innovation that is impressive to watch is SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 (watch the video below). Space travel alone is challenging, but reusing a rocket by landing it on a drone ship takes the complexity to another level. A financial services company engaged in investment banking and capital markets estimated the customer benefit of the Space X Falcon 9 reusable rocket. If Space X passed on 50 percent cost savings to its customers, this one innovation could reduce company costs by 21% or $48.3 million per launch. A recent study found that only 12% of companies claim to have a program in place to define and improve culture. Although only one in four employees strongly agree that they can apply their company's values daily. Here are the three steps leaders can take to cultivate a culture of innovation. Innovation Culture Step 1: Defining Your Culture Trying to define and change company culture is overwhelming. When you don’t have a shared understanding of culture, it's difficult to create a plan to transform it. You waste time and money on ideas that don't move the needle, you guess instead of following a proven process, and employee performance stalls (or worse) dips. Defining an innovation culture in measurable and actionable terms is essential for a thriving company culture. The Competing Values Framework created by Dr. Kim Cameron and Dr. Robert Quinn identified four fundamentally different cultures. This tool can be extremely useful for defining the current and desired culture of any organization. Clan Culture creates a collaborative atmosphere like a family. This culture emphasizes the value of teamwork, participation, and a consensus decision-making style. Adhocracy Culture creates an energetic and entrepreneurial atmosphere. This culture stresses the importance of research and continuous improvement. Market Culture creates a competitive, fast-paced, results-oriented environment. This culture highlights coming in first. Hierarchy Culture is a top-down formal rule-based atmosphere. This culture emphasizes efficient, reliable, and cost-effective performance. Note: Adapted from Cameron and Quinn (2011). Innovation Culture Step 2: Overcoming a Fear of Failure Fear of failure is the enemy of an innovative culture. An organizational fear of failure limits experimentation, risk-taking, and failure, all of which are necessities of innovation. In three separate studies, researchers found that the fear of failure triggered by an objective or psychological reaction is detrimental to decision-making and reduces opportunity-seeking behaviors. The acceptance of failure as learning is fundamental to innovation but challenging to comprehend. Watch the following short video to see why Honda accepts failure and suggested it is the secret to their success. A step toward learning to overcome the fear of failure is to reframe that failure is necessary and learning is the opportunity. I like adopting the paradigm of experimentation. The following are three proven strategies leaders can use to help employees overcome a fear of failure: Game Theory: Game theory can be used in a safe environment without the harmful consequences of the real world to teach employees about failure as learning. Mindfulness: Mindfulness-based stress-reduction meditation training has been shown to have a positive outcome in overcoming the fear of failure. Mindfulness meditation is defined as learning to focus on purpose at the moment without judgment of experiences. Rewards: Innovation behaviors need to be rewarded and recognized even if they do not directly achieve the desired goal. I am not advocating for rewarding the result of failure. However, reinforcing desired innovation behaviors increases the behaviors necessary for innovation. Innovation Culture Step 3: Leadership The role of leadership is to encourage, guide, and empower innovative behaviors. Cultural change should be approached with purpose and caution. Cultivating an innovation culture is not a one-off initiative. Leaders can increase innovation effectiveness by clarifying the gap between the current and desired state, identifying and removing barriers to innovation, and clarifying innovation processes. Innovations are dependent on leadership's ability to deliver: Effective leadership Company innovation integration Controlled change volume and focus Creativity and innovation value realization Reward and recognition for desired behaviors Internal and external diverse relationships and talent Remove barriers and negative reactions to innovation After setting expectations, leaders need to align what they regularly pay attention to, how they respond in a time of crisis, where they allocate resources, what they reward, and how they buy, build, and bounce employees with the defined behavioral expectations of the innovation culture. A culture of innovation comprises many different attributes, and learning quickly is critical to building an innovation-based culture. Cultures that produce innovation adhere to three basic rules: Creating innovation teams and addressing the "lack of time" barrier Holding employees accountable and providing persuasive prompts for innovation Recruiting, rewarding, recognizing, and developing innovation champions An empirical study of over 800 organizations found that effective innovation characteristics are not the same for product innovation and process innovation. For example, the research demonstrated that increasing problem-solving freedom among employees decreased product innovation. We can help you cultivate a culture of innovation Organizational culture is often complex to describe making change difficult and confusing, while busy leaders and employees lack access to high-quality training, proven tools, and over-the-shoulder guidance necessary to create positive culture change. Our solutions accelerate positive culture change, create committed employees, and drive your business growth. References: Beswick, C., Bishop, D., & Geraghty, J. (2015). Building a culture of innovation: A practical framework for placing innovation at the core of your business . Kogan Page, Limited. Cameron, K. S. (2006). Competing values leadership: Creating value in organizations . E. Elgar Pub. Cantaragiu, R., & Hadad, S. (2013). The importance of play in overcoming fears of entrepreneurial failure. European Conference on Knowledge Management, 833. Çokpekin, Ö., & Knudsen, M. P. (2012). Does organizing for creativity really lead to innovation? Creativity and Innovation Management, 21 (3), 304-314. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Gierczak-Korzeniowska, B., & Gołembski, G. (2017). Benchmarking in the process of creating a culture of innovation in hotel companies. Economics and Business Review, 3 (17) (2), 101-113. Hjeltnes, A., Binder, P., Moltu, C., & Dundas, I. (2015). Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 10 (1), 27990-27990. Kollmann, T., Stöckmann, C., & Kensbock, J. M. (2017). Fear of failure as a mediator of the relationship between obstacles and nascent entrepreneurial activity—An experimental approach. Journal of Business Venturing, 32 (3), 280-301. Loeb, W. (2018). Amazon Is the biggest investor in the future, spends $22.6 billion on R&D. Forbes. McKinsey & Company. (2021) Global innovation survey. Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed). Wiley. Tucker, R. B. (2008). Driving growth through innovation: How leading firms are transforming their futures . Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated.

