The 6 C’s of Effective Leadership

leader

Poor leadership is often magnified in TV shows and comic strips, showing inadequate leaders who take all the credit and are driven entirely by power. Though we recognize that these leaders are entirely fictional, we can also recognize some of those characteristics in thousands of bosses around the world.

It’s true that some people are born leaders and others don’t have that natural talent. But it’s false to believe that people can’t develop the habits of highly effective leaders. With a thorough understanding of the six C’s of effective leadership and a little practice, anyone can learn what it takes to be a leader worth trusting.

1. Critical thinking

This skill is defined by an ability to look past the first tidbit of information you receive, verify assumptions and use triangulated research and reasoning to find the best possible solution to a problem.

If it sounds complicated, that’s because it can be very complicated. Critical thinking takes practice, but it’s one of the most important aspects of being a leader. Those who are able to develop this skill can discern between decent ideas and great ideas, delegate tasks to the best participant, set an example for problem solving and achieve the desired outcome.

Everybody can improve their critical thinking skills to some measure. It involves going back to the main goal, gathering evidence, seeking out all possible sources, listening to team insights, pooling resources and getting creative on occasion. Mastering this skill set will get you on your way to effective team building and relationships.

2. Communication

As one of the most important aspects of leadership, sound communication is the difference between an effective leader and a tyrant. You may know exactly what you want to have accomplished in your mind, but you must remind yourself that your team can’t read your mind. Likewise, if you try to explain your vision and your team doesn’t seem to be getting it, the fault does not lie with them but you.

To improve your leadership, work from the beginning to establish healthy lines of communication. Explain what your preferred method of communication is, and then establish an open-door policy in which you let your team know that they can ask for clarification on anything without ridicule.

3. Collaboration

Collaboration is defined as a business process that requires individuals to work together to achieve a common goal. For team members, this means taking full responsibility for their designated tasks and working effectively with their teammates. For leaders, it means learning how to delegate properly.

As you use effective delegation, you’ll be able to create a close-knit team that’s happy and willing to work together to achieve the end goal. This requires placing significant trust in your team and working closely with each member to create a vision that everyone can agree upon.

The key to successful collaboration is taking stock of your team and their skills. Consider their strengths and capitalize on them to build a team that can work well together and face challenges head on as they come.

4. Creativity

The difference between a leader who goes entirely by the textbook and a leader who takes a few creative liberties is the difference between someone who stays stagnant in her position and someone who moves up the corporate ladder. Businesses are run on new and creative ideas that draw in more consumers and set you apart from competitors, and your team can easily be behind some of those creative liberties.

Thinking creatively is largely about considering every possible option and using those that make the most sense. Think outside the box to find actionable solutions when your team might not have the necessary resources to complete a task. Sometimes that means going by the book but other times, it may lead to a change in current business processes that will revolutionize your company.

5. Commitment

Leaders can expect their teammates to work hard and produce top notch content if they aren’t willing to work hard themselves. Being a strong leader means leading by example, especially when it comes to committing to the end goal. Team members are incredibly motivated by a leader who spends long hours working alongside exhausted teammates, rather than someone who only does only the bare minimum.

To prove that you’re truly committed to the mission you should lead by example. If you ask your team to work overtime, you better be there too — working twice as hard. People will respect your dedication, which will create a unified team committed to producing a fantastic end product.

6. Compassion

Compassion is one of the most important strengths that will garner respect and encourage your team to seek your counsel. Sometimes life throws a curveball and your employees need you to give them a break and not expect perfection from them. Likewise, when they fail, yelling at them and threatening their job will not help. Treating team members like human beings is what a real leader does.

Now, it’s important to note that there’s a big difference between having compassion and being a pushover. If you project is down to the wire and your team member calls in sick because of a light sniffle or call in sick for three days in a row without a doctor’s note, it’s best to call them out.

Source : https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246680

Apple Loses Trademark Battle, Allowing Chinese Company to Use the ‘IPHONE’ Name

Interesting illustration of trademark infringement and corruption. Chinese court argued Xintong Tiandi will not “harm [Apple’s] interests,” adding no one in China will actually think the handbags were designed by the Cupertino, Calif., company. Really? An Iphone branded leather bag that could carry an Iphone or a laptop is not an accessory Apple could have designed??

