FeMale Leadership is Beautiful
Leaders, In preparation for the “Inspired Women Development Series” that I will be launching together with LFM Coaching, Buenos Aires/Argentina, I have asked a few colleagues and experts in the field of leadership development and diversity & inclusion about their views on characteristics of male and female leadership and the most effective approach to developing women leaders. Here is what they came up with: 1. From your experience, what are the key differentiators in the male/female approach to leadership in general? Women tend to be more approachable on a personal level; they provide others with a sense of being seen and being relevant. The female communication style seems more diplomatic and sensitive, whereas men tend to communicate more directly and in a matter-of-fact fashion. Followers feel validated and motivated to do even more when those female traits are exhibited well. When something is not working, women tend to step up [...]
What the best leaders need to know about teams: Safety first!
Leaders, Imagine you accepted a new challenging position that created as much apprehension as it did excitement. Of course, you are aware that more and more of today’s work is powered by teams and the execution of the company’s long-term goals heavily relies on effective collaboration. As the newbie in the organization, what can you do to start off on the right foot? Photo Credit: Otmar Brettschneider Our brains are wired for connection, helping us create meaningful bonds and distinguish friend from foe. But how we build and manage teams can activate those brain structures for either trust and collaboration or conflict and competition. Observe the interactions and collaboration amongst team members and teams. As the new leader strive to ensure that no one is afraid of sharing ideas and asking questions. Some of the following indicators assist you in identifying a fear-based environment that can kill [...]
Why Vague Feedback is Holding Women Back
Leaders, The number of women in executive roles has not changed largely in the last decade despite of significant investments in corporate advancement programs for women leaders. Women only hold 23% of senior management positions, and 35% of management positions. One major reason why women are not rising to executive ranks is the feedback they receive. There is a major gender disparity when it comes to receiving feedback, and it is women who are coming off worse. Source: Fotolia / BillionPhotos.com The Center for Talent Innovation reports: Women are 32% less likely to receive any feedback from male superiors. When they do get feedback, 81% of women say they have trouble responding to it, because it is so “distressingly contradictory”. When women make up less than 25% of an applicant pool, they are more likely to be negatively evaluated. Men and women are assessed very differently at work. [...]
How to Overcome Barriers to Effective Feedback [with Download]
Leaders, In today‘s fast-moving world, we are always under pressure to act now, rather than spend time reasoning things through and thinking about the true facts. Not only can this lead us to a wrong conclusion, it can also cause conflict with other people who may have drawn quite different conclusions on the same matter. To understand what makes giving and delivering effective feedback difficult, we need to shed some light on the challenges and barriers, that is predominantly the process of human interaction, perception and how our brains process information. Source: Fotolia / User: adogslifephoto The information out in the world comes in through our senses. We select what we will pay attention to by running that information through filters. We all have a unique way of selecting what we pay attention to and what we ignore. In order to deal with the multitude of sensory [...]
Feedback: Driving Individual and Organizational Success [with Download]
Leaders, Giving impactful feedback is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish, isn’t it? Then again, it is one of the most effective drivers for individual and organizational success. Let’s take a look at the current situation of workplace feedback and its consequences, the importance of feedback, and what you can do to deliver it with impact and integrity. There is a link to a download at the bottom of the article. The term ‘feedback’ was coined in the 1860’s during the industrial revolution to describe the way in which outputs of energy, momentum or signals are returned to their point of origin in a mechanical system. In the context of communication that means: Feedback is helpful information or criticism about prior action or behavior from an individual or a group who can use that information to adjust and improve current and future actions and behaviors. In essence: Feedback is [...]
Are You Doing Water Ballet in the Shark Tank?
Leaders, Did you know that the earliest known sharks date back to more than 420 million years ago? Since then, sharks have diversified into over 500 species that range in size from only 6.7 in to approximately 40 ft in length. Species like the great white shark, tiger shark, or hammerhead shark are at the top of their underwater food chain. Source: Fotolia | user: stonefy The sharks in the corporate shark tank can be bullies, sycophants, brownnosers, control-freak bosses, snakes, office princesses, boss‘ pets, backstabbers, apple polishers, yes-men, credit stealers, disgruntled peers, and … . You have probably heard of them, might know them, and even have some on your team. How successfully are you playing with them? Are you doing water ballet in the shark tank, i.e. trying to stay out of the political fray? The leadership capacity of an organization involves emotion: People are [...]