Leadership Skills Continuum

Business Finance magazine has an November/December article called "The Leadership Skills Continuum."  Jeffrey Thomson from the Institute of Management Accountants writes that different leadership skills need to be developed along the career life cycle.

Article link

Thomson identifies five specific career points, and the skills to develop at each:

1. entry level


2. young professional


3. seasoned practitioner


4. senior management

He also calls out the three soft skills entry-level associates need to learn:

1. emotional intelligence (see this earlier post)


2. effective communication


3. time management

These three skills can be improved at almost every point in an organization, from the new hires all the way to the executive suite.  It's helpful to remember that these soft skills will go a long way in making you more successful in your career and in life.

Succession planning

A large firm recently announced its new CEO at a standing-room only event.  The current CEO - retiring at year's end - addressed the assembled crowd.  He began with a quick vignette of the incoming chief, then uttered these words:"You know, a CEO's legacy is the next CEO, so I want him to do real well."

Each person has a professional legacy to build, and the most visible component of the legacy is the person that steps into the role next.  For some roles, like the CEO of a large firm, there are several teams of individuals working to ensure continuity in the role.  In others, like a small business owner or line manager, the only person ensuring continuity is the person currently filling the role.

Your brain at work

Check out the web site, yourbrainatwork.org.

It's a collaborative effort by The Conference Board and the Dana Alliance (wholly supported by the Dana Foundation).  The Conference Board is one of the best business reference & research sites I've seen.  The Dana Alliance is a group of neuroscientists "committed to advancing public awareness of the progress of brain research and to disseminating information about the brain in an accessible fashion.

The site is very easy to read and understand, and is a nice reminder that we all need to continue to build our experiences...and build our brain.

Enjoy!

What It Means: Finding common ground

"Be proactive and drive results."

The manager (let's call her Susie) was entering comments on the annual review of someone on her team (let's call him Jack).  He was a fine performer overall, but he never really seemed to push to make things happen, and never raised his hand for special projects.  It was near the end of the day, and Susie didn't want to have a long discussion that would keep Jack at the office unnecessarily.  She attached the review to an email and clicked "send."  Plenty of time to have the actual conversation the next day.

Jack happened to be working late - again - that evening, trying to accomplish everything asked of him in his compliance role.  Bing!  An email showed up in his inbox from Susie.  He was surprised to see her on this late, and opened it right away, in case it was something urgent she might need first thing in the morning.

Pop...pop...pop...the office chair creaked as Jack read the attachment.  His faced flushed red, and he felt that twitch that comes when fatigue and frustration meet.

College Connections

You may have noticed this phenomenon as well...Every Autumn, you mysteriously run into people you haven't seen since high school or college.  Sometimes they reach out to you, sometimes you might reach out to them, and sometimes - most times for me - it just happens.

It's November, and I've connected with a few old schoolmates, just like every year.  Some relationships blossom once more, and others end in a warm-hearted remembrance of some shared event before the connection once again fades.

It's always interesting to see where others are, remember what we once were, and ruminate over the changes that happen in life.Here are two general thoughts around this:  one is a bit academic (not a bad thing), and the other is an application.  Let's touch on the academic first.

Harvard Business Review: networking

Harvard Business Review published a couple of  articles this year around networking, and I wanted to share them with you:

"Start Networking Right Away (Even if you hate it)"

• From the January 2009 issue


• Key quote:  "Time spent in the early days building a network will save time down the road when you're trying to solve problems, leverage resources, and achieve success."

"Approach Avoidance"

• From the October 2009 issue


• Key quote:  "find a good role model; put outside interests to work inside the organization; engage with the network consistently, not just when they need help; and have faith that practice will pay off."

Enjoy!

View&Stew: it's all about EQ

Emotional Intelligence is Cool

Daniel Goleman is a psychologist by trade. He's also a bestselling author, sometimes Harvard professor, and even wrote for the New York Times for a while. For the past decade and a half, his focus has been on intelligences beyond the standard measure of IQ, “intelligence quotient.”

Personal Presentation: Crisp, Conservative, Consistent

Recently I visited a fellow speaker, meeting in person for the first time.  We met at his place of business, had coffee, and talked about his work in the community and with a local business organization.  It was my only in person meeting of the day.

Near the end of our conversation, he asked if I wore a suit every day.  I shared that I do wear a suit every day, as it's easier to take off a jacket & tie than to find yourself under-dressed and in need of a more professional look.  Sometimes it makes people wonder, "who's the guy in the suit?" - and I have a chance to shape their perception from a good starting point.  We even had a short conversation about a very colorful tie I had chosen to wear that day, something that would be appropriate for Easter Sunday.

Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan & Ferrazzi Greenlight

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a small-group training session with Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan, Managing Director of Training & Development at Ferrazzi Greenlight.  If you haven't heard of Ferrazzi Greenlight, it's a firm focused on strategic relationship management headed by one Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back.

In a nutshell, the message is this:  demonstrate generosity, intimacy, candor, and accountability.  :)  Of course, the trick is not knowing the four secret words...the trick is knowing what they mean and how they apply to our individual and corporate circumstances.  In our small group, Jeff painted a picture for us of what that might look like, and took us down the path of thinking through specifically how to realize these goals.

Jeff speaks to groups of all sizes, from our group of ten to stadiums of thousands.  He has a great story to share, and is - of all things - authentic.

First Post

This is the first post of Fortress Thinking's new blog.  Fortress Thinking is a shift in the way we think - and offers some concrete analogies to how we approach relationships, business, and life.  Enjoy!