What is even more interesting and surprising is how a firm as powerful as Apple hadn’t anticipated and extended the protection of its intellectual property to all possible related by-products? How a giant like Apple and probably the most aggressive legal team in the whole world, didn’t manage to defend their case?

Clearly, China sides with China whatever the law says, whatever the IP rules are.

Well, it doesn’t come as a shock to know China can forge and does. What is more shocking is to realise its government supports it, even encourages it. Business is business, seems that for China unethical business still is good business. Food for thought…

20160503151231-iphone-case

The multigenerational workplace

multigenerational workforce

Why a better understanding of the multigenerational workplace is a no-brainer.

The co-existence of different generations in the workplace is the reality of today’s workplace and has been a topic of interest and debates for several decades. A significant amount of research has been conducted by academics, researchers, practitioners and consultants to analyze this phenomenon. Much attention has been received on this particular topic as a multigenerational workplace is not only inevitable but comes with its many challenges and opportunities. In most Western economies, four generations are working side by side. Soon, there will be five generations sharing the workspace with a fifth generation entering the workforce in the near future. Various generations working together have created numerous conflicts but also new opportunities have emerged.

Different generations appear to have unique characteristics, sets of unique values and beliefs, different expectations and those differences impact every aspect of the workplace as a result of shared events and experiences. Hence it is key to first understand the essence of each generation: who they are, what their needs and wants are, and what motivates them. Getting a deep insight into each specific generation will allow managers to overcome issues related to a multigenerational workforce and seize opportunities to create a better, happier and sustainable workplace.

The impact of a multigenerational workforce is tremendous as it can impact on the performance and success of organizations. Failing to understand generational differences may affect an organization on many levels: lower performance, decreased motivation and job satisfaction, higher turnover rates or intentions to leave the company, loss of key human capital and the negative effects of conflicts. The task for Human Resources management will be increasingly complex as they will need to implement appropriate policies to attract, retain, motivate, and reward staff ensuring that they select the right incentives to target and interest the workers from each different generation.Generational differences may cause misunderstandings which can lead to conflicts among employees or with managers which may result in impacting the performance, productivity and job satisfaction of the workforce, as well as the performance of the organization.

However, different generations in a workforce can also bring new ideas and perspectives to an organization. This diversity has the potential to infuse creativity and result in the generation of innovative solutions to organizational issues and decision situations. Generational differences in the workplace can thus bring positives and negatives depending on how organizations acknowledge, understand and integrate these generational differences into their corporate policies and practices to bridge apparent generation gaps and create a workforce which enables the organization to perform successfully. A better understanding of each generation, its workplace needs and how each generation can effectively interact in the workplace can minimize some of the negative impacts on organizational performance. Whilst generational diversity in an organization presents management challenges, it can also equip the organisation with the capacity to address the generational diversity and range of preferences for each generation present in the organization’s customers and clients.

Finding ways that assist employees to understand and effectively communicate with other employees from different generations within the organization can provide benefits such as workplace commitment, harmony and loyalty.

This topic has gained further interest recently as the “war for talent” encourages companies to nurture their human capital by better understanding their workforce’s desires, needs, motivators, and expectations to make sure they don’t lose their human assets to competition and to ensure they continuously manage to attract and retain the best talents. As Tulgan (2004, p4) put it, as the workforce will shrink “every skilled worker of every age will be needed”. In addition, with declining birth rates and longer life expectancy in most industrialized nations, employees are remaining in the workplace longer: more generations are and will be sharing the workspace in the future. This is not a short-term phenomenon (Yu and Miller, 2005). Hence, the importance of examining thoroughly the multigenerational workplace, its characteristics and implications for employees and their interactions and its possible impact on organizational performance. This view is also supported by Mc Guire et al. (2007).

