INSIGHTS 2: On Leadership/ Organisational-Workplace Cultures & the Role of Emotional Intelligence/ Self-Awareness/ Mindfulness on them

Bosses: This is how to inspire your employees to become leaders (Insights into developing leaders – internal vs external knowledge/efforts/means!

“All of those things are part of understanding who that person is and having the kind of relationship that inspires discretionary effort in people—and that discretionary effort is those things that people can do that go above and beyond regular expectations,” she says. When you can inspire and align discretionary effort with what your business goals are, both the individual and the company benefit, she says.”

“Having a measure of autonomy to make decisions in the workplace is a way to both identify leaders and help them develop, Turnage says. In every culture, there are people who do what’s expected of them and not much more, she says. “And then there are people who just naturally step forward and take more responsibility, take more initiative. Those are the people who have that real leadership potential,” she says.”)

The 10 Qualities of an Emotionally Intelligent Person (Decoding the deep concepts of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE in a pragmatic way – as a combination of empathy, self-awareness, curiosity, analytical mind, capacities to differentiate between needs and wants, passionate (of the common good), adaptability, optimism etc.)

Ego Is the Enemy of Good Leadership (How does EGO work AGAINST LEADERS – HUBRIS SYNDROME as an ACQUIRED PERSONALITY DISORDER?

“As we rise in the ranks, we acquire more power. And with that, people are more likely to want to please us by listening more attentively, agreeing more, and laughing at our jokes. All of these tickle the ego. And when the ego is tickled, it grows. David Owen, the former British Foreign Secretary and a neurologist, and Jonathan Davidson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, call this the “hubris syndrome,” which they define as a “disorder of the possession of power, particularly power which has been associated with overwhelming success, held for a period of years.””)

14 Signs You Are Emotionally Intelligent (The importance of EVALUATING and GETTING a GRASP of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE in oneself and others and some possible indicators to make use of!

“Decades of research now point to emotional intelligence as being the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack. The connection is so strong that 90% of top performers have high emotional intelligence.”)

A Culture of Learning (The significance of a “LEARNING ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE” towards TRUE/LASTING ORGANISATIONAL SUCCESS!

““Do I actually know what skills my employees have?” I’ve found, for most CEOs, the answer is no. Most people have been hired for certain skills related to their core job function. I’m a great example. I was hired to be Chief Learning Officer at Degreed, and also at LinkedIn. But if you were to ask my boss, “Do you know what other skills Kelly has?” Well, they probably don’t. They may not know that I used to run acquisition integration for corporate strategy. Every employee has skills outside their core competency that could be important for other parts of the company at different moments of need.”

“If you think about it, the biggest problem we’re trying to solve is that people don’t stay at companies for their whole career anymore. The average is now four years, but with younger employees, it’s now two years. And why is that? Because people want to learn and grow and have new challenges in their work. And, usually, they’ll move on when they feel like they’re plateauing in terms of skills. That’s because companies aren’t good at creating internal career marketplaces for their talent.”)

Manage Your Emotional Culture (Unavoidable EMOTIONAL CULTURE as part of ORGANISATIONAL/ CORPORATE CULTURE where the main focus is mostly on the cognitive culture!

“In our research over the past decade, we have found that emotional culture influences employee satisfaction, burnout, teamwork, and even hard measures such as financial performance and absenteeism. Countless empirical studies show the significant impact of emotions on how people perform on tasks, how engaged and creative they are, how committed they are to their organizations, and how they make decisions. Positive emotions are consistently associated with better performance, quality, and customer service—this holds true across roles and industries and at various organizational levels. On the flip side (with certain short-term exceptions), negative emotions such as group anger, sadness, fear, and the like usually lead to negative outcomes, including poor performance and high turnover.”)

RESOLVE CONFLICT AT WORK (The SIGNIFICANCE of the existing CULTURE in RESOLVING CONFLICTS at WORK? In effect, this culture decides HOW PROGRESSIVE THE ORGANISATION is!

“If you have an instinct to avoid conflict, it may be the result of a workplace culture where it’s normal to keep doubts and disagreements quiet for the sake of reducing tension. Or maybe the norm at your workplace is to aggressively hold your ground until one person “wins” the debate. Instead, the best way to resolve conflict is somewhere in the middle: choosing a collaborative mindset. Collaboration means that individuals feel safe to share opposing opinions and strive for a compromise.”)

How vividly imagining your own death can help your next career move (Writing your own EULOGY – a visualisation technique for getting INSPIRED! Insightful.

Steve Jobs’s remarks on DEATH – 6 years prior to his death addressing STANFORD GRADUATES- that appeared to have inspired him!

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” Jobs said. “Because almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”)

The business challenge of our time is creating meaningful work (21st-century BUSINESS MINDSET -MEANINGFUL WORK fostering creativity, empathy, passion, innovation, growth mindset instead of an employee turning up functional work for a paycheck!

