I lost 18 pounds in the past month and a half,” writes Peter Bregman, contributor to the Harvard Business Review Blog.  After reading many diet books, Bregman found that changing one thing and one thing only in his diet, made a huge impact on the weight he wanted to lose.  He cut out sugar.

Likewise, the same principle can be applied to leadership programs.  Bergman proposes that leadership programs need to focus on one thing to be successful.  He was approached by a Fortune 100 client to help design a new leadership training program for them because their current one- an elaborate plan with many years of training in it- wasn’t giving the results they wanted.  Bergman applied the same simplicity principle to their leadership program- focus all your efforts on the one piece that is most critical and forget the rest.  Read the full article here.

The Leadership Trust® has already simplified leadership training.  We are focused on one thing- you.  That is why we call it the Personalized Leadership Development Program™.  It is not a one-size-fits-all kind of program; it can’t be if you are going to get permanent positive results based upon your unique needs and goals.  Subsumed within this program is our Self-Awareness Workshop, because if you don’t know you can’t fix, and many of our graduates tell us how surprised they are to learn aspects of how they are perceived by others.  Secondly, those who may have a fairly good sense of their leadership challenges admittedly just don’t know how to change it.  When you return to work with a real-life tangible action plan, you will be positively changing, one step at a time, your work efficiency, your leadership prowess, and your interactions with others.

Because we get at root cause, your experience with us will also positively impact your home life- after all, wherever you go, there you are!  Spend some time with us, and we’ll help you go from where you are now to where you want to be!  Contact Us for more information or to register for a program.

Harvard Business Review Blog author, Sylvia Ann Hewlett writes, “In researching my forthcoming book, Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business Is Down, we found that in the wake of last year’s financial crash, high-powered women were more than twice as likely as men- 84 percent compared with 40 percent- to be seriously thinking [of] jumping ship.  And when the head and hear are out the door, the rest of the body is sure to follow.”

Hewlett goes on to write about the benefits of having women in management helps prevent group-think, opens lines of communication with direct managers, and thinking and acting strategically for their careers.  Intel has created specialized workshops for their most “at-risk population: mid-level female engineers.”  Read the full article here.

It is apparent that having a balance of both genders in the workplace is important to the success of any organization.  Maintaining and retaining the best talent, whether men or women, is always and important piece of a strategic mission.  The Leadership Trust® can help by providing customized group training events to help prevent the loss of great talent in your organization.  Contact Us today about customized-to-your-needs programs.  We can help your team of men and women unleash their full potential!

When the boss asks you to come in on a weekend for a big project your department is working on, what is your response?  “Sorry, but I have my son’s soccer game.  I can’t do it.”  Or, “My daughter’s birthday is this weekend, I won’t be able to come in.”

That was Bill Clinton’s response when he was approached by VP Al Gore about some light days on his calendar after failing to attend an APEC economic summit.  When questioned by Gore, Clinton’s response showed to what degree his role as father to Chelsea would take precedence- he was going to help her with her college exams.  Read the full story here.

We all strive to create an appropriate balance between work and home, a balance between our professional obligations and our personal devotion to our families.  It’s often a challenging road determining whether our balance either sacrifices family or over-indulges them.  We are interested in your opinion if Clinton’s commitment to his daughter for college exams was appropriate or not.

The Leadership Trust is known to offer professional development through personal development and has helped many professionals determine how best to create this balance.  Our graduates tell us that they leave with a peaceful knowingness that was not there before regarding this balance.  This intuitive feel you develop is the result of making a connection between your head and your heart and is an important factor in being more productive and efficient at work so you don’t have to go in on Saturday, big project or not.

When you are at peace about what is the right thing to do with time spent between work and home, your communication is open and honest, and your team is more motivated, thereby making the work experience less laborious.  People are therefore bound to be happier both at work and at home.  And isn’t that what life is all about anyway?

Durham- Dr. Holly Latty-Mann, CEO and co-founder of The Leadership Trust®, an organization dedicated to personalized leadership and self awareness development and training, will lead a team to support the inaugural North Carolina Walk4Hearing on Saturday Oct 3, at the Imperial Center in Durham.  Latty-Mann’s team raised over $2000 for the cause and she has shared her plight as a business executive who has triumphed over the daily challenges of severe hearing loss.