Although there has been discussion in the management literature on the general topic of the multigenerational workforce, its management challenges and its expected effect on organizational performance, the relationship between generational values and work related outcomes has not been fully established. The focus of existing literature is on describing the differences in values, beliefs and meanings for each generation in society and assuming that such differences with have similar effects when encountered in the workplace.

In order to effectively and strategically manage the performance of organizations there needs to be increased understanding of the differences in values, beliefs and meanings for each generation in an organizational workplace. A detailed understanding of the differences in values, beliefs and meanings for each generation in an organizational workplace through research and analysis should then provide a sound basis for the formulation of multigenerational management strategies and initiatives that address the needs of each generation in the workplace and contribute to organizational performance.

By Elodie Destruel

Bibliography :

Mc Guire, D., By, R., and Hutchings, K. (2007). Towards a Model of Human Resources Solutions for Achieving Intergenerational Interaction in Organisations, Journal of European Industrial Training, 31, 8, 592-608.

Tulgan, B. (2004). Trends point to a dramatic generational shift in the future workforce, Employment Relations Today, 30, 4, 23-31.

The future of work

Work, as we know it, will and must change. All of us are being propelled into a future shaped by demographic shifts and technological advances, radically changing how, where and why we work. In this video, Futurist Jacob Morgan breaks down his vision for the Future of Work.

How Ethical Are You ?

Henry Ford said “a business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business”. I would add business without ethics is a poor kind of business.

I’m taking the opportunity of the Panama Papers scandal to sit and reflect on the notions of Ethics and Morals. You’ll find below a good introduction of the basic concepts of Ethics. What is Ethics? What does it mean to do the right thing? Is it a universal concept?

Barbara Etter speaking at the AELC Innovation Club in the video (so good to hear the Aussie accent!), gives us a simple definition and defines Integrity as being ” what you do when nobody is looking”. Yes, acting ethically whether in your private life or in business is what you do and how you behave in line with your set of moral standards and values that you stand for whatever the circumstances, whether somebody is watching or not.

On paper, that looks good and we would all consider ourselves ethical. But read the little case below, and answer honestly what you would do faced with this ethical dilemma :

John is the captain of a submarine. An explosion has caused the sub to lose most of its oxygen supply and has injured a crewman who is bleeding badly and is going to die from his wound no matter what happens. The remaining oxygen is not sufficient for the entire crew to make it to the surface. The only way to save the other crew members is for John to shoot dead the injured crewman now. Then there will be just enough oxygen for the rest of the crew to survive. Is it morally acceptable for John to shoot the injured crewman?

There is no incontestably right answer here. Is taking one life morally right to save many ? The Utilitarian approach would justify this choice.

More cases on ethics :

http://news.utexas.edu/2014/09/22/how-ethical-are-you-test-your-decision-making-skills

Urgency vs. Importance Matrix to Get Stuff Done

While I was doing my MBA, I came cross this matrix that changed my life forever. It is not an overstatement. Understanding the fine distinction between these two simple candid words URGENT and IMPORTANT has been such an eye-opening experience.

I had never realised that urgent and important were two different terms that I had been interchangeably using my whole life. I also got to understand that working more didn’t mean working better or being more successful.

Rather my aim has become to work smarter not more. Thought I would share that matrix as a reminder that we should only focus our full attention on urgent AND important matters and delegate or get rid of all non-urgent & non-important ones. This has been a life changer as this matrix is applicable both in your work and personal areas of your life.

Urgent-vs-Important-Matrix

Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle

Using Time Effectively, Not Just Efficiently

Imagine that your boss has asked you to prepare an important presentation for the next board meeting.

You only have a few days to put it together, your workload is already high, and you have many other urgent tasks on your To-Do List. Because of this, you’re anxious, you can’t concentrate, and everything seems to distract you.

Time stressors are some of the most pervasive sources of pressure in the workplace, and they happen as a result of having too much to do, in too little time. So, how can you beat this stress, and deliver the things that are essential to doing a good job?

Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle helps you think about your priorities, and determine which of your activities are important and which are, essentially, distractions.

What Are “Urgent” and “Important” Activities?

