Dealing with and leading change is possibly one of the most challenging tasks a leader faces.  The leadership of change is made difficult because organizations have developed a culture to eliminate variation; to standardize processes— to resist the forces of change that tend to disrupt processes and create new and different ones.  If history of change is the judge, most organizations fail to change when they should, and those who do try, most also fail [...]

Recently, CAAL was asked to address the Connecticut SBIR and Global Trade conference on the subjects of leadership and innovation. In the process of preparing our remarks I reviewed the 2012 IBM CEO Survey. Titled “Leading Through Connections”, IBM identifies a number of business imperatives that are upper most of CEOs’ business concerns (IBM, 2012). Prominently on the list are: connections, engagement, collaboration, analytical competencies, partnerships, and tolerance for change. All of these subjects are [...]

Do you manage people? If so, do you give regular performance feedback to your employees?  Performance reviews are fundamental to good leadership and organizational improvement. If your employees receive feedback now, they will have time to make use of it and improve their performance.  If, on the other hand, they find out in December that you think they need to improve upon something, they won’t have the chance for development and improvement. Communicate with your [...]

Many people comment on the lack of leadership abilities in most managers, complaining that many managers do not set good examples, do not empower employees to play a role in decision-making, do not listen to those that work for them, and do not give their employees credit when credit is due. I searched for some statistics to determine how typical this experience is. Do most employees think their managers are less than effective? As I [...]

How many of you have played an instrument in a band or an orchestra? Perhaps this was as a child. Do you remember those rare times when everything came together and suddenly your section (in my case it was the trombones) became part of the greater whole, and the music was suddenly coming from the entire orchestra instead of simply a collection of sections defined by the instruments played? How about NASCAR fans who watch [...]

Every now and then a notion comes along that just captures the imagination. Leading from the emerging future is one of those notions that has captured mine for nearly the past four years. I first came across it while talking with my friend and colleague, Michael T. Kelly, PhD. We were discussing change in organizations. Specifically, why does sustaining the vitality, profitability, and relevance of organizations to their stakeholders and customers often elude leaders and senior managers [...]