Trust is an essential attribute for establishing value-added relationships with customers, employees, regulators, and investors. In addition to developing trust as a leader , evidence-based research is clear that organizational trust directly impacts the bottom line in many different ways . Corporate trust builds resilience against market chaos, enhances attitudes, intentions, and relationships with key stakeholders. Several research studies link organizational trust with discretionary effort, also known as organizational citizenship behavior, the "holy grail" of performance management. Additionally, organizational trust influences an organization's ability to attract and retain top talent. Today's Unfortunate Distrust Reality A recent 2019 largescale study of over 34,000 participants across 28 world markets found no institution is viewed as competent and ethical . There is an increasing sense of inequity driving down trustworthiness. This same study found that businesses are considered as the most capable but lack ethical behavior. Also, non-governmental agencies are perceived as behaving the most ethically but lack competence. What is also concerning is that many companies this year made significant changes to how they operate, undermining reliability and stability perceptions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in April 2020, unemployment rates in 43 states reached their highest levels since unemployment data began being collected in 1976. Additionally, increased opportunistic mergers and acquisitions have led to further changes within organizations. What makes an organization trustworthy? A widely accepted evidence-based understanding of organizational trust is the perception of the organization's ability, purpose, and integrity. Ability – the skills, competencies, and characteristics that enable an organization to influence within a specific area Purpose – organizations moral obligations and responsibility to demonstrate concern for others interests Integrity – the follow through on organizational promises in a manner that is acceptable by others Interestingly, integrity is the most essential factor of all three organizational trust factors. Edelman's recent study found that integrity and purpose account for 76% of a business's trustworthiness and competence only accounts for 24%. Having competent leaders, being financially stable, providing quality products, and being a recognizable brand is not as important to organizational trust as acting with integrity and purpose. Ideas for Restoring Organizational Trust Today's marketplace realities make building and enhancing organizational trust an essential strategy for any business looking to thrive in the future. Companies wanting to restore organizational trust should start by focusing on delivering in the dimensions of purpose and integrity. Improving Equity: Inequities in opportunities and wages are negatively impacting organizational trust. In America, black men earn 88% of what white men make, and black women earn 66% of what white men make. Additionally, almost 47% of the workforce is women; however, few women are in senior executive leadership positions. Conduct an equity audit of wage and employment opportunities. Additionally, establish reporting that can help bring visibility and accountability for continued growth and improvements. Improving Organizational Openness and Transparency: In addition to the usual channels of one-to-one and open-door meetings, it is essential to provide additional channels for open communications. Share results, responsibilities, ideas, opportunities for improvement, company information, and expectations clearly to everyone. Review the organization's privacy and transparency guidelines to be explicit where the company draws the line. Communicate with emotion as well as rationale. Open communication is a two-way street for both employees and leadership to engage. The goal is to create safety by being open and candid to demonstrate caring and respect. Also, remember that communication sent is not communication received. Develop a dashboard to measure how the organization is progressing toward openness and transparency in all communication aspects. Improving Consistency and Predictability: No one can predict the future, so this may seem incredibly challenging to be consistent and predictable in today's virtual, volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous marketplace. A guiding principle to adopt is, to be honest with predictions about the unknown, even if dismal, rather than to avoid predictions or provide unrealistic optimistic predictions. Strategies for consistency and predictability should focus on leadership, teams, and systems: (1) behaving in ways that align with communicated expectations, (2) Increasing access to information for all stakeholders, (3) and establishing a cadence for communications and processes. Clarify expectations before decisions are made by involving others in decision-making processes. Creating a RACI chart for goals and strategies can provide improved clarity. Also, utilize dashboards to increase visibility and understanding of information used in decision-making processes. If you would like to learn more about how you can improve trust at a leadership level check out this article on How Leaders can Move Relationships from Distrust to Trust . Also, if you are looking for help with individual or organizational development to thrive we would like to help ( contact us ). References: DeWolf, M. (2017). 12 stats about working women. U.S. Department of Labor. Glynn, S. (2018). Gender wage inequality [PDF]. Equitable Growth. Ozmen, Y. S. (2018). How employees define organisational trust: Analysing employee trust in organisation. Journal of Global Responsibility, 9 (1), 21-40. doi:10.1108/JGR-04-2017-0025 Sousa-Lima, M., Michel, J. W., & Caetano, A. (2013). Clarifying the importance of trust in organizations as a component of effective work relationships. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43 (2), 418-427. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2013.01012.x Stevenson, H. & Moldoveanu, M. (1995). The power of predictability. Harvard Business Review . https://hbr.org/1995/07/the-power-of-predictability U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . (2020). Home.

Most leaders want more out of life and work. Leadership expert Simon Sinek describes working hard for something we don't care about stress and working hard for something we love passion. In his poem, The Voiceless, Oliver Wendell Holmes concluded that many of us will go to our graves with our music still inside and unplayed. Before you can unlock a better future, you have to know what it looks like. Taking an "I will know it when I see it" approach will not help you get in front of the busyness of life as a leader or persevere when life throws you a curveball. Why Knowing Your Purpose Matters Evidence suggests that the positive psychological effects of knowing your purpose include professional success, well-being, reduced stress , and physical benefits such as longevity. A research study of over 40,000 adults found that both men and women with a clarity of purpose had a decreased risk for death from external causes. Once you understand where you are going, you are better positioned to know when to say no and when to say yes. The clarity that knowing your purpose creates is a competitive advantage for individuals and organizations. Purpose leads to personal engagement, which energizes the leader and their team amid complexity and volatility. 2 Powerful Questions for A Better Future Simply living day to day without a vision for the future is not a great approach if you want to make the most of your life. Success and significance are not accidents and will require being deliberate and persevering. Ask yourself the following two powerful questions: What do I want to be remembered for in life and at work? Starting with the end in mind goes far beyond knowing what you love or desire. This question requires considering why and what outcome you want from your personal and professional investment of time and energy. To answer this question, you have to factor in the impact you will have on others, what you stand for, and how you want to show up daily. What does personal and professional success look like this year and over the next five years? We are bombarded with images of what success should look like. Images such as vacationing at a luxurious resort, buying a dream house, or driving a new car are images likely floating around your mind when you think about success. Also, our answers to this question are influenced by our culture and upbringing. When thinking about the answer to this question consider the following types of success: material, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical, commercial, organizational, environmental, time, and team. The following answers come from recent interviews I conducted for my new book, " Breaking 10 Leadership Bad Habits ." I spoke with successful high-potential directors, executives, and businesses owners to understand how they measure success and significance. Hopefully, their responses will inspire you to consider these questions: being able to chart my course faith family financial and business metrics employee engagement joy of living If you want to unlock a better future, now it is your turn to answer the questions and the following steps can help you get started. Finding Your Purpose A serious threat to achieving success and significance is not being deliberate. Use these steps to get the most out of these two powerful questions. Schedule some time in your calendar to reflect for ten minutes on each question. Discovering your answers can be challenging in a world full of suggestions for what success and significance should be. Ask yourself each question and journal what comes to mind . Don't filter. Just write it down. Journaling is often an underutilized tool. It is simply not enough to reflect. To gain traction, you need to be able to come back at a later time and reflect on your answers. If you aren't in the habit of journaling, you may like the structure and ease of the Day One app. Find a few people that know you well , that you trust, and will be encouraging of your exploration. Ask them how they would answer the questions for you. Consider hiring an executive coach . Some leaders become anxious with introspection. An effective executive coach will challenge assumptions and views and encourage, stretch, and challenge you. Coaching is a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires clients to maximize their personal and professional potential. Finding an individual leadership purpose can be challenging in a world full of powerful and influential advice about what is success and significance. Reflect on what you heard. Consider themes rather than specific points shared and, as needed, edit or delete points you journaled. Likely your answers to these four powerful questions will evolve. Yearly, repeating these steps will help keep you moving in the best direction. Are you feeling stalled in your current role? Have you faced challenges without the success you had hoped for? Do you want to switch careers? Are you unsure how to focus on your personal development? Do you want to live your best life? If you said yes to any of these questions, you might want to hire an executive coach to help. Let's talk about how we can help you achieve your goals with transformational executive coaching and organizational solutions that work. References: Hollensbe, E., Wookey, C., Hickey, L., & George, G. (2014). Organizations with purpose. Academy of Management Journal , 57(5), 1227-1234. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.4005 Holmes, O. (1891). The autocrat of the breakfast table : Every man his own Boswell. Mifflin Schippers, M., & Ziegler, N. (2019). Life crafting as a way to find purpose and meaning in life. Frontiers in Psychology, 10 , 2778-2778. Sinek, S. [@simonsinek]. (2012, Feb. 28). Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion. Twitter .

