Priscilla Archangel, Ph.D.
Six Tips to Maximize “What’s in Your Hands?”
Capital One has a frequently aired commercial with the tag line “What’s in your wallet?” It conveys the message that if you possess their credit card, you will have greater spending power and ability to acquire the things you want and need. But if it stays in your wallet, and you don’t use it, you won’t activate the power it holds. You need to not only have it, you need to use it.
The same is true for the question, “What’s in your hands?”. We each possess the capability to accomplish great things if we use the passions, perspectives, talents and capabilities in our hands. This includes recognizing our unique blend of thought processes, sensitivities, interests and the environments where they will be most useful. But we must make it a priority to nurture and cultivate these qualities. Continue reading
Four Underlying Motivations to Good Decisions
Pat arrived at the office early. She hadn’t slept well the night before because she was wrestling with an important decision that needed to be made in her Executive Committee meeting that morning. They had been evaluating the development and launch of a new product for the past six months. Today they needed to make a final decision on whether they were going to move forward. The discussions had been thorough yet difficult with wide ranging opinions on what they should do. There was significant risk associated with the launch, but the potential reward could be a greatly improved market share. As CEO, she needed everyone to make a full commitment to the decision, and while the objective analysis appeared to lead the team to adopt it, a number of other issues had arisen, and there was a LOT of debate. Continue reading
Sustainable Leadership: What Happens When the Glue Fails
A key requirement of good leadership is to ensure that the organization and its initiatives are sustainable, both during and beyond the leader’s tenure there. This means that the company’s values, beliefs, goals and objectives cannot be dependent upon a single or few people as the glue holding it together. Situations will inevitably occur where such individuals are no longer a part of the organization, and thus the glue fails.
Business start-ups and transformations are frequently initially driven by individuals who possess the personal characteristics necessary to bring a team together and drive toward a goal. But they must always transfer those qualities to others to sustain the growth of the business. They must multiply themselves throughout the organization, to ensure that the right people are in place to maintain and carry it forward. Continue reading
What’s Your Communication Goal?
As leaders we’re constantly communicating to our stakeholders with strategic intent. The question is whether our communication plan is effective or not. This may sound simple, but amazingly, many leaders miss excellent opportunities to communicate with employees in ways that develop them by enhancing their understanding of business priorities and engaging them in driving sustained business outcomes. When you’re communicating with others it’s important to think about your goal to ensure your methodology is properly aligned.
What to Do When You Don’t Have A Dream Team
Leaders spend a great deal of time focusing on building strong teams, selecting the right people with critical skill sets, managing diversity of thought and matching complementary strengths. They structure their organizations based on the capabilities needed to accomplish organizational objectives and optimize opportunities to control as many variables as possible to ensure a cohesive team.
But what happens when you don’t get to pick? What happens when you’re assigned to work with a group of people and must determine how to best work together to accomplish a goal? This frequently occurs when you are part of a team with a shorter life span, sporadic interaction or representing diverse and distant stakeholders. Thus, the ability to craft the members of the team and spend time in team building is reduced. For example, you’re: Continue reading
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