Seventeen years ago, Latty-Mann awoke one morning to a hearing quality that was equal to seeing only blurry-gray.  She had just arrived at Kent State to start her post doctorate in clinical psychology.  Diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, she was categorized in the severe hearing loss category, and was fitted with hearing aids.  Through the challenges of living in a world of warped sounds, Latty-Mann says her hearing loss has been an undeniable gift in several surprising ways, allowing her to excel in her professional and personal life.

“We are constantly striving to make hearing loss an issue of larger awareness,” said Latty-Mann.  “I hope that by sharing my story, others are inspired and motivated to support this cause that impacts nearly 32 million people in this country.  The funds raised at the Walk4Hearing will help people who are hearing “blurry-gray” but cant’ afford what most people tend to take for granted, adequate hearing.”

The Hearing Loss Association of North Carolina (HLA_NC) is the organizer of the Walk4Hearing event.  There is no registration fee to participate.

HLA_NC President, Michael Eury, praised Latty-Mann and The Leadership Trust team for their efforts.  “The more voices we have to advocate and work towards the goal of reducing the stigma and educating people about hearing loss, the better.  Dr. Latty-Mann’s story is truly inspirational and in her personal and professional life she is able to help others realize how a positive shift in the way we perceive misfortunes can be life changing,” Eury said.

For more information about the Walk4Hearing and the Hearing Loss Association, please visit this site.

About The Leadership Trust

Founded in 1998, The Leadership Trust is an organization dedicated to support on a global basis the creation, the development and implementation of highly effective, high integrity leadership serving the ultimate well-being of persons everywhere.  Lead by co-founder and CEO Dr. Holly Latty-Mann, The Leadership Trust offers personalized leadership and self-awareness development and training programs with a focus on emotional intelligence incorporating the mind, body, emotions, and spirit.  The organization also provides customized on-site consulting services with tailored programs to address both company and individual needs and goals.  For more information about The Leadership Trust, visit www.leadershiptrust.org

Let’s talk about bad leadership.  The Harvard Business Review published a list of the top 10 qualities of bad leaders.  These are described in more detail in the article online, accessible here.

The Worst Leaders:

1. Lack energy and enthusiasm.

2. Accept their own mediocre performance.

3. Lack clear vision and direction.

4. Have poor judgment.

5. Don’t collaborate.

6. Don’t follow the standards they set for others.

7. Resist new ideas.

8. Don’t learn from mistakes.

9. Lack interpersonal skills.

10. Fail to develop others.

As one reads the list, this information seems pretty obvious.  Online Ezine Expert, Shari Alexander, mentions how seemingly simple these bad traits appear to be.  “Everyone knows to avoid these problems.  Before you disregard this information, take a look at what the surveyors also discovered: ‘…the ineffective leaders we studied were often unaware that they exhibited these behaviors.  In fact, those who were rated most negatively rated themselves substantially more positively.’  In order to improve your leadership abilities, you need to check [your] ego at the door and routinely ask for honest feedback.  Otherwise, you might be making detrimental mistakes and not even know it,” Alexander writes.

The author further offers practicality in her insights regarding how to effectively change 5 of the 10 behaviors instantly.  Read her suggestions here.  At The Leadership Trust, we are in the business of perceptions management.  How others perceive us and how we perceive them are filled with unintended errors and thus greatly impact the effectiveness of our leadership skills.  Through our unique 360+ degree feedback instrument and process, we offer our participants the equivalences of an MRI versus a cat scan when it comes to a comprehensive overview of the misperceptions that are floating around out there at work and beyond.  More importantly, throughout the 5-day program, we get at root causes of these misperceptions, thereby making the chances of permanent, positive change a lifelong reality.  Contact Us today to learn about our tuition guaranteed programs!

Sources: Shari Alexander, Avoid Being a Bad Leader

The Harvard Business Review Blog, Voices

www.leadershiptrust.org

Steve Demaio, contributor to the Harvard Business Review blog, offers some advice on how to give praise to your employees.  Read his full article here.  Giving the right kind of praise helps reinforce the positive behaviors we see in others.  Here are some examples of his principles:

1. Be truly specific.  Precise feedback helps the person understand where their strengths were realized.  General comments like “Great job!” just aren’t specific enough.

2. Don’t confuse politeness with praise.  Simply put, being polite doesn’t reward your employees for their hard work.  Aim your praise to the employees’ specific accomplishments and contributions to the team.  Example, ” Your timeliness always helps be do my job better.  Thanks.”

3. Praise with action, not just words.  Actions speak louder than words, so follow up your praise with an action that the employee can build upon for next time.

4. Don’t pad constructive criticism with empty praise.  Criticism sandwiched with praise is certainly a good delivery method, but using generalized praise will only undercut the authentic praise you give at other times.