In today's complex and fast-paced digital marketplace, no organization is looking to stay the same year over year. The use of predictive and prescriptive analytics promises improved strategic foresight . The goal is not to predict the future but enable better decision-making and preparedness so that leaders can grow revenue amid uncertainty. Most of the investments being made by organizations today focus on descriptive analytics that provides an understanding of what happened. While useful, understanding why something happened, what will happen, or what should be done provides greater value (see Figure 1) for organizations. Figure 1. The value of descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. Predictive analytics reveal natural patterns to predict future outcomes, enable better decision-making, and create change resilience . Data, text, web, and media mining and forecasting are enablers to predictive analytics. Prescriptive analytics rely on mathematical algorithms to assess competing priorities and constrained resources and find the best solution from a set of feasible solutions. Optimization, simulation, and heuristic-based decision modeling are enablers to prescriptive analytics. Organizations have used predictive and prescriptive analytics since the early twentieth century (see Table 1). Table 1. Predictive and prescriptive examples Leaders do not have to focus on fully exploiting descriptive analytics before progressing to advanced analytics . Technology and predictive and prescriptive analytics are shifting the decision-making paradigm norm toward human decision-making enhanced by advanced analytics. The evidence-based benefits of predictive and prescriptive analytics are clear. One recent study of 1500 US retail locations found that predictive and prescriptive analytics applied to expansion decision-making resulted in substantial increases in expected sales. What lies beyond prescriptive analytics? A recent Harvard Business Review article declared that prescriptive analytics is the future. But is it? Experts are now suggesting that the future is not prescriptive analytics but cognitive analytics. Advances in technology are creating massive amounts of data with the potential to create a competitive advantage or overwhelm companies. Implementing integrated data management and analytics is essential to support future needs. Cognitive analytics is a field focused on the imitation of human intelligence. Cognitive analytics uses large amounts of data and advanced analytics to identify connections that support discovery, enhance decisions, and create continuous self-learning feedback. While humans can be unpredictable with decision-making, cognitive analytics can improve quality and consistency for businesses by learning from past decisions. Some have described this as auto-tuning or self-healing to create elasticity in systems rather than reacting to system failures. Cognitive analytics implies that systems can adapt and get smarter over time by learning from interactions with people and data by a feedback loop. Cognitive analytics involve greater complexity and greater value for organizations than advanced analytics by providing real-time responses to complex questions . Cognitive analytics benefits are mining previously untapped data sources, providing personalized services, improving consistency and quality of service, and enhancing knowledge sharing. Cognitive analytics in healthcare can provide personalized healthcare using the petabyte of medical data each of us creates over our lifetime. In the property management industry, cognitive analytics leverages data from internet-enabled devices (IoT) to learn how to improve security and reduce maintenance costs. Not all businesses will want to be on the cutting edge of analytics and pursue moving beyond prescriptive analytics. Still, for those that do, there may be a distinct competitive advantage. For those daring to move ahead with cognitive analytics, Organizations begin with the end in mind and start small to evaluate the business case. We can partner with you to develop a customized solution to transform your organizational culture and build a more future smart organization. Walk with us and build increased organizational resilience and a culture that fits the future of the business you need. Contact us to get started today. References: AngossSoftware. (2016, January 18). Risk optimization with prescriptive analytics [Video File]. Youtube. Bartlett, R. (2013). A practitioners guide to data analytics: Using data analysis to improve your organizations decision making and strategy . McGraw-Hill. New York. Delen, D. (2019). Prescriptive analytics: The final frontier for evidence-based management and optimal decision making (1st ed.). Pearson FT Press. Huang, T., Bergman, D., & Gopal, R. (2019). Predictive and prescriptive analytics for location selection of Add‐on retail products. Production and Operations Management, 28 (7), 1858-1877. IBM Data and AI. (2016, August 29). From insight to action: Predictive and prescriptive analytics [Video File]. Youtube. Newman, D. (2020). Why the future of data analytics is prescriptive analytic s. Forbes. Nguyen, T. (2016). Leaders and innovators: How data‐driven organizations are winning with analytics . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ronanki, R. (2014). Cognitive analytics – the three-minute guide [PDF]. Deloitte. Vikas. (2018). Going beyond prescriptive analytics – self healing and auto tu ning . Eurostar Huddle. Read about the 5 Reasons to Hire an Executive Coach or our coaching solutions . About the Author: Jeff's knowledge and expertise include leadership development, coaching, and workforce strategies to achieve influence and grow organizations. Jeff Doolittle is the founder of Organizational Talent Consulting in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at info@organizationaltalent.com or by calling (616) 803-9020. Visit https://www.organizationaltalent.com/executive-coaching to learn more about executive coaching services provided.

When was the last time you heard thank you or sent a handwritten note? You might feel such moments are rare or nonexistent in the workplace. Most leaders feel trapped in the relentless pursuit of results, achieving the next goal. And a transactional leader considers a paycheck the best form of motivation. But what if I told you that acts of goodwill, often taken for granted, are not optional but essential to establishing your leadership credibility? Trust is not something to ignore. It has been shown to affect employee openness to change and, ultimately, moderate the outcome of change. Some of the most successful leaders and companies attribute their success to high-quality, trust-based relationships. Microsoft, for example, promotes that business value is achieved through trust, love, and loyalty. Being trustworthy takes credibility, which is not inherent to being a leader. You're not alone if you are concerned about not having enough time for goodwill. A key is to not see goodwill as optional but as necessary. To help you start, here is what you need to know about trust and goodwill. The leadership trust and credibility connection Trust-based leader-follower relationships are based on credibility, reliability, transparency (vulnerability), and humility (self-orientation) . Credibility has rational and emotional aspects related to an individual's content expertise and personal presence. Reliability is based on the frequency of interactions with someone and the consistency for them to behave as expected. Transparency (vulnerability) requires being personal and the willingness to have a courageous conversation. Humility (self-orientation) relates to the amount of focus placed on oneself versus the emphasis placed on the other person. A High degree of self-orientation creates significant distrust with others. When you are an executive leader or own your own business, it is inevitable that at some point, you will experience a situation where you have responsibility for leading but don't have a deep understanding or technical expertise for the specific work. While these situations negatively impact your credibility, it doesn't necessarily mean you are not perceived as trustworthy. Evidence suggests that power and influence increase with a leader's perceived ability to possess and display knowledge and skill. A leader's ability to influence is directly affected by follower perceptions. The more credibility a leader has, the greater their influence and ability to lead. Research into credibility reveals that the leader's knowledge, competence, and goodwill are the primary drivers of followers' perceptions. A critical blind spot for many executives is the importance of their knowledge and technical competence in the areas they lead. Although leaders are not expected to be all-knowing and possess the competence to perform the tasks of every job in a company, a leader can enhance the perceptions of others through training, education, and experience. What is trustworthiness? Being considered a trustworthy leader is something that is earned. Without trust-based relationships, leaders and businesses can't succeed. Being trustworthy brings out the best in others and the workplace. Trust is a reliance on character, capability, or truth. Trustworthy synonyms include reliable, dependable, honest, and ethical. In the following video, Simon Sinek breaks down the impact of trust and being trustworthy as a leader. D o you have high-quality, trust-based relationships? Leaders who want to improve the quality of their relationships can measure their trustworthiness using the following free Relationship Trust Checker. Scores of 10-30 indicate a high degree of relationship trust, 5-10 indicate a moderate degree of relationship trust, and scores of 1-5 show a low degree of relationship trust. What is Leadership Goodwill? Evidence suggests leadership goodwill may be the most crucial element of credibility, especially among leader-follower relationships with frequent interactions. Most simply stated, goodwill is being authentically friendly and having their employees' best interests at heart. There are a couple of important nuances to clarify with the concept of being nice. First, building mutual goodwill is not trying to be popular but authentically caring for followers and the organization. Second, being friendly means being willing to have a difficult conversation and exit a colleague from a job where they are underperforming. "Your smile is a messenger of your goodwill." ~ Dale Carnegie Leaders display and create goodwill by being: friendly helpful cooperative and taking an interest in followers' well-being A leader can build their goodwill capacity by developing their emotional intelligence, helping followers, and spending time establishing high-quality relationships. Leader characteristics that support goodwill Several research studies demonstrate the benefits of a leader's inner game. A leader's behaviors or outer game are the actions a leader should take in a given situation. However, a leader's inner game characteristics influence whether a leader will take action. A leader's empathy, compassion, and selfless love are the inner game characteristics supportive of goodwill. Empathy is the ability to be aware of, feel, and take on the emotions of what another person is experiencing. Compassion is an empathic understanding with a desire to help another person. Selfless Love - to desire and put into action the will for the good of another ahead of your interest. 6 ways leaders can show goodwill Leaders can enhance goodwill with simple actions without having to expend much energy, such as: Saying thank you Sending a digital or handwritten thank-you note Asking questions to get to know your followers Using a reinforcement survey to learn what they find rewarding. A reinforcement survey is a series of questions to learn about activities and situations a follower finds reinforcing, such as hobbies and how employees spend their free time. Recognizing special dates such as birthdays and work anniversaries Scheduling one-to-one meetings and treating them to a drink of their choice Key Summary Points Being trustworthy takes credibility, which is not intrinsic to being a leader. Being credible is something that followers rationally and emotionally perceive. Trust-based leader-follower relationships are based on credibility, reliability, transparency, and humility. Research into credibility reveals that the leader's knowledge, competence, and goodwill are the primary drivers of followers' perceptions. Leadership goodwill may be the most crucial element of credibility, especially among leader-follower relationships with frequent interactions. Leaders display and create goodwill by being friendly, helpful, cooperative, and taking an interest in followers' well-being. Leaders can enhance goodwill with simple actions without having to expend much energy. References: Cameron, K. (2012). Positive leadership: Strategies for extraordinary performance. Berrett Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Hovland, C. I., Janis, I. L., & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of opinion change. Yale University Press.Koehler Publishers, Incorporated. Maister, D. H., Green, C. H., & Galford, R. M. (2000). The trusted advisor. Free Press. Yukl, G. (2010. Leadership in organizations. (8th ed.) Pearson.

