“There is nothing certain, but the uncertain.” – Proverb The term VUCA has gone from a trendy corporate buzz word to a common expression of the unique challenges presented in the workplace today. VUCA is an acronym that stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. In other words, “Buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride!” The term originated in the military sector and has been adapted to organizations faced with newly complex conditions including rapid global expansions, technological disruptions, shifting demographics, etc. In a VUCA world, the leaders who get it right aren’t the ones who are the … Read More
Seven Universal Soft Skills Everyone Should Master
A 256% net return on investment—it’s the holy grail of training outcomes and easier to achieve than you might think. A study conducted by Boston College, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan found that soft skills training does NOT create soft results. The study showed that even minimal time investments in each skill (5-12 hours) boosts productivity and retention 12 percent and those results last up to 9 months.
Seven Things Leaders Should Do Every Day
I’ve never heard a leader complain about having too much free time and not enough work to do. To a large extent, that’s the nature of the 21st century workplace (do more with less), however that’s also the nature of a leader’s personality. When there’s always work to be done, it’s often easier to focus on a revolving to-do list and answer the barrage of incoming requests than to take charge of the day. Here are seven things all leaders should do daily to keep the ship on course:
6 Ways to Break Through the Wall of Learned Helplessness
Progress, change, transformation and innovation are all plagued by one organizational culture virus that inhibits growth and success—Learned Helplessness. When leaders and team members alike shut down all new ideas with responses like “It will never work,” “that will never get approved,” or “I wouldn’t even bother…” it’s clear that they’ve given up the hope that anything will change. Learned Helplessness is a phenomenon that was originally studied in a lab. Psychologists Martin Seligman and Steven Maier used the term to describe the behavior of dogs who, after experiencing inescapable electric shocks behaved as if they were helpless. They stopped … Read More
Do You Stay Calm Under Fire?
Last month we wrote about 50 ways you can betray your message. This week, we’ll take a deep dive into what happens then everything goes wrong. No matter how hard we prepare for an event, no matter how many contingency plans we put in place, and no matter how many times you’ve been through the same routine, eventually things will go awry. Wifi goes down. Computers crash. Videos don’t load. Speakers’ flights are cancelled. The event organizer quits. The customer is a no-show. Shipments don’t arrive on time. Hotels and flights are overbooked. Print collateral has an error. You might … Read More
Creating a Culture of Lifelong Learning
“Once you stop learning, you start dying.” – Albert Einstein What do Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffet have in common? Other than being wildly successful billionaires, they devote several hours a day to reading. These moguls are at the top of their fields. They could retire today and never need another dime to live on, yet they choose to continue learning and work hard to build their own skills. There is no such thing as “enough” wisdom. In life, work, and personal relationships, professional development, etc., there is always room for improvement. When we wake up, … Read More