In a 1954 speech to the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was quoting Dr J. Roscoe Miller, president of Northwestern University, said: “I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” This “Eisenhower Principle” is said to be how he organized his workload and priorities.

He recognized that great time management means being effective as well as efficient. In other words, we must spend our time on things that are important and not just the ones that are urgent. To do this, and to minimize the stress of having too many tight deadlines, we need to understand this distinction:

Important activities have an outcome that leads to us achieving our goals, whether these are professional or personal.
Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are usually associated with achieving someone else’s goals. They are often the ones we concentrate on and they demand attention because the consequences of not dealing with them are immediate.

When we know which activities are important and which are urgent, we can overcome the natural tendency to focus on unimportant urgent activities, so that we can clear enough time to do what’s essential for our success. This is the way we move from “firefighting” into a position where we can grow our businesses and our careers.

How to Use Eisenhower’s Principle

To use this principle, list all of the activities and projects that you feel you have to do. Try to include everything that takes up your time at work, however unimportant. (If you manage your time using a To-Do List or Action Program, you will have done this already.)

Next, think about each activity and put it into one of four categories, as shown in Figure 1, below:

Figure 1 – Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle

Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle

Then use the strategies described below to schedule your activities.

1. Important and Urgent

There are two distinct types of urgent and important activities: ones that you could not have foreseen, and others that you’ve left until the last minute.

You can eliminate last-minute activities by planning ahead and avoiding procrastination .

However, you can’t always predict or avoid some issues and crises. Here, the best approach is to leave some time in your schedule to handle unexpected issues and unplanned important activities. (If a major crisis arises, then you’ll need to reschedule other tasks.)

If you have a lot of urgent and important activities, identify which of these you could have foreseen, and think about how you could schedule similar activities ahead of time, so that they don’t become urgent.

2. Important but not Urgent

These are the activities that help you achieve your personal and professional goals, and complete important work.

Make sure that you have plenty of time to do these things properly, so that they do not become urgent. Also, remember to leave enough time in your schedule to deal with unforeseen problems. This will maximize your chances of keeping on track, and help you avoid the stress of work becoming more urgent than necessary.

3. Not Important but Urgent

Urgent but not important tasks are things that prevent you from achieving your goals. Ask yourself whether you can reschedule or delegate them.

A common source of such activities is other people. Sometimes it’s appropriate to say “no” to people politely, or to encourage them to solve the problem themselves. (Our article “‘Yes’ to the Person, ‘No’ to the Task” will help here.)

Alternatively, try to have time slots when you are available, so that people know they can speak with you then. A good way to do this is to arrange regular meetings with those who interrupt you often, so that you can deal with all their issues at once. You’ll then be able to concentrate on your important activities for longer.

4. Not Important and not Urgent

These activities are just a distraction – avoid them if possible.

You can simply ignore or cancel many of them. However, some may be activities that other people want you to do, even though they don’t contribute to your own desired outcomes. Again, say “no” politely, if you can, and explain why you cannot do it.

If people see that you are clear about your objectives and boundaries , they will often avoid asking you to do “not important” activities in the future.

Key Points

Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle helps you quickly identify the activities that you should focus on, as well as the ones you should ignore.

When you use this tool to prioritize your time, you can deal with truly urgent issues, at the same time as you work towards important, longer-term goals.

To use the tool, list all of your tasks and activities, and put each into one of the following categories:

Important and urgent.
Important but not urgent.
Not important but urgent.
Not important and not urgent.

Then schedule tasks and activities based on their importance and urgency.

Source : https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_91.htm

10 ways to have a better conversation

I love this Ted Talk. First Celeste Headlee is plain hilarious in it. Second she gives easy tips to become a better conversationalist. A must-see for those who struggle to engage in small talk or meaningful conversations during networking events or even with friends. ‘Everybody is an expert in something’ and to get the most out of any conversation, let’s assume we have something to learn. That seems basic but when we think about it, oftentimes in a conversation, we tend to do the talking and showcase our expertise or knowledge.