When you think about the traits of great CEOs and executive leaders, what comes to mind? Perhaps characteristics like driving results, organizational savvy, or championing change do. And not humility. The financial successes of startups and established innovative businesses such as Amazon and Tesla aren't typically attributed to humble leadership. So, maybe CEOs and executive leaders can't be humble and achieve desired results? Why Humility is Important in Executive Leadership Humble executive leadership behaviors reduce costs and increase revenue in startups and established businesses. Four independent research studies concluded that executive leadership could explain up to 45% of an organization's performance. Like a stream and its source, an organization only rises as high as its organizational talent. CEOs and executive leaders provide critical strategic and operational leadership. Across several research studies, humility is a demonstrated lever for sustainable company development, enhancing employee innovation, team empowerment, company performance, and self-improvement. Leadership guru Jim Collins concluded after analyzing 1435 companies over forty years that humility and professional will are the most transformative executive leadership characteristics. What is Humble Executive Leadership? Humble leaders recognize and are self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They appreciate others and believe that life is less about themselves and more about the greater good. Humble leaders walk the line between self-confidence and over-confidence. They can be both competitive and ambitious. Humble executive leaders are not weak and indecisive. In addition to these behaviors, humble executive leadership is linked with the following individual personality traits: Conscientiousness Agreeableness Openness to Experience Humility is associated with contemporary leadership styles such as servant leadership and authentic leadership. “Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you think of yourself less.” Ken Blanchard Narcissism, Humility, and Executive Leadership Narcissism and humility are often considered to be on opposite ends of a trait continuum. Research has demonstrated that narcissistic employees are likely to emerge as leaders in groups that lack familiarity. This is of particular concern for human resources and hiring managers because studies have identified narcissism as the dominant predictor of behavior such as sabotage, bullying, sexual harassment, and fraud. Surprisingly, although organizational selection assessments can help identify a narcissistic leader, research has shown that people often perceive them as good leaders. Narcissistic individuals can project an image of effectiveness even though they are viewed as arrogant. If you are curious in finding out if you have potentially narcissistic tendencies as compared to others, the following link is to a free five-minute survey developed in 2011 by Delroy Paulhus and Daniel Jones strictly for educational and entertainment purposes: https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/SD3/ Innovation, Humility, and Executive Leadership Innovation is increasingly essential for organizations to be competitive in today's dynamic workplace. According to the annual PwC pulse survey of over 5000 CEOs, more than 60% are expecting innovation and M&A deals to fuel organizational growth in the future. Research studies directly link humble CEOs with enhanced company innovation. The stated communication and the allocation of the CEO's time will influence the successful adoption and implementation of innovation within a company. In one study involving 90 teams, leadership humility was demonstrated to enhance team innovation through cultivating an environment where employees feel safe to speak up about controversial points of view. A Humble Executive Leadership Encounter I don't know about you, but I admire leaders that demonstrate humility. Possibly it is because of the apparent paradox when a leader with positional power chooses not to use it. Maybe it's like that line from Aaron Burr's character in Hamilton. I want to be in the room where it happens and feel more valued when leaders listen and ask me about my opinion. Or possibly it is because I admire my father, and he modeled humility to me growing up. Whatever the cause, I have very different feelings when I encounter humility versus narcissistic behavior. Humility shows up in the workplace in many different ways. When interviewing with the CEO of a large organization, I was asked if I would like a bottle of water. I quickly said yes. At the time of the interview, I was working for an executive leader within a formal organizational culture. When I would meet with my current leader, I would also be asked if I would want something to drink during meetings. The difference was not being asked. The difference was that my current leader would call his admin to get the drinks. The CEO I was interviewing with got up and went to get me the bottle of water himself, even though he had an admin outside of his office. That simple gesture represented such a different culture to me. Also, later in the same interview, I realized the CEO was asking questions to hear how I would respond but not because he needed my insights. The CEO was listening to understand how I would react and interact with others. It was clear to me this executive leader was humble, and others focused. Executive Leadership Development and Talent Management Executive leadership development has proven positive consequences for organizations. Like behavior and competency development, humility can be developed and embedded within organizational talent management processes. Executive Leadership Assessment & Coaching: Executive assessments are practical tools for creating self-awareness. Feedback is a gift; however, feedback on character gaps is not commonly provided. Executive assessments give a leader a metaphorical mirror that helps them see where to improve. Executive coaching combined with executive assessments offers deep insights into areas that lead to enhanced potential with attention. According to outcome-based research, a coach's timely and appropriate use of executive assessment leads to improved personal and organizational outcomes. Organizational Culture: Executive leadership development investments will underperform without considering the organizational culture . The one thing that impacts everything in the workplace is culture. Companies that talk about and reinforce the value of self-awareness, appreciation of others, openness to learning, and pursuit of the greater good will shape a culture where humility is expected and communicated. Zappos describes being humble as "we before me." The following video discusses the Zappos culture and its importance to the company. Learning, Reasoning, and Practice: Bringing out the best in executive leaders involves training and development. Helping executive leaders understand appropriate humble leadership behaviors and expectations can help organizations avoid costly mistakes. Executive development on humility is primarily developed through role modeling with intentional time for feedback and reflection. Recruiting and Succession Planning: Situational and behavioral interviews are effective means for identifying humble executive leadership behaviors. Additionally, personality traits such as conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience can be measured through executive assessments and help inform selection and succession decisions. A tool being used by many top-performing companies to measure executive leadership as a part of succession planning is the value and promotability matrix or nine-box grid (see Figure 1). Including humility as a value in the formal review can help organizations get the right leaders in the right seats at the right time. Key Points: CEOs, executive leaders, and business owners play critical roles in an organization's success. Humility is a lever for sustainable company development, enhancing employee innovation, team empowerment, company performance, and self-improvement. Humble executive leadership is not about being weak and indecisive. Narcissism and humility are often considered to be on opposite ends of a trait continuum. Humility cultivates an environment where employees feel safe to speak up about controversial points of view. Like behavior and competency development, humility can be developed and embedded within organizational talent management processes. If you have executive leadership coaching or organizational consulting needs you cannot solve independently, we're ready to partner with you to craft a solution specific to your organization's context and challenges. Getting started is as easy as visiting www.organizationaltalent.com or contacting us via email info@organizationaltalent.com. Organizational Talent Consulting utilizes proven, simple, and transformational personal and organizational development solutions to help our clients learn, change, and apply tools in ways that benefit their unique needs and organizational culture. References: Athanasopoulou, A., & Dopson, S. (2018). A systematic review of executive coaching outcomes: Is it the journey or the destination that matters the most? The Leadership Quarterly, 29 (1), 70-88. Brunell, A. B., Gentry, W. A., Campbell, W. K., Hoffman, B. J., Kuhnert, K. W., & DeMarree, K. G. (2008). Leader emergence: The case of the narcissistic leader. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34 (12), 1663-1676. Chatterjee, A., & Hambrick, D. C. (2007). It's all about me: Narcissistic chief executive officers and their effects on company strategy and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52 (3), 351-386. Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap--and others don't (First ed.) . HarperBusiness. Day, D. V., & Lord, R. G. (1988). Executive leadership and organizational performance. Journal of Management, 14 (3), 453. Liu, W., Mao, J., & Chen, X. (2017). Leader humility and team innovation: Investigating the substituting role of task interdependence and the mediating role of team voice climate. Frontiers in Psychology, 8 , 1115-1115. Maldonado T., Vera D. & Spangler W.D., Unpacking humility: An examination of leader humility and leader personality and why it matters, Business Horizons. Nevicka, B., Femke S. Ten Velden, Annebel H. B. De Hoogh, & Annelies E. M. Van Vianen. (2011). Reality at odds with perceptions: Narcissistic leaders and group performance. Psychological Science, 22 (10), 1259-1264. Oster, G. W. (2011). The light prize: Perspectives on Christian innovation. Virginia Beach, Va: Positive Signs Media. Ou, A. Y., Waldman, D. A., & Peterson, S. J. (2018). Do humble CEOs matter? An examination of CEO humility and firm outcomes. Journal of Management, 44 (3), 1147–1173. PwC 24th Annual Global CEO Survey. Ren, Q., Xu, Y., Zhou, R., & Liu, J. (2020). Can CEO’s humble leadership behavior really improve enterprise performance and sustainability? A case study of Chinese start-up companies. Sustainability, 12 (8), 3168. Zhang, H., Ou, A. Y., Tsui, A. S., & Wang, H. (2017). CEO humility, narcissism, and firm innovation: A paradox perspective on CEO traits. The Leadership Quarterly, 28 (5), 585-604.

