Our lives tend to slow down a bit over the summer. This is the perfect time to evaluate ourselves and work on our weak spots to get ready for the craziness that usually accompanies the fall. Here are six leadership articles that everyone in a leadership position should take the time to read this summer in order to gear up for the months ahead.
1. Who Has the D?: How Clear Decision Roles Enhance Organizational Performance
By Paul Rogers and Marcia W. Blenko
Decisions are the coin of the realm in business. But even in highly respected companies, decisions can get stuck inside the organization like loose change. But it’s more than loose change that’s at stake, of course; it’s the performance of the entire organization. If you can’t make the right decisions quickly and effectively, and execute those decisions consistently, your business will lose ground. Read it here.
2. Managing Yourself: Zoom In, Zoom Out
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The lens through which leaders view the world can help or hinder their ability to make good strategic decisions, especially during crises. Zoom in, and get a close look at select details—perhaps too close to make sense of them. Zoom out, and see the big picture—but perhaps miss some subtleties and nuances. But they should be vantage points, not fixed positions. The best leaders know when to focus in and when to pull back. Read it here.
3. Should Leaders Focus on Results, or on People?
By Matthew Lieberman
It’s a trick question. For leaders who were strong in both results focus and in social skills, the likelihood of being seen as a great leader skyrocketed. Read it here.
4. Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership
By Daniel Goleman and Richard E. Boyatzis
New studies of the brain show that leaders can improve group performance by understanding the biology of empathy. Leading effectively is, in other words, less about mastering situations—or even mastering social skill sets—than about developing a genuine interest in and talent for fostering positive feelings in the people whose cooperation and support you need. Read it here.
5. Accelerate!
By John P. Kotter
Perhaps the greatest challenge business leaders face today is how to stay competitive amid constant turbulence and disruption. But the old ways of setting and implementing strategy are failing us. We can’t keep up with the pace of change, let alone get ahead of it. Here's how the most innovative companies capitalize on today’s rapid-fire strategic challenges—and still make their numbers. Read it here.
6. Leaders Behaving Badly
By Jay Desko
In our many years of consulting experience, we have come to realize that healthy leaders are not super-human, but they are different. And leaders who manifest bad behaviors are not all bad, but they can cause harm to themselves, others, and the health of their organization. We have identified and explained the top fourteen bad behaviors that harm a leader’s effectiveness and influence. Read it here.
Jay Desko is the CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.