Well, by assuming we have something to learn, it puts us in the position of listener. It might be the secret after all of a great conversation, that is being able to stay in the back seat and truly listen even if what you are hearing is not in line with your beliefs, your political opinions, what you have always thought to be the truth.

That’s what is so enriching about communication, that moment you set aside your own thoughts, beliefs, views to just listen and maybe, challenge your way of thinking. It leaves the room to a more complete understanding of an issue or situation and it makes you see things from all perspectives not just yours. Isn’t it what life is all about, keep learning ?

Let’s see every conversation as a fantastic opportunity to know more. That way we also happen to become a more tolerant person along the way.

Does the perfect employee really exist?

As I am in the process of recruiting more staff at my company, I have to sit down and think about the charasteristics of the ideal employee. Is there such a thing as a perfect employee? In the negative, what makes at least an awesome employee? I agree with Ryan Harwood who published an insightful article in Fortune magazine on the topic.

Do not recruit only based on skills. So true. Skills will at some point and faster than ever become outdated. You need someone who will be capable of learning new ones. Better, someone who will be willing to update his skill-set. A lot of candidates say how adaptable they are during job interviews but few truly embrace change once in the job. So it is clearly something I will be assessing and looking for in my next hire.

great employee

March 7, 2015 by Ryan Harwood

Not quite, so try looking for this instead.

The Leadership Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question “What’s the best mistake you ever made?” is written by Ryan Harwood, CEO of PureWow.

Don’t hire based on skills alone.

In the early days of PureWow, I always thought you needed to find the perfect employee on paper. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I quickly learned that you can often teach employees new skills, but you can’t teach them how to fit the company culture. If an employee doesn’t fit the mold initially, they most likely never will. This could force them to quit, or worse, frustrate other employees.

It didn’t take us long to realize how much more fun (and productive) work is when people enjoy their work environment. We encourage our team to constantly communicate at PureWow: ask questions if you don’t understand something, cc or bcc your manager for visibility on emails, and let your colleagues know what you’re working on. Those who don’t like to share and prefer to work in silos won’t do well at our company. However, this wasn’t always the case, it took time for us to clearly define the company culture we wanted to create.

Now, I’m not saying you don’t need to look for skills — of course you do. But hiring smart people that also happen to fit your company culture is what you should strive for. EQ is more important than IQ. In every interview we conduct at PureWow — from tech to edit, and even sales — we ask our employees to consider some of the following questions before hiring anyone: do I want to regularly communicate with this individual? do they have a great work ethic? how do they react during stressful situations?

Brilliant ideas don’t make companies successful; the people who execute those ideas do. That’s why hiring is the single most important thing any company can do and it should be done with great care. It’s the CEO’s job to be the conductor of the orchestra; find the missing puzzle pieces. Seek out employees who complement the skills of those already employed – every company needs a devil’s advocate, right? And most of all, look for candidates who believe in your company’s vision and are more interested in growing the business than achieving individual success.

Source : http://fortune.com/2015/03/07/ryan-harwood-purewow/?utm_content=buffer27b74&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The 6 Top Languages Global-Minded CEOs Should Know

I have recently started learning Italian. It has always been a dream. French is my mother tongue and I studied both English and German at school. I have to admit my German is now rotten and I will need a proper immersion to be able to speak the way I used to back in high school ! Though Italian is not part of the 6 top languages for global – minded CEOs as per the article below, I am very keen on mastering that language.

Learning a new language from scratch teaches you 3 amazing things.

1 – Humility. You are a beginner again in something and you sound at times quite dumb when you mispronounce words and confuse some expressions. But you keep going because the more you learn, the better you become, the more confident you are and eventually you will get there.

2- Persistence. It teaches you not to give up and keep going. As I said the more you learn, the better you become. It is as simple as that.Hard work and personal belief get you wherever you want.

3 – Cultural awareness. Learning a new language opens a door to invaluable knowledge of a particular country, customs, ways of thinking and seeing the world. So what are you waiting for to take up a foreign language class?

The 6 Top Languages Global-Minded CEOs Should Know

languages

During a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session earlier this year, Microsoft founder and prolific philanthropist Bill Gates said his biggest regret in life is that he speaks only English.