Effective leadership is communication. Great leaders recognize they are part of a team and want to inspire followers to be their best, but it's not easy. In fact, sometimes, it's incredibly challenging. From being vulnerable to saying what others don't want to hear to endless Zoom meetings. It can be exhausting. But being an influential communicator is not something you are born with or not. You can be just as trustworthy and inspiring working remotely as in the office. A few things about effective leadership communication are proven based on several studies over the past two decades. With these recommendations, you can focus on the critical few proven leadership communication solutions that create business results. Why Leadership Communication Matters Effective leadership is a competitive advantage and at the core of leadership is the human experience. The leader-follower relationship is everything. Followers and organizations thrive with influential leaders and suffer from ineffective leaders whatever the context: businesses, government, community, education, or faith-based. Communication effectiveness is proven to moderate leadership effectiveness. Numerous peer-reviewed studies provide evidence that communication effectiveness is a strong predictor of leadership performance. A comprehensive study of significant organizational change initiatives revealed that 58% had failed, and another 20% never realized the total value expected. The inability to identify or react to followers' needs during change contributes to leadership failures. Many of us are working from home now, either part-time or full-time. Surprisingly, evidence from research suggests that proximity is not the critical determinant of communication effectiveness. Leading at a distance is still leading. The key is to be able to create feedback loops and transparency. A recent survey of leaders across companies with under $10m to over $1bn in annual revenue identified the following negative consequences associated with ineffective leadership communication: 52% reported higher stress levels 44% lead to failure in completing their projects 31% contributed to low morale 25% said they missed their performance goals 20% experienced obstacles to innovation 18% reported a failure to close a sale Build Your Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is considered the ability to recognize, express, comprehend and regulate emotions. Your degree of self-awareness , self-management, motivation, empathy and interpersonal skills make up your emotional intelligence. Evidence suggests that a leader's ability to self-assess and modify a response to an individual's emotional needs directly impacts leadership effectiveness. Emotional intelligence is two times more impactful on leadership effectiveness than your mental or technical ability. Emotional intelligence helps you build better relationships, reduce workplace stress, create productive conflict and improve employee retention. Leaders with higher emotional intelligence achieve better customer satisfaction and business results. Here are a few practical tips to boost your emotional intelligence: Learn to identify, evaluate, and express your emotions. For example, can you identify a low, moderate, and high-intensity descriptive word for happy, sad, and scared feelings? As simple as this sounds, expanding your ability to explain variations of emotional intensity is proven to make a difference. Recognize and respond to the emotions of others. The next time you find yourself in a meeting, and you don't know why you are there. Play a game and try to recognize and name the emotions of others. Also, when you are talking with someone, try reflecting on their emotion by naming it, such as, "that is frustrating when you don't have what you need to get the job done." Get feedback. Identify five people that know you well and would be comfortable giving you constructive feedback. Ask them to rate how well you respond to challenging situations or how empathetic you are. Alternatively, working with an executive coach and using valid assessments can help you overcome some common barriers to getting good feedback. Cultivate Your Cultural Agility Culture is one of the most potent forces in business. Culture identifies what is essential and reinforces communication norms and behaviors for leaders—cultural forces impact leadership communication effectiveness and, ultimately, organizational effectiveness. A leader's words create in-groups and out-groups based on familiarity and understanding of the words. People in different companies and even parts of the same company might assume other intentions or meanings from the same leadership communication. Today's leaders face a growing number of cross-cultural differences when working with customers and employees. Cultural agility is vital because, with over 60 global society cultures identified and numerous variations in regions within the national cultures, it is virtually impossible to be experienced in every situation. I experienced the importance of cultural agility early in my career. When working for a global organization, I met with a colleague from Rome and immediately started discussing business to respect our limited time together. This culturally expected behavior in the US was considered insensitive by my colleague from Rome. Before working together, it was expected we would make introductions that go beyond our work and titles. Thankfully he was gracious, and we both recognized the difference between our intent and impact. Successful, culturally agile leaders: Understand their own culture, their organization's culture, and how it impacts the organizational culture impacts their communication and the business. Recognize and appreciate the differences of other cultures as compared to their own. Use their understanding of cultural differences to adjust their communication within cross-cultural situations effectively. Developing your cultural agility requires dedicated effort and investment to break from the typical classroom presentation, book, or eLearning module. It requires a blended learning environment that includes assessments, cross-cultural immersion experiences, and structured feedback. Executive coaching , instead of mentoring , can be an excellent choice for leaders wanting to cultivate their cultural agility. Executive Coaching Example: A leader from one part of the world was assigned to take on operations in another in one organization. They hired an executive coach as part of the leadership transition support and cultural agility development. The virtual executive coaching relationship had three specific goals: improving the leader's cultural awareness and agility in a new culture, keeping the executive focused on their 90-day plan, and creative thought partner about decisions in a new culture. Tell Stories Stories have the power to engage and build strong relationships with others. Although storytelling has become more popularized in business over the past few years, leaders have used it for thousands of years. The oldest cave paintings in the world were used to tell stories of pre-historic events. Stories can be used in several ways to increase your leadership communication effectiveness: Inspiring others to take action by being able to visualize how something might work Communicating who you are and what you care about Communicating a brand image Conveying organizational values and culture to others Encouraging collaboration Clarifying between rumor and reality Sharing knowledge about problems and why solutions worked Strategic foresight about the future. Consider the "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. The right anecdote can be worth a thousand theories. Warren Bennis Here is a good TedTalk on how leaders tell stories: Once you have a great story to tell, you will want to use these tips: Start by providing the situation and context Incorporate metaphors into your story Highlight emotions Keep the story specific and avoid corporate jargon Add an element of surprise This short sample video from Neil Gaiman's master class on storytelling provides a great example of how to put these all together: Lead with Questions Questions grounded in curiosity create influence. The higher you move up in an organization, the easier it becomes to feel like having you must always have the answer. Learning to ask the right question instead of always having the answer benefits you, your team, and the organization. Leaders that ask questions become better listeners and gain deeper insights into how to bring out the best in others and guide the organization. Followers asked questions develop greater self-awareness, self-confidence, and empowerment. Organizations with a questioning culture experience improved organizational learning capability, enhanced problem solving and decision-making, greater strategic foresight, engaged followers, improved teamwork, and innovation. However, not all questions are equal. For example, if you ask followers why are they behind schedule? You will likely get a defensive response rather than a solution. If you ask, what key things need to happen for you to achieve the goal? You will encourage followers to apply critical thinking to identify a solution. Appreciative Inquiry is a positive, strength-based approach to change management that can bring new life to change initiatives. Too often, change processes begin with what is wrong. While it is imperative to fix problems, if we never spend time talking with others about what is possible, we miss the opportunity to engage in inspiring work and realize our dreams. The Appreciative Inquiry change management approach is described as a four "D" change management process: Discovery – finding the best of what is Dream – collaborating on the best of what can be Design – establishing creative strategies to move from what is to what can be Destiny – executing the design strategies with excellence and revising as needed Try asking using these powerful questions during your next one to one meeting: What's on your mind? What else? If you had three wishes to improve the workplace's health and vitality dramatically, what would you wish for (no, you cannot ask for more wishes)? What have you accomplished so far that you are most proud of? Conclusion: Improving Leadership Communication Effectiveness Highly effective leaders communicate in ways that encourage, inspire, and motivate followers to bring out their best. Your cultural agility, emotional intelligence, and communication skills contribute to your leadership success. Now more than ever, leaders need to ask, what can I do to bring out the best in my team? How you communicate has a significant impact on your leadership effectiveness. Communication skills like leading with a question or telling a story can dramatically improve your communication effectiveness. What is your biggest opportunity to improve your communication effectiveness? References Clancy, C. (2014). The importance of emotional intelligence. Nursing Management, 21 (8), 15-15. Communication barriers in the modern workplace. (2018). The Economist Intelligence Unit Denning, S. (2007). The secret language of leadership . San Francisco. John Wiley & Sons. Fu, J. H., Hong, Y., Menon, T., Sim, J., & Chiu, C. (2010). Blazing the trail versus trailing the group: Culture and perceptions of the leader's position. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 113(1), 51-61. Goleman, D. (1999). "Emotional intelligence" key to leadership. Health Progress, 80 (2), 9. Goleman, Daniel. (1998). What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review, 1998. Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2018). Leadership: A communication perspective (6th ed.). Long Grove, Ill: Waveland Press. Johnson, C. E., & Hackman, M. Z. (2018). Leadership: A communication perspective (6th ed.). Long Grove, Ill: Waveland Press. Joseph, D. L., & Newman, D. A. (2010). Emotional intelligence: An integrative meta-analysis and cascading model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 54-78. Neufeld, D. J., Wan, Z., & Fang, Y. (2008;2010;). Remote leadership, communication effectiveness and leader performance. Group Decision and Negotiation, 19 (3), 227-246. Schein, E. H. (1996). Culture: The missing concept in organization studies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(2), 229-240. Schein, E. H. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Solomon, A., & Steyn, R. (2017). Leadership styles: The role of cultural intelligence. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 43 , e1-e12. Vandervoort, D. J. (2006). The importance of emotional intelligence in higher education. Current Psychology, 25 (1), 4-7.

