In 1999 Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership and Management Amy Edmondson discovered that Psychological Safety was the most crucial factor for determining team performance.
Edmondson defines Psychological Safety as including the following three traits:
One of the biggest challenges faced by #21CenturyLeaders, is receiving regular, honest, #feedback.
You can overcome this challenge by using the following technique.
When you are conducting your regular one on one #conversations with your direct reports or peers, consider saying the following:
“Like yourself, I’m eager to improve myself as a leader, and I want to be the best leader I can be for our organisation. Over time, I have learned that it is challenging to improve without feedback. No doubt I have a view about how I’m performing and behaving, but it is never quite the same as hearing other people’s perspectives on how I am doing.
In that context, I would appreciate it if you would be willing to provide me with specific regular feedback? By regular, I mean every month or so, while sometimes it would also be helpful if you gave me immediate feedback if you saw something that needed instant attention.”
Is this something you would be interested in helping me with?”
(Assuming they agree – which most people will)…
To help them be effective with their feedback to you, they will need clarity and structure. In this context, there are four questions I recommend you ask them to focus on.
Continue reading The no-fuss way for leaders to seek feedback
Last Thursday evening, I delivered a speech that was a first-time for me. I had never started a talk at 11 pm!
The speech was delivered to Paris, France, for L’Orèal as part of its Luxury Lab – a conference for developing senior leaders.
One of the topics I covered was the difference between a 20th Century Leader and a 21st Century Leader.
I commenced the speech with a quote from Russel Ackoff, Professor Emeritus, Wharton Business School.
“Ages don’t stop and start. One fades in, while the other fades away.”
To understand the characteristics of a 20th Century Leader and how its underlying thinking persists into the 21st Century, it is essential to understand its evolution.
The Industrial Age commenced in Britain in 1760 when ‘machines’ were used to replace handheld tools. Early examples included looms and steam engines.
One-hundred-forty-eight years later, in 1908, Henry Ford hired Frederick Winslow Taylor to work with him to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Ford’s production line. Through their relationship, Taylor formed and released his Scientific Management Method theory.
The core principle of this theory is that humans are ‘part’ of the machine. From this thinking, concepts such as human resources, human capital, and human assets were created.
Resources, capital and assets can all be owned.
On 12 April 1861, the American Civil War commenced over the idea that humans could ‘own’ other humans, yet, the Scientific Management Method had that principle at its core and was adopted throughout the 20th Century.
It is little wonder that 20th Century Leadership is flawed when at its core is the belief that humans can “own” other humans.
Continue reading The differences between 20th Century and 21st Century Leaders