Not exactly what one would expect to hear from the billionaire founder of one of the largest tech corporations in the world.

Gates’s insightful admission comes on the heels of Mark Zuckerberg’s impressive demonstration of semi-fluent Chinese during a Q&A with Tsinghua University students in Beijing last October. By learning Chinese, Zuckerberg clearly demonstrated that mastering a local language is a key step toward developing deeper business relationships and winning the hearts and minds of target markets — and he’s right.

Here, the languages global-minded CEOs should be learning.

Related: The 3 Essentials of Expanding Into Other Countries
1. Spanish

Of all the languages in the world, Spanish is the language our online translation agency works with the most, reflecting an enormous market the world over. Aside from the huge potential of almost all of South and Central America with emerging economic powerhouses such as Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela — not to mention the significant market in Spain itself — learning Spanish is worth it if only to reach the Hispanic speaking community in the U.S., whose purchasing power is already more than a trillion dollars and growing.

As opposed to its spoken dialects, Spanish written forms are more uniform than other languages which makes them simpler to learn. As a Romance language, with the same letters and roots as English, you’ll probably twist your tongue a lot less than when learning Chinese.
2. Portuguese

Portuguese has already become the fourth most-translated language at our company, reflecting an exponential rise in recent years. It’s obviously not Portugal we’ve got our eyes on here, but rather Brazil, which is quickly transforming from emerging market to one of the world’s richest nations. With a huge population, tons of natural resources and a growing tech community, learning Portuguese will go a long way to penetrating the intricacies of the local business culture. Plus, imagine the fun speaking the local tongue come Carnival time.
3. Chinese

There are dozens of different languages and dialects spoken in China, and while Mandarin is by far the most widely spoken — in fact, it’s the most prevalent language in the world with 1.1 billion native speakers — other Chinese dialects are spoken by hundreds of millions of people.

Wu, for example, used in the financial hub of Shanghai, is spoken by more than 80 million people — that’s a potential market the size of Germany! Depending on what area of China you’re targeting and the fact that written dialects in the country are basically uniform, learning Wu, Jin, Min or Yue will certainly be worth the effort.
4. Russian

Russia has a market nearly 150 million strong, seemingly endless natural resources and a burgeoning IT sector. Plus, the language is also spoken to varying degrees in post-Soviet states (for almost 300 million speakers in all) — many important emerging economies themselves — making it number nine on our most-translated list. Knowing Russian will go a long way toward winning the trust of local business leaders. And you can read Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky in the original.
5. Arabic

Hundreds of millions of people around the world speak Arabic — the fifth most-spoken language in the world — so it comes as no surprise that Arabic is number 10 on our list. The Arab world, with a growing online culture, doesn’t have its own Amazon or Alibaba, making it a market with huge potential, not to mention the deep petro-economies of the region. Executives who speak their language are going to have a leg up in this cross-continental market. The drawback? With dozens of distinct varieties of spoken Arabic, choosing the right one will be a daunting process.
6. German

German is the second most-translated language at our agency, reflecting the country’s status as Europe’s largest economy and one of strongest economies in the world. Enough said.

Learning a foreign language may be a major investment of time and energy, but speaking even a rudimentary level of a country’s native tongue goes a long way to breaking down walls.

Source : https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244233

Why I read a book a day (and why you should too): the law of 33% | Tai Lopez

Love this Ted Talk. Though it might be hard to actually read a book a day, I couldn’t agree more on the importance of reading. Lucky I am an avid reader.Reading is the ultimate education you can get almost for free. Books are treasures. The more you read the more you realise you know little. Reading challenges how you think and what you think. It fosters your imagination, creativity…essential tools to thrive in business. As Tai Lopez rightly put it, books allow you to have a conversation with the most inspirational leaders of all times, right here, right now. Happy reading !

	Inside the mind of a… on Inside the mind of a master pr…
	globalmindcsc on Three Differences Between Mana…
	ashokbhatia on Three Differences Between Mana…
	ashokbhatia on Why I read a book a day (and w…