Development is essential for leaders to thrive in today's turbulent marketplace. You're either growing or falling behind. Embracing l eadership assessment can build your capacity to navigate complex challenges and steer your team and organization to success . If you haven't already, you will want to try a 360-degree assessment. You might be surprised to learn that 360-degree surveys are used in over 85% of Fortune 500 companies. Feedback is the lifeblood of a high-performing team and self-aware leader. However, a stark reality is that employees receive significantly less constructive feedback as they move up in an organization. If you are looking for actionable and individualized leadership performance feedback from those who matter most, this is your game-changer. Here are the five keys to 360-degree assessment success. Why 360-degree assessment matters 360-degree leadership assessment has been around for over 25 years. Its uses in companies range from development and performance management to decision-making purposes such as compensation, promotions, and even downsizing initiatives. The term "360-degree" assessment is derived from where the rater feedback originates concerning the leader being assessed. Confidentiality is a foundational aspect of 360-degree leadership feedback. Responses are anonymously collected and grouped by the rater's association with the leader. Feedback collected measures the leader's performance on specific behaviors and provides insights into rater group perceptions. A company-wide or team view of 360-degree feedback provides talent management insights into organizational performance and culture. While 360-degree feedback effectively improves leadership skills across all cultures, evidence suggests it's most effective in cultures with low power distance and individualistic values, such as Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Many studies have linked the following benefits associated with 360-degree assessment at the individual and organizational levels: Individual leader value Self-awareness Improved leadership effectiveness Increased job satisfaction Role clarity Employee engagement Organizational Value Improved performance Improved role clarity Enhanced agility Decreased absenteeism Decreased employee turnover Although the benefits of 360-degree assessments are well documented, it is critically important that they are facilitated appropriately. Upfront work must be done to prevent potential negative issues, such as closed-mindedness, rater bias, individuals using the assessments to attack a leader, or a culture that avoids direct communication. 360 Assessment Key #1: KISS You probably have heard of the K.I.S.S. principle . If not , it means keep it simple, stupid! There is a tendency to try and measure everything when using a 360-degree assessment. While the idea is good for maximizing value, you must also consider rater fatigue and the cost of rater time. Maximize value by linking behaviors assessed to organizational values and leadership style . Then, keep it short and straightforward . 360 Assessment Key #2: Debriefing In addition to selecting the right questions for the leadership 360-degree assessment, choosing a qualified coach is equally important to help understand the results. If feedback is not used appropriately, it can lead to incorrect conclusions and potentially do more harm than good. Typically, the more education and qualifications a coach has, the better the interpretation you will receive, but education does not replace experience. Before starting, get recommendations and learn about the coach's character. Utilize a coach to debrief the feedback, delineate SMART goals, and serve as an accountability partner to follow through and maximize learning. 360 Assessment Key #3: Validity Promote valid feedback by thoughtfully considering raters selected to provide input. Too narrow a group increases the risks of blind spots. As a general guide, having at least 5-7 raters per group is good . The exceptions are with the leader of the individual being assessed, which is typically one person , and direct reports, which should include all. 360 Assessment Key #4: Education A lack of awareness and understanding creates confusion. Educate raters on its purpose before administering the assessment . This can be as simple as sending a memo to the raters explaining the assessment's who, what, and why. A good practice is to provide those being assessed with an opportunity for a conversation to ask questions and confirm their understanding. Remember the saying: Change imposed is change opposed. It would be best if you had buy-in to maximize the value of the assessment. 360 Assessment Key #5: Organization-wide Implementation A good practice is to deploy 360-degree assessments as part of an organization-wide leadership development strategy. This way, the company can get additional organizational benefits from aggregating feedback data to identify systemic opportunities and feedback on the organization's culture . Another advantage is that no one leader feels singled out. References: Baker, A., Perreault, D., Reid, A., & Blanchard, C. M. (2013). Feedback and organizations: Feedback is good, and a feedback-friendly culture is better. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 54(4), 260-268. Bracken, D. W., & Rose, D. S. (2011). When does 360-degree feedback create behavior change? and how would we know it when it does? Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(2), 183-192. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose . Organizational Talent Consulting. Luthans, F., & Peterson, S. J. (2003). 360‐degree feedback with systematic coaching: Empirical analysis suggests a winning combination. Human Resource Management, 42(3), 243-256. Shipper, F., Hoffman, R. C., & Rotondo, D. M. (2007). Does the 360 feedback process create actionable knowledge equally across cultures? Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6(1), 33-50. Thach, E.C. (2002). The impact of executive coaching and 360 feedback on leadership effectiveness. Leadership & organization Development Journal, 23(4), 205-214. Whitaker, B. G., & Levy, P. (2012). Linking feedback quality and goal orientation to feedback seeking and job performance.Human Performance, 25(2), 159-178. 8927

Efficiency thinking is failing businesses and society. The future of business value creation is designing for both the individual and society using design thinking. Design thinking creates value through aligning the constraints of consumer desirability, technological feasibility, and business and economic viability. Design thinking is not limited to only certain people within organizations. Given the right experiences, anyone will likely be able to apply the human-centered problem-solving skills of design thinking. Developing divergent thinking, observation, and failing fast capabilities are critical for design thinkers. Divergent Thinking Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing, "non-linear" manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion. Design thinkers need divergent thinking capability. In today's fast-paced digital marketplace, leaders should set expectations for employees to begin problem-solving by expanding the range of possible ideas rather than too quickly moving to narrow the number of ideas. A good starting point is asking why rather than what, even though this will likely frustrate some people. Leaders looking to develop divergent thinking within employees could benefit from providing improvisational theater training. Researchers from the department of psychology at the University of Michigan have found that the use of improvisational theater training is a low-cost, effective way to increase divergent thinking, uncertainty tolerance, and affective well-being. Observation "Great design thinkers observe the ordinary" (Brown) Observation is not something design thinkers outsource or delegate to others. If possible, it is best to make observations in the natural environment where the consumers use your product or service. Another viable option is using an observation lab, such as the Procter & Gamble Mason Business Center (pictured below). The following are some practical tips to improve your design thinking observation capability. Observation Do’s Get rid of your preconceived ideas Collect observations in different circumstances and from different perspectives Consider whom to observe carefully. Take good notes, quotes, and collect artifacts from the observation Use active listening Capture what surprises you or contradicts expectations Observation Don’ts Expect what you will observe Draw conclusion on small sample sizes and biased observations Rely on one expert Attempt to rely on your memory Ask leading questions Search for information that confirms preconceived assumptions A simple self-guided development approach that you can try right now is to simply take time to pause daily to reflect on an ordinary situation or an object that you would not usually take time to consider. If you are looking for a design thinking-specific learning program on observation, you should consider the IDEO U course titled Insights for Innovation. Failing Fast Design thinking occurs within a culture that encourages failing fast as part of the creative process. The acceptance of failure as learning is fundamental to innovation but challenging to grasp. Fear of failure is common at every organizational level, and it is detrimental to innovation decision-making. Researchers from the Department of Clinical Psychology, at the University of Bergen, in Norway found that mindfulness-based stress reduction meditation training moderates an individual's fear of failure positively. "Mindfulness is described as a process of paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” ( Hjeltnes et al.) References: Brown, T. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. Harper Collings Publishers. Felsman, P., Gunawardena, S., & Seifert, C. M. (2020). Improv experience promotes divergent thinking, uncertainty tolerance, and affective well-being. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 35 , 100632. Hjeltnes, A., Binder, P., Moltu, C., & Dundas, I. (2015). Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 10 (1), 27990-27990. Kollmann, T., Stöckmann, C., & Kensbock, J. M. (2017). Fear of failure as a mediator of the relationship between obstacles and nascent entrepreneurial activity—An experimental approach. Journal of Business Venturing, 32 (3), 280-301. Roberto, M. A. (2009). Know what you don't know: How great leaders prevent problems before they happen . Wharton School Pub.

