Entries by gmader

A salute to Paris and Parisians.

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I am dedicating this week’s blog to Paris and the Parisians. My blog is called Leading and Living Courageously, and I believe this week the Parisians deserve this designation. During the weekend terror attacks in Paris, there were so many acts of courage and bravery by ordinary citizens who went out of their way to help their fellow citizens. I heard stories about people who took injured strangers into their homes and treated them until the emergency units arrived…. People who took strangers in for the night because they couldn’t get home… taxi drivers who drove people back to their homes in the middle of the night without charging them for it… and many other […]

Are you a Leader or a Manager?

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A close friend sent me this chart: I see this chart as outlining some of the differences between leaders and managers. There is such a significant difference between the two. Here are some of my thoughts: Managers manage and focus on the existing reality. Leaders always look forward and think about how to create new realities. I often hear managers brag about how their team’s performance is the best in the region or group. Leaders, on the other hand, seem to care less about how to reach the top of the current scale. They seem to be more interested in how to put their teams at the bottom of the next-level scale. Managers ask for […]

The Five Myths of Strategic Planning: Part Two

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Henry Mintzberg, in his seminal 1993 book The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, refers to strategic planning as an “oxymoron,” claiming “the process can straitjacket an organization by stifling innovation and commitment.” In my last blog, I shared the first three of five myths that undermine most leaders’ effectiveness at generating powerful strategies and creating the ownership and accountability of their teams toward their execution. Here are the remaining two: Myth #4: Size Matters The typical strategic planning process is an exclusive affair. Executives often believe that the fewer people who are involved in the process, the easier it will be. As such, they often limit participation to a small group of business unit heads and/or the strategy development group. But […]

The Five Myths of Strategic Planning: Part One

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Every year, executives around the world go through the time-honored tradition known as strategic planning. They emerge from days or weeks of meetings with a sacred document that — if adhered to — will increase their sales, make their services shine, engage their staffs and secure their futures. Well, that’s the story they tell us in business school anyway.But unfortunately – as Professor Robert Kaplan of the Harvard Business School and his associate, David Norton of the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative tell us – as much as 90 percent of all corporate strategies fall short of stated objectives. From many years of experience helping global executive teams generate a clear and compelling direction for their organizations, […]

There is always a mental game

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How many times have you seen an athlete or sports team in the midst of their competition or game lagging behind only to somehow, in a miraculous way, turn the tables around and achieve great victory at the end? There are so many examples: Take for example the 3-2 victory of the Canadian men hockey team over the USA in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics finals after the Americans scored 2 consecutive goals tying the score to 2-2. I searched for examples in Tennis and found many, including two of my heroes: Andre Agassi defeating Andrei Medvedev in the 1999 French Open final after being behind in the first two sets. In addition, Roger Federer who […]

Practical steps for taking your game to the next level

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A lot of my one-on-one coaching work is focused on helping leaders and professionals take themselves, their performance, and results to the next level. I coach people who are in various stages of their evolution and growth. Some are at the beginning of their professional careers. They are often working on getting their business started or establishing consistent results. Others are senior executives – directors, general managers, presidents or CEOs – who are at the prime of their career. They command large organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees. They are often concerned about how to get all their team members and functions on the same page, rowing in the same direction. While each coaching […]

Taking a stand ALWAYS requires courage

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No matter how committed we are to living courageously, and how experienced we are at taking a stand for the future and living accordingly, it doesn’t seem to get easier or less scary with time. I have been a student and teacher of these concepts and conversations for more than 30 years. I practice them in my own personal and professional life, and I teach and coach others to do the same. Still, with all my experience, every time I need to take a stand in my life, I find myself confronting my own fears, doubts and skepticisms. It takes openness, faith, trust and courage to live consistently with your stand and commitment. Openness to […]

How to make meaningful progress when taking your game to the next level

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If you want to be successful at taking your game to the next level, you have to be conscious of how you think and what comes out of your mouth. I was leading a meeting recently with a telecom management team that had taken on a bold commitment to take their team’s leadership and performance to a higher level.  This was a good team that had been performing well. However, the changes in their markets, customers, and technologies were requiring them to think, innovate, and perform at a different level. They were about three months into their transformation process and, in this meeting, we were reviewing their progress. One by one, the leaders shared their […]

The danger of acting in a cautious and politically correct way

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In a previous blog “Five necessary areas for improvement of your team,” I outlined 5 areas that most teams need to step up in. In this blog, I want to elaborate on the first area: Boldness and Courage. Most leadership teams avoid the tough, uncomfortable conversations. Whether it’s giving honest, direct and critical feedback and coaching to others, or making difficult decisions about budgets, resources and other areas that affect power and status – the common tendency is to take the safe, easy way out. Even when managers and team members attempt to say what’s really on their minds, a lack of courage often leads to things being said in such a diplomatic and sugarcoated […]

Are you balancing the long term and short term?

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Most teams and companies do a poor job balancing the short term and long term focus. I see this without exception in most sectors and regions. People say all the right things about how important it is to focus on the long term. They say things like: “Markets are changing,” “Customers are asking to consume new things in new ways,” “Technologies have advanced and it requires us to advance too,” and “We need to incubate new ideas and the next generation’s products and services.” They even say things like: “We need to invest in order to make money and grow,” “We need to be prepared to sacrifice some of our short-term in order to gain […]

Life is Too Short to Compromise

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My wife and I try to live life according to the mantra: “life is too short to compromise.” There are multiple phrases you could put at the end of the phrase: “Life is too short to….” …Wait for what you want, …Hold back, …Spend time with people who drain your energy rather than give you energy, or …Not express your love to the people you care about. However, how often do we actually stop to reflect if we are living our life accordingly? Living without compromising on the important things is a powerful and courageous way to live. How many times have you compromised on personal and/or professional relationships that mattered to you, or sold […]

Why Are Leaders So Afraid of Change?

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It’s common for organizations and teams to undergo changes in leadership or structure. This typically happens when organizations make cuts in their workforce, when they spinoff businesses or functions, or when they merge with, or acquire new businesses or functions into their portfolio. Change also takes place when a new leader is brought from outside to lead the team, or when an internal member of the leadership team is promoted to become the new leader or CEO of the group. These types of events always provide leaders with opportunities to create a new chapter and new beginnings, which is a very good thing. I think most people would agree that it doesn’t really work to […]