As coaches and consultants, we find that many people regularly struggle with delegation, and they tend to feel uncomfortable admitting it because they believe they should know how to do it. In our experience, delegating is a challenging skill . . . one that few of us are taught. People are frequently told they should, “just delegate that” but when they do, and they don’t get the results they hoped for, they give up and just heap the task onto…
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from people in leadership is that they have to be available to their teams “all the time” to answer questions and solve problems. They say that they read about dream teams that know how to move forward in the face of challenges but their team just doesn’t get it. When we ask them to share some examples of how this plays out, we often hear a long history of our client (as team…
Today is Martin Luther King Jr, and to honor his work around civil rights, we want to share with you a present-day voice advocating for a better world. On January 7th at the Golden Globes, Oprah gave a powerful speech about the importance of speaking up. The speech she gave was moving, and the reaction of the audience was equally, if not more, moving. You see, as Oprah spoke, her words fueled their hopes and their conviction for a better…
There is a big difference between sharing your opinion and giving credible input and knowing that difference can have a powerful impact on your success. Giving relevant, useful input is an important skill that requires practice and thoughtfulness. Without a framework for giving input on a question or issue, many of us get anxious and then resort to giving our opinion. Yet, when decision-makers look to you for your expertise, they generally don’t want your opinion—they want useful input.…
As executive coaches, we often work with clients who are getting ready to take a new job and yet need to stay engaged and effective until they formally leave their position. Being able to stay engaged is really important not only to your self-esteem and your colleagues’ last impressions of you but also to your reputation – so it’s important that you do it well. So, what can you do to stay engaged when you know you’re moving on? Put…
We have the privilege of working with leaders in a wide range of businesses – for profit and non-profit, large and small, service companies and product driven – and one of the major changes we’re seeing in all of them is that leaders are running hard and fast, going from one thing to the next, with not a moment to think. Not a moment to think. These women and men are running companies that need their leadership and yet, they…
There’s something exciting about the beginning of the school year, even when you’re no longer a student. The fresh supplies – new pencils, new pens and paper that seem to say, “At this moment my future’s wide open and anything can happen!” Of course, for many of us that feeling didn’t last beyond the first few weeks of school, but the excitement at the beginning of the year was real. There were new possibilities. We meet adults…
As you may know, at Carpenter Smith Consulting, we believe that leadership is the willingness to influence your world and the willingness to be influenced by your world. Recently, we had someone write and ask us this: “You talk a lot about influence. I’m just not sure it’s all that important. What’s made it so central to your model of leadership? What about power and authority?” We love these questions! We know that people often believe that leadership is about…
Last week in Two Powerful Tools from One Powerful Leader, we described how visionary leader Kathy Broadwater utilized virtual departments to get work done at the Maryland Port Authority. This week, we’re sharing her approach to solidifying those virtual departments by creating a specific charter or compact to ensure that everyone is clear about the goals and deliverables, how the work will be done and who will do it, and to formalize the commitment to being a part of this…
Last week we talked about our definition of leadership and some ways that different people brought that definition to life in a wide range of settings. It was great to hear from so many of you that these examples helped you see some ways to bring stronger leadership into your world. At the same time, a number of you said that you found the idea of being a leader a burden. Barb summed up her concerns this way: …