No leader strives to create a toxic culture. It's a liability. Just its mention can stir up negative emotions within those with experience. Evidence from an MIT Sloan study suggests a toxic workplace is the most potent driver behind the more than 50 million workers who quit their jobs recently. Employees and leaders are trying to avoid toxic cultures at all costs. But when present, there is no escaping, even if working remotely. It is easy to understand a toxic culture is bad for business. But often, it's much less clear for leaders to distinguish between a characteristic of the culture that is just irritating and one that is so dreadful that it makes the culture toxic. For example, a cash-strapped healthcare system hired a new doctor – let's call him Dr. Strange – who was considered the best surgeon to lead a new, highly competitive, and lucrative service line. During a surgery, Dr. Strange slapped a nurse's hand in the operating room out of frustration. Although not always as ruthless and obvious in the workplace, toxicity often forces leaders to wrestle with the question, is tolerating the behavior worth the cost of dealing with the bad behavior? A positive company culture is a competitive advantage and force multiplier. Here are five signs you have a toxic culture and two steps every leader can take to detox the cutlure. Why Leaders Need to be Concerned About a Toxic Culture Culture is the one thing that influences everything in your business. It directly impacts your success, your employee's success, your customers, and the communities where you operate. Your organization's underlying cultural values influence employee behaviors and decisions. A recent study by MIT Sloan into the factors driving the great resignation identified that toxic company culture is a more reliable predictor of voluntary turnover than how employees assess their compensation. Surprised? Evidence from this study suggests that a toxic organizational culture is more than ten times stronger at influencing employee attrition than what you are paying your employees. There are negative consequences when employees are treated rudely or blamed for things over which they have no control. A survey of 800 leaders and employees across 17 industries revealed the following reactions to a lack of civil treatment in the workplace: 48% decreased effort 66% lower quality work performed 78% less organizational commitment 63% lost work time avoiding the offender 80% lost work time worrying about how they were treated The side effects of a toxic culture extend beyond the workplace. Evidence suggests that negative consequences create a harmful ripple effect. Employees working in a toxic workplace report experiencing decreased well-being and increased work-family conflict. Does Your Company Culture Show Signs of a Toxic Culture? Company culture is a complex topic because it involves individuals, their interactions, teams, and the organization. A toxic culture is characterized by harassment, bullying, insulting leadership, threatening behaviors, and incivility directly linked to workplace stress . There are many different opinions on the attributes of a toxic culture. Analysis by MIT Sloan revealed that the five most pervasive characteristics of cultures that are toxic and not just irritating: Toxic Sign #1: Lack of Consideration, Courtesy, and Dignity Feeling disrespected can deeply affect an employee's perception of their workplace environment and their overall satisfaction within the corporate culture. When individuals feel valued and respected, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and committed to their work. Respect in the workplace goes beyond mere politeness; it involves creating an inclusive and supportive atmosphere where all voices are heard and considered. Encouraging employees to contribute their ideas and perspectives not only fosters a sense of belonging but also leads to innovation and creativity within the organization. When individuals feel that their opinions matter and are taken into account, they are more likely to be invested in the success of the company. Moreover, actively listening to others before expressing one's own viewpoint demonstrates empathy and understanding, which are essential components of a respectful and collaborative work environment. Toxic Sign #2: Lack of Inclusion This sign highlights the issue of companies failing to embrace diversity and inclusivity. The notion of an "us and them" mentality within the workplace is particularly concerning, as it signifies a deep-rooted division among employees. Such division not only hampers collaboration and teamwork but also creates a toxic work environment where individuals feel marginalized and undervalued. Toxic Sign #3: Unethical and Dishonest Behavior In addition to engaging in unethical behaviors such as cheating, being shady, lying, and misleading, it is crucial to highlight the importance of upholding regulatory compliance and safety standards within the workplace. By adhering to these guidelines, not only are employees protected from potential harm and hazards, but the overall well-being and efficiency of the organization are also safeguarded. Regulatory compliance ensures that the company operates within the legal boundaries of governing bodies, promoting transparency, accountability, and trustworthiness. Similarly, upholding safety standards not only mitigates risks and prevents accidents but also fosters a culture of care and respect for employees' welfare. By incorporating these elements into the workplace, organizations can create a positive and secure environment that prioritizes both ethical conduct and the well-being of their workforce. Toxic Sign #4: Ruthlessness and Backstabbing These behaviors, characterized by a lack of teamwork and collaboration, represent a significant barrier to productivity and team dynamics. Instead of working together towards a common goal, individuals engaging in such actions actively undermine their colleagues and disrupt the harmony within the team. This deliberate sabotage not only damages relationships but also erodes trust and creates a toxic work environment. By throwing their peers under the bus, individuals shift blame and avoid taking responsibility for their own actions. This behavior not only damages the reputation of the person being targeted but also reflects poorly on the individual engaging in such tactics. The repercussions of these actions can be far-reaching, leading to decreased morale, increased conflict, and a breakdown of communication within the team. Effective teamwork and collaboration are essential for achieving success in any organization. When team members engage in sabotage and betrayal, it undermines the foundation of trust that is necessary for a cohesive and productive team. Addressing these behaviors requires open communication, setting clear expectations, and fostering a culture of respect and accountability among team members. By promoting a positive and supportive work environment, teams can overcome these challenges and work together towards shared goals. Toxic Sign #5: Harassing and Bullying Yelling, physical and verbal abuse, as well as condescending comments and treatment, create an atmosphere of fear and negativity. Such behaviors can lead to a breakdown in communication, erode trust among individuals, and ultimately harm relationships. It's important to address these issues promptly and effectively to foster a safe and respectful environment for all individuals involved. Additionally, exploring the underlying reasons for such behaviors and implementing strategies for conflict resolution and emotional regulation can help mitigate the impact of hostility in interpersonal interactions. Culture Detox Step #1: Define Your Company Culture Defining your company or team culture in measurable and actionable terms can feel overwhelming, but it is extremely helpful for creating and sustaining positive change. The concept of culture is often considered too abstract and poorly understood. The Competing Values Framework is an actionable measure and framework for defining your company culture. It identifies four fundamentally different cultures. Clan Culture creates a collaborative atmosphere like a family. This culture emphasizes the value of teamwork, participation, and a consensus decision-making style. Adhocracy Culture creates an energetic and entrepreneurial atmosphere. This culture stresses the importance of research and continuous improvement. Market Culture creates a competitive, fast-paced, results-oriented environment. This culture highlights coming in first. Hierarchy Culture  is a top-down, formal, rule-based atmosphere. This culture emphasizes efficient, reliable, and cost-effective performance. Note: Adapted from Cameron and Quinn (2011). The framework enhances cultural understanding by simplifying the cultural description to only two fundamental dimensions: flexibility or stability and internal or external focus. A culture survey aligned with the Competing Values Framework can define the alignment of the current culture with the preferred organizational culture. "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." Blanchard Culture Detox Step #2: Be the Change Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Often, accidental bad leadership habits trickle down and become acceptable behaviors. A recent study found that only 12% of companies claim to have a program in place to define and improve culture. Every leader can model good behavior and ask for feedback from followers . Enhance your self-awareness of your leadership habits. Evaluate the ethical consequences of your decisions and create an open-door policy allowing employees to provide input where their voices and concerns can be heard. Then, actively architect and manage the workplace culture . Hire and fire employees to create and reinforce the desired company culture. Teach leaders and employees through stories about how they should respond in different situations and the costs of tolerating toxicity. Reinforce and communicate the importance of trust and teamwork. Reward employees who live the desired culture. Measure company results and alignment with the preferred company culture. References Doolittle, J. (2023) Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Hickok, H. (2021). Why toxic workplace cultures follow you home. BBC. Porath, C. & Pearson, C. (2013). The price of incivility. Harvard Business Review. Priesemuth, M. Times up for toxic workplaces. Harvard Business Review. Priesmuth, M. & Schminke, M. (2017). Helping thy neighbor? Prosocial reactions to observed abusive supervision in the workplace. Journal of Management. Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed). Wiley. Sull, D., Sull, C., & Zweig, B. (2022). Toxic culture is driving the great resignation. MIT Sloan Management Review. Sull, D., Sull, C., & Zweig, B. (2022). Why every leader needs to worry about toxic culture. MIT Sloan Management Review. Van Rooij, B. & Fine, A. (2018). Toxic corporate culture: Assessing organizational processes of deviancy. Administrative Sciences. Wang, Z., Zaman, S., Rasool, S. F., Zaman, Q. U., & Amin, A. (2020). Exploring the relationships between a toxic workplace environment, workplace stress, and project success with the moderating effect of organizational support. 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Stuck on the leadership plateau? Finding it challenging to navigate obstacles with the success you hoped for? Feeling like you are not living your best life? It's common to feel like you have a handle on things on minute, only to realize you are stuck making an important decision and cannot see the bigger picture because of the daily grind. As you climb the ladder in any organization, the need for a trusted thought partner increases, yet it's harder to find. That is where an executive coach can provide a fresh perspective. Executive coaching is a transformative process that challenges your mindset, encourages self-awareness, and brings out your best. By fostering a safe environment, an executive coach helps you unlock your full potential, empowering you to make the best decisions and take decisive actions toward achieving your goals. Here are five reasons why you should hire an executive coach and how an executive coach works with you. Why should you hire an executive coach? Having coached frontline and executive leaders in organizations of all sizes for over twenty years, I have found that the most accomplished leaders recognize the value of continuous growth and development. They seek out executive coaches to gain fresh perspectives, enhance their skills, and navigate complex challenges. Here are five common reasons why you should hire an executive coach. 1. Accelerate your career. Most of us go through day-to-day life giving more thought to what we wear each day than our careers. If your career is stalling, you need a plan to boost your career. Hiring a coach focused on your career goals leads to improved performance. Coaching keeps you feeling challenged versus being worried about what's next. An executive coach increases your self-awareness and helps you avoid jeopardizing current and future potential opportunities because of blind spots. 2. Shift your mindset. As the world changes, individuals or organizations need to change too. Your mindset is causative. How we feel about change influences our behaviors in response to the change. Shifting our mindset allows new perspectives and presents a never-ending opportunity to grow and achieve new heights in life and work. An executive coach will challenge assumptions and views and encourage, stretch, and challenge you. "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." Wayne Dyer 3. Develop a career transition plan. I know many high-performing leaders who are in their current role because of doors that a company opened. As a result, these same leaders have fascinating hobbies outside of work to offset a missing sense of purpose. Whether you're a frontline or executive leader, transitioning careers is never easy. An executive coach invokes greater understanding, awareness, and clarity and uses powerful questions to facilitate clear actions and explore options. 4. Focus on personal development. Without a goal, any path can lead you to your destination, but you may waste time and miss reaching your full potential. An executive coach assists you in defining success and significance for you and collaborates with you to set clear, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound actions to bring you closer to accomplishing your objectives. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Benjamin Franklin 5. Living Life to the Fullest. Do you ever feel like others seem to live a whole and happy life? If you have or do, you are not alone, but living a whole and happy life requires work and learning. Life is short and worth living our best life. An executive coach can help you see different interrelated factors impacting you and be a genuine champion in a supportive way. Coaching facilitates experimentation and self-discovery through the application of what is discussed. A skillful coach helps you dance in the present moment and take actions necessary for what matters to you. What is the typical executive coaching process? Research indicates that different psychological methods used in executive coaching, including cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused, strength-based, and GROW, have proven to be successful. Despite their similarities, the GROW model stands out as widely used in executive coaching. Given that executive coaching's ultimate goal is change within the executive, the process centers on using essential questions and client-centered critical thinking to invoke the executive's self-awareness and personal responsibility. The GROW model represents a journey that begins with clarifying the goal, which is inspiring and challenging to the executive. Then, the following step involves exploring the current reality and considering barriers between the current state and the desired future. The next step involves exploring   options based on the principle that imagination creates breakthroughs. The final step is clarifying the executive's will and the way forward. It defines specific timebound actions with the commitment, accountability, and reporting to lead to transformation. The client ultimately chooses the decisions and steps to meet their goals. A typical coaching program includes four fundamental steps: Executive Coaching Step #1: A crucial initial phase in the executive coaching process involves a preliminary meeting between the coach and the client. This meeting is a foundation for establishing a solid rapport and mutual understanding. During this stage, the coach aims to delve into the context for coaching, gaining insights into the client's background, challenges, and aspirations. This step lays the groundwork for a successful coaching journey by setting the stage for open communication and trust. Executive Coaching Step #2: As the coaching progresses, the utilization of proven behavioral assessments becomes a valuable tool to gain a deeper understanding of the client's strengths and areas for development. These assessments provide valuable talent insights that help the coach and the client tailor the coaching approach to address specific needs effectively. The coaching process becomes more targeted and impactful by leveraging behavioral assessments and guiding clients toward meaningful growth and self-awareness. Executive Coaching Step #3:  Moving forward, the coaching journey focuses on partnering with the client to experiment and take steps toward their envisioned future. This step involves comprehensively exploring the client's current situation and aspirations, identifying potential obstacles, and strategizing on the steps needed to achieve their desired outcomes. Through discovery, the coach collaborates with the client to define clear objectives and develop a roadmap for progress. This step propels the client towards their professional goals by aligning actions with aspirations. Executive Coaching Step #4: Measurement and evaluation play a pivotal role in the coaching process. This step is essential to establish clear goals, track progress, and acknowledge achievements. The client can gauge their advancement and stay motivated throughout the coaching journey by setting measurable milestones. Celebrating successes reinforces positive behaviors and fosters a sense of accomplishment and momentum toward continued growth and development. References: Athanasopoulou, A., & Dopson, S. (2018). A systematic review of executive coaching outcomes: Is it the journey or the destination that matters most? The Leadership Quarterly. 29 (1), 70-88. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Goldsmith, M., Lyons, L., & McArthur, S. (2012). Coaching for leadership: Writings on leadership from the world's greatest coaches 3rd Edition . Pfeiffer. Kimsey-House, K., Kimsey-House, H., Sandhal, P., & Whitworth, L., (2018). Co-active coaching: The proven framework for transformative conversations at work and in life.  Nicholas Brealey Publishing.