Bruce has it down pat….he possesses great skills in motivation and leadership in his band that easily translate into leadership in the workplace.   Stew Friedman, professor at Wharton, points out the three strongest points for why Bruce Springsteen is the best boss. Read the full article here.

1. Devote yourself fully to your people and never let up

2. Create community by connecting people to something bigger than themselves

3. Appreciate what’s good; express optimism

Whether at work or at home, effective leaders are best when they are fully present in the moment and positive.  Leaders are most influential when they can draw people together for the greater good. You’ve shown great leadership prowess if you can create chores at home that translate into positive family teamwork, or engage employees positively in a big project that will positively impact the organization or community.

How do we measure up to Springsteen?  Our client feedback tells us we’re positive and fully in the moment while working for a strong common cause. Still, we’re careful not to get complacent, as we continue to earn their top appraisal.  Today’s touchdown does not win tomorrow’s game of being the best boss. How do you measure up to Springsteen?

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Note. Our last blog invited you to be on the lookout for Part 2 of the RWHRMA talk, which addresses how HR team players can create buy-in once they have decided which of the 40 initiatives (of which 10 were presented last week) they wish to introduce in their quest to make HR a strategic partner to the business.  If you would like to receive all 40 low-cost and no-cost initiatives, email info@leadershiptrust.org.

Even if HR team players have all the aforementioned tips well versed and can articulate well these suggestions, without the edge of inspirational leadership built into their personalities (their delivery systems), they will not be able to create the degree of buy-in these leadership initiatives should demand.  Best practices in leadership development can make the difference.

Have you ever made a suggestion at a staff meeting only to receive little or no acknowledgment, and minutes later discover someone else saying the same only to receive the recognition that rightfully belonged to you? That’s a leadership issue, and self-awareness/emotional intelligence leadership training can bring out the authenticity of who you are at your central core, which is always laced with confidence and credibility. You may know you’re brighter than certain others  around you who seem to exude a credibility to which people tend to be more responsive.  Even the Wall Street Journal offered an article suggesting that high intelligence can interfere with effective leadership.  So, if you want to know what this is all about, and if you are serious about life-changing leadership, there is no better leadership training than one steeped in self-awareness and emotional intelligence. People who have a pervasive and far-reaching influence on other company players represent your best investment in leadership training. Keep reading for best practices for your ROI once you decide to invest in your future by investing in either yourself or those you would send for state-of-the-art leadership development. Read more…

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?

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!

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With a name like The Leadership Trust, we get a glimpse through our website analytics how many people are researching trust and leadership.  We even endorse a phenomenon we coined “the boomerang effect” that supports the notion that in giving trust you get it.  Some people may refer to this as the Law of Attraction, but no matter what you want to call it, BusinessWeek author, Dov Seidman, speaks of how to get what you want by giving it.  We all want loyal, trustworthy customers and employees, but are we willing to meet them halfway?  In this article, Seidman speaks of how a doughnut shop owner decided to let his customers make their own change from coins he left on the counter.  Read not only what happened profit-wise and otherwise from this seemingly small business maneuver, but also the more dramatic and riskier ones.  Even our most jaded skeptic may reconsider “it is in giving that we receive.”

Trust in leadership is a huge topic.  Our solid track record is evidence that we can help you with that.  In our Personalized Leadership Development Program, we offer unique and highly compelling processes that create, as a by-product, that much coveted trust with your employees and customers.  Our graduates speak to this in their testimonials.  In Siedman’s company, they tried meeting their employees half way during a restructuring process.  They found that by not requiring the formal approavl on the expense reports but instead used random report checks, there was less friction between managers and team members and more time to do their work.  Read about their striking restructuring results from their recently surveyed employees.

Don’t you want your employees to feel the same way?  Aren’t you glad there is a proven process to make it so?  Visit us and take that first step toward creating a culture of trust.

Source: BusinessWeek online

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Twitter CEO, Evan Williams, offers some of his own perspective on developing his leadership style over the years of his experience running various companies. 

“I read a lot of books, but you can only learn so much through books…” Evan Williams on Wall Street Journal website speaking about leadership.

Attending one of our Personalized Leadership Development Programs can help you develop your leadership skills because, for starters, our workshop is experiential.  We offer a way for you to learn and grow in a safe environment so that you can experience and develop your own true leadership style.  This is the same thing as saying that people discover their authentic selves with us.  Visit our website to learn more about our unique 5-day program.  We welcome the opportunity to speak with you further.

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In response to current economic conditions impacting both our current and future clients, The Leadership Trust® is offering half-off-the-tuition scholarship coupons that you can apply to our tuition-guaranteed, Personalized Leadership Development Program™ through December 2009!  Limit one coupon per company, accommodations not included.

Watch 14 of our graduates in less than 45 seconds describe their experience in the first of a series of videos.  Then download the coupon and save $2750 off tuition!

Coupon 2009

Coupon is valid for PLDPs July 2009-December 2009.  One coupon per company, accomodations not included. (www.leadershiptrust.org)