Demaio offers some great advice on how to provide genuine praise so your employees can keep doing the great work that has contributed to the success of the team.  Because being authentic is key to making praise work, The Leadership Trust helps connect your head with your heart so that your praise is experienced as genuine.  This means you won’t feel awkward offering praise if this has not been a natural behavior or yours.  This is what is meant by authentic leadership, and we have unique processes designed to help you with this.  Read more about our Personalized Leadership Development Program and how it gets you reacquainted with your real self.  Now that’s freedom!

www.leadershiptrust.org

We at The Leadership Trust say that pain- and love- are highly motivating factors to change, and change management is a huge part of leadership training.  Becoming a better leader, most likely means changing some of your current processes, beliefs, styles, techniques so that you are continually bettering yourself.  Marshall Goldsmith, author or Ask the Coach blog on the Harvard Business  website, addresses change and provides 5 reasons to stay the course.  Read the full article here and discover that leopards absolutely can change their spots (figuratively speaking, of course).

Change is hard.  It takes forever and I don’t even know if it’s working.  Any tips for making this process easier?

Change takes longer than we think and the process is difficult.  Acknowledging these facts can make your attempts more successful.  My co-author Dr. Kelly Goldsmith, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and I researched why people give up on their goals.  We discovered that there are five common reasons.  Understanding these roadblocks will help you apply some preventive medicine- and increase the odds that you won’t fall into the same old traps.” – Marshall Goldsmith, blog post.

Our program helps you in compelling fundamental ways to begin the process of permanent positive change.  Read more about our unique Personalized Leadership Development Program  and you’ll be able to feel the difference in our approach.  You don’t have to take our word for it though- read and video view  what our graduates have to say about their experiences weeks, months, and years after attending our signature program.  This will answer affirmatively the age-old question about the leopards, and we’d find it a real privilege to be your change agents!

www.leadershiptrust.org

Our philosophy is that home affects work and work affects home, as evidenced by how many of our signature testimonials speak to “better father”…” better husband”…”better wife”…”better mother.”  We therefore felt it would be a fitting topic to discuss leadership at home in terms of families and children.  As parents, you have the opportunity to help shape your children into wonderful leaders themselves.  Your influence begins at a young age.  This article reminds parents to think of the investment in their children as a long term investment.  With your guidance, your children can become better influences on their friends and family in their own right, and then later on, their positive influence can be made on co-workers.

Do you have parenting concerns regarding your children’s school and family relationships?  We can help you with that.  In our Personalized Leadership Development Program, we address the concerns YOU have about any of your own relationships going on in life.  Do you want to learn how to improve your communication with your teenager and thus your relationship?  How about your spouse?  Your parents?  Contact us, we’ll help meet you where you are and take you where you want to go.

Source: Leadership Now http://leadershipnow.com/minute0016.html

www.leadershiptrust.org

Dan McCarthy is a great resource for leadership training.  In this article, Dan discusses the benefits of using external consultants and trainers for your organizational development needs.

1. Internal expertise may be missing.  External resources are sometimes needed when the required expertise is missing or in short supply within a company.

2. Innovation. An external resource can bring a fresh perspective and new ideas into a company.

3. Ability and willingness to take risks.  Some external trainers and consultants are more willing and able to challenge people and processes without fear of political consequences.  In other words, they can sometimes “get away” with something that an internal trainer wouldn’t dare try.  Participants are often more comfortable opening up to an outsider.

4. Better use of internal resources.  There is a cost to using internal subject matter experts and senior leaders – their time.  Taking one of your best sales managers out of the field to train means less time spent coaching sales reps and meeting with customers.

5. External resources are easier to “fire.” Let’s face it, if you’re a trainer manager, and you somehow end up with a mediocre trainer, you’re going to be spending a lot of time on coaching and performance management.  It’s much easier to replace an external resource.

Here at The Leadership Trust®, we specialize in customized consulting programs utilizing your specific input in order to benefit your organization.  We’ll discuss goals and takeaways with you and create a program designed to exceed your expectations.  Read more about What We Do and contact us today to address whatever your current organizational challenges.  You’ll discover how we consider it a privilege to serve you through a real collaboration in excellence.

www.leadershiptrust.org

Source: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/

“Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.” ~ Warren Bennis

Lance, author of Jungle of Life Blog, recently interviewed me for his blog.  The interview was atypical in the same way our workshops are, meaning there was plenty of room for personal “stuff” that subsequently can shape the good and the not-so-good in our later years- both at work and at home.  We shared a great conversation about my personal philosophy and how The Leadership Trust® helps leaders grow from the inside out.

