Leadership

Creative leadership: Scary for some?

/ Susan Hendrich / 1 Comment

Creative Strategist, Innovator & Leader, James (Not Jim) Patsalides, asks the following question:

Does “creative leadership” scare some people?

He says, “Those of us who are Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) alums would clearly value creative leadership, but are there companies/executives out there who might be nervous of the “creative” part? How can you tell these companies from those who might embrace creativity? Why would they be nervous?”  

Here’s what I think:

Creative leadership, scary or not, is the survival key for these uncertain times.

This question reminds me of the following wise words: “Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.” — Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

Creative leadership, therefore, is the management and guidance of our ultimate economic resource.

Here’s how I distinguish companies that embrace creative leadership from those that are run scared:

When I talk to company representatives, I listen to the language they use to describe company happenings. Do they speak in terms of “how we work,” or do they specify individual stories about specific people and teams that creatively solve problems? When I hear specific “breaking the mold” stories about people and ideas, I know that the company is valuing creative leadership.

“The key difference between checkers and chess is that in checkers the pieces all move the same way, whereas in chess all the pieces move differently. … Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know

I’d say more, but I don’t want to scare anyone…

Information Overload

/ Susan Hendrich / Leave a comment

“All at once vs. Piecemeal: How shall we deliver training?” 

Help me answer a question, Dear Reader…

What is your formula for choosing a timeline to roll out a new training initiative?
 
  • Should all modules be delivered/presented in one fell swoop?
  • Should we roll out training components on a basic-intermediate-advanced continuum?
 
Too often we gauge our training delivery timelines on business needs, meaning, “We need this training now, and I mean business!”  But how often do we carefully plan the rollout of a new course or set of learning materials based on instructional design principles of graduated introduction?
 
Many learning experts would agree that rolling out training over time usually is optimal, and allows learners to integrate, apply, and assimilate new information more readily than by “cramming.” However, I wonder if a training series can be rolled out effectively in a short period of time if proper measures are taken.

 

Share your thoughts!

Below are a few references that may be useful:

 

Thanks,


Susan Hendrich

Spotlight on…Implicit assumptions

/ Susan Hendrich / Leave a comment

Do hidden biases affect your leadership and training?

Project Implicit

Project Implicit provides a short online test that provides the opportunity to assess your conscious and unconscious preferences for over 90 different topics ranging from “pets to political issues, ethnic groups to sports teams, and entertainers to styles of music.” By taking this test, you’ll be assisting psychological research on thoughts and feelings.

The individual sessions take 10-15 minutes. At the end of the session, you will get some information about the study and a summary of your results. Interesting and informative!

About the project

Project Implicit blends basic research and educational outreach in a virtual laboratory at which visitors can examine their own hidden biases. Project Implicit is the product of research by three scientists whose work produced a new approach to understanding of attitudes, biases, and stereotypes.

The Project Implicit site (implicit.harvard.edu) has been functioning as a hands-on science museum exhibit, allowing web visitors to experience the manner in which human minds display the effects of stereotypic and prejudicial associations acquired from their socio-cultural environment.

Take me to Project Implicit!

Here’s the scoop on the test behind the project:

It is well known that people don’t always ‘speak their minds’, and it is suspected that people don’t always ‘know their minds’. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) shows us that we learn to quickly link or associate sets of ideas in our brains. We might tend to associate the words “sunny” with “good” and “overcast” with “bad”. Besides linking the words, we are linking the concepts and feelings that go with those words and we act on those feelings. The IAT is a way to see how closely our brains have linked certain concepts. The strength of the links is hard wired in our brains.

Note that the IAT has not gone without controversy (see Wall Street Journal; Science News Article).

Your turn

So, now that your interest is piqued…

How can we incorporate what we know abotu implicit assumptions into our learning and development practices?  Let’s discuss ways to uncover hidden biases and optimize the training experience!

More information:

  1. Dr. Anthony Greenwald/IAT Materials
  2. http://faculty.washington.edu/agg/IATmaterials/PDFs/R&W.JEPG(2004).pdf

Got leadership skills?

/ Susan Hendrich / 3 Comments

Leadership assessment resources

Carolyn Neblett, Senior HR Manager at Capital One, asks:
“Any thoughts for online assessments that would help with building stronger management skills?”

Susan’s response:
The Learning and Development Roundtable is a terrific resource for management skills training and development.

I’m also a big fan of the Lominger competencies (360 degree feedback). Lominger’s FYI book (For Your Improvement) is a strong and valuable resource with many examples and practical steps for improving management skills.

I highly recommend https://www.strengthsfinder.com/, which offers an online assessment as a complement to the classic “Now, Discover Your Strengths,” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton.

For more ideas and inspiration…

Harvard Business Publishing has a great post from Bill Taylor, called “Memo to a Young Leader: What Kind of Boss Are You?”

Michael Watkins’ book, The First 90 Days, has some nice self-assessments.

Here’s another (albeit less rigorous) resource for quick feedback: http://college.hmco.com/business/griffin/fundamentals/3e/students/assessment/.

 

Safety to fail

/ Susan Hendrich / 9 Comments

To err is human; to forgive, divine. – Alexander Pope

Forgiveness is a gift that costs nothing.

There is tremendous power in forgiveness. We pardon mistakes or wrong choices of others as a means of growing, healing, learning and moving on. The power of forgiveness has long been documented. Think of the role it plays in self-esteem, interpersonal relations, philosophy, sports, child-rearing, education, and law.  Forgiveness brings closure and resolution. Forgiveness frees us to make better choices next time.

So, where does forgiveness fit into training and leadership?

There is no greater learning opportunity than the chance to make a decision that carries the risk of failing. When we provide a safe environment in which learners can try, fail, and try again, we open up a world of learning opportunities. 

How have you incorporated forgiveness into your training and leadership?

Susan Hendrich