It is most certainly a sign of the times in the hot Alberta economy right now; businesses, not-for-profit organization, and government are going through significant change. From ERP implementations, the adoption of Project Management, Process Improvement Initiatives, changing Organizational Structure, major strategic priorities, to the Retirement of the Baby Boom Generation workforce, there is no shortage of the “challenge of change”. Change Management is a hot topic in organizations.

It takes courage to accept responsibility for our actions and sincerely apologize for mistakes we’ve made. Effective apologies build respect and mend relationships yet many leaders fail to capitalize on the opportunity to apologize and address the impact of their behavior.

For a change initiative to take hold, leaders need to personalize the new vision, demonstrate commitment to the change through action, and support others through coaching and feedback conversations.  Here are 3 recommendations to ensure change sticks:

Persuasion is an essential leadership development skill for new managers.  Pushing, shoving, or intimidating others to make and act on decisions are ineffective approaches that are simply not tolerated by today's workforce.  Develop your ability to persuade others by incorporating the following strategies into your conversations:

It's natural to want to advance your career and get to the next level of leadership.  So what do you do when they hire a new person to take over a position you felt you deserved?   Before you pack your bags and head out to look for a new job, consider some of the possible reasons you didn't get that promotion.

Through advancements in technology, Neuroscientists are making incredible strides in figuring out how our brains actually work. Leadership development that incorporates these advances in neuroscience provides leaders with information about how to motivate and support their people.

Many of our initial client engagements are a request for Team Building. The conversation goes something like this: "Can you help us bring our management team together? We are not clicking on all cylinders right now".  While our answer is always, "Of course we can support you", before we commit to a traditional experiential team building workshop we engage in a series of diagnostic questions to be certain that  team building itself is the right answer.

As a leader, you have several responsibilities, but none as important as motivating your staff. With inspiration comes happy, productive and efficient team players who are working toward a unified goal: your company’s success.

Steven Covey, author of many outstanding books on management and leadership including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Principle Centred Leadership, died this past week. He had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on individuals and teams in organizations. Over the past twenty years his work has significantly influenced my own approach to leadership, my work with clients, and my personal life. In the field of leadership and organizational development, Steven covey was a giant. He is a legend. His life’s work should be celebrated.  

If you're constantly putting out fires, it's likely your stress level is going through the roof.  It may be time to take stock of how you're spending your time and work to develop more effective time management strategies.  Differentiating between urgent and important tasks is the first step in time, and ultimately, stress management.