Does your team know your core values and personality style?
Is your behavior consistent in all your interactions with your colleagues?
Do you sometimes find yourself following a pattern of behaviors that others’ expect from you, instead of creating your own?
Do you experience a level of stress trying to perform to others’ standards? (more…)
This is Part 2 of the Introduction (read Part 1 here) to my book LeaderVantage that will be released in August. Reserve your copy today!
Sue and Jeb were finished eating and Sue invited Jeb to walk across the street to a nearby park. It was a bright, sunny summer morning, and it wasn’t long before they saw butterflies alighting on the various flowers. Sue stopped and pointed them out. Then she asked Jeb what he knew about the growth of a butterfly. A bit confused, he quickly recalled they start out as a caterpillar, then go into a cocoon, and finally emerge as a butterfly. “That’s right,” said Sue. “But did you know that butterflies go through four stages—egg, larva, pupa and adult? Each stage has a different goal. And at every stage it’s still a butterfly, even though it doesn’t look like one.” (more…)
This is a conversation I’ve been engaged in with multiple leaders over the past month. These are individuals trying to move their careers forward and balance their own desires and interests with the expectations of others in their environment around appearance, style, communications and behaviors.
In recent years, trends have moved from organizations being very prescriptive about the appearance and behaviors of their employees, to understanding the need to be open to more variety. This shift is focused in part on the recognition that employees want greater ability to bring their “whole self” to work, and the risk of losing talented individuals who can contribute to improved results. So, what is authentic presence? (more…)