Here is an excerpt from our interview:

Today I’m honored to share with you Dr. Holly Latty-Mann, president and co-founder of The Leadership Trust®.  The Leadership Trust is a training organization based in Durham, North Carolina.  Holly, along with the late Dr. Jim Farr, created this unique training organization in 1998. Of special note, is that Dr. Farr was the initial founding director of the Center for Creative Leadership, back in the late 1960s and sold his previous firm, Farr Associates, making The Leadership Trust his last leadership initiative.

The basis behind the training that Holly and her group offer is that leadership is built from the inside out through a highly psychologically driven process.  Regarded as life-changing, nearly all past participants have called this the best training they’ve ever had – both personally and professionally.  And this is evidenced in the many video and written testimonials of their graduates, found at The Leadership Trust website.  I encourage you to check these out, even just for the inspiration they offer, given they do not fit the norm.  It is so worth reading/viewing some of these – just take a couple of minutes to really let this all soak in.

Holly has created a learning environment that truly promotes fundamental change, in a safe and caring environment.  With a rich history of alliances that include Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, their Coach K Center for Leadership and Ethics (COLE) as well as Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Management, The Leadership Trust currently enjoys an informal partnership with NC State’s Organizational Behavior program where their collaboration has produced research findings on leadership behaviors that work and don’t work.

Please join me in welcoming Holly here today. 

1. Tell us a little bit about who “you” are (family, career, any special life experiences you’d like to share, etc.)
Lance, I notice you ask about family first before career in your question, and I say you have your priorities right!

While most people tend to offer positive spins when asked about specifics of who they are (family, special life experiences, etc.), I’ve found those sensational life events, including the ones where I made mistakes, have turned out to be wonderful training grounds for not only helping me become my best, but also helping others do the same.  So here are some special life experiences that molded and shaped me because of my responses to them: I lost my brother Michael when I was almost 3, and he was almost 9. Michael was my everything. My father was an alcoholic, albeit a successful business executive. That’s because his drinking started when he came home in the evenings.  I went steady with Billy Graham’s son for two years in high school, but he broke up with me because I was a “goody two-shoes,” and he had discovered “wild” girls during his prep school years at Stony Brook.  Years following my divorce at the age of 30, I saved myself from a second marriage. Don’t laugh when you hear my doctoral dissertation was on mate selection. After years of being married to my company, I’m now finally ready again. Continuing to speak to special life experiences, I’ve had one supernatural experience that has nurtured a metaphysical orientation to my faith. Another “supernatural” experience was my losing half of my hearing overnight in 1992 due to a virus. But most importantly as a result of working steadily on myself over time, I can say with gratitude in my heart that I am a happy, secure person who loves life and believes the best in humankind! No, I am not naïve. I have watched thousands of people go from anger, despair, insecurity, arrogance, and selfishness to happy and peaceful. I am a true believer that people change, and my passion is playing a role in supporting meaningful, lasting change in others.

You’ll learn from this link about my career, educational background, and what I do in the name of showing leaders how to inspire and motivate. It was only this past year that I asked all faculty members to add what they do for fun in the last paragraph.  As for me, that includes foreign travel (52 foreign countries so far), playing the piano, playing tennis, hiking, and most fun of all, biking! I feel like a free child as soon as I start to peddle!

Lance’s Commentary:  Holly, I love the approach you took with this question.  Life has bumps for all of us, and those bumps along our journey really can lead to lasting change.  You are doing wonderful things on all levels, and I’m sure that’s in part to what your past experiences have taught you. 

2. You are the president and co-founder of a pretty innovative organization.  Tell us briefly about “The Leadership Trust” and what it is? 
How about our mission statement for starters? The Leadership Trust® is an organization dedicated to support on a global basis the creation, development and implementation of highly effective, high integrity leadership serving the ultimate well-being of all persons everywhere.

3. What is the deeper purpose of your organization?
Our deeper purpose is to support the growth of the human spirit in order to contribute toward a kinder, gentler world.

Lance’s Commentary:  The human spirit – what a deeply meaningful purpose.  Holly, I think this answer alone speaks to just how “right” what you are doing is.  The more connected with our deeper self, the more we see life through the lens of humanity and what is possible!  What a great place to work toward, and you get to help others do this every day – how awesome!

To read the interview in full, please click here: Leading From Within