“But with a 21st-century business mindset, where companies survive or perish based on employees’ core human skills– like empathy, creativity, innovation, passion– fostering an emotional commitment at work is essential. An employee turning up for a paycheck in exchange for functional work will not create products that stand apart from functional low-cost versions, or create that magical customer experience, or that team ethic that urges each other on to their very best.”

This has a real business cost. Studies have found that decreased employee engagement leads to higher absenteeism, more errors, accidents and defects, lower productivity, lower profitability, lower job growth, and 65% lower share price over time. Is it any wonder that global productivity is dragging if we don’t even care about the same things as our employers? Over 3 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs each month. It’s hard to quantify the tie between alignment of values and financial performance, but Starbucks has done it:”)

The First Strikes Against Short-Termism (Encouraging news about an emerging trend of BIG BUSINESSES moving away from short-termism!

“investors want to know what is happening now. …Kevin Cashman, global leader of CEO and executive development at Korn Ferry, the addiction to quarterly results unintentionally “rewards leaders who are lacking in vision, courage, and character.”

“Real leadership agility involves reconciling the financial realities of the present with the value creation needs of the future,”

“It sets up a culture that is conducive to what Apple needs to become,”

“The reporting change is likely just the beginning, and it signals a pivotal shift in what it means to work at Apple for employees, and how we should think about Apple as investors, shareholders, and customers.”

“It also follows a pattern of other business leaders who are arguing for universal steps to foster what they believe is the long-term thinking needed in today’s fast-changing business landscape. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and investor Warren Buffett are advocating eliminating quarterly earning guidance. Pepsi Chairman Indra Nooyi successfully lobbied the White House to get the US Securities and Exchange Commission to undertake a study on moving to a six-month reporting schedule”)

 Set the Conditions for Anyone on Your Team to Be Creative (How to ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY within TEAMS/ORGANISATIONS!

“The truth is that anybody can be creative, given the right opportunities and context.”

“While deep expertise in a given field is absolutely essential for real creativity, it is not sufficient. Look at any great body of creative work and you’ll find a crucial insight that came from outside the original domain. It is often a seemingly random piece of insight that transforms ordinary work into something very different.”

“More recently, a team of researchers analyzing 17.9 million scientific papers found that the most highly cited work is far more likely to come from a team of experts in one field working with a specialist in something very different. It is that combination of expertise, exploration, and collaboration that leads to truly breakthrough ideas.”

“One of the most overlooked aspects of innovation is how much technology can enhance productivity. ”

“Yet all too often, organizations do quit. They expect their “babies” to be beautiful from the start. They see creation as an event rather than a process, don’t invest in expertise or exploration, and refuse to tolerate wrong turns and dead ends. Is it any wonder that so few are able to produce anything truly new and different?”)

The Real Way To Improve Executive Presence (EXECUTIVE PRESENCE and its relationship to EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – Insightful!

“Genuine authenticity starts with a capacity to relate to others with integrity. Integrity takes time to establish, but be mindful that you will be measured by how well you “walk the talk” and adhere to the set of values and principles that you espouse. Here you have to be very conscious of both your verbal and nonverbal communication. Body language is just as important as your words and will betray your rhetoric if you are being insincere.”

“Most of the items mentioned above require you to be empathetic. Empathy, in my world, is when the person you are communicating with feels that you get what they are saying — not just understanding the words leaving their mouth, but understanding their emotion as well. You do not have to agree with what they are saying, but it is critically important that they feel comfortable that their message is getting across to you.”)

Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility (CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) as an OPPORTUNITY rather than DAMAGE CONTROL – GREAT VIEW from a well-known business Professor – Michael Porter!

“In this article, Michael Porter and Mark Kramer propose a fundamentally new way to look at the relationship between business and society that does not treat corporate growth and social welfare as a zero-sum game. They introduce a framework that individual companies can use to identify the social consequences of their actions; to discover opportunities to benefit society and themselves by strengthening the competitive context in which they operate; to determine which CSR initiatives they should address; and to find the most effective ways of doing so. Perceiving social responsibility as an opportunity rather than as damage control or a PR campaign requires dramatically different thinking—a mind-set, the authors warn, that will become increasingly important to competitive success.”)

Talking Mindfulness on the C.E.O. Beat (A great way to interpret MINDFULNESS – it is a means of INFORMING LEADERSHIP – insightful!

As the Corner Office columnist and a business reporter, it’s my job to stay in touch with chief executive officers around the country. We usually talk about what’s going on at their companies, or what’s happening in Washington.

But sometimes, we chat about meditation. Yes, that’s right: meditation.

I’ve been practicing mindfulness meditation for 20 years now, sometimes writing about it for The Times. And recently, mindfulness has become increasingly popular in the business world. While a few years ago the subject was somewhat taboo to discuss at work, with skeptics dismissing meditation as a frivolous pursuit, these days, some C.E.O.s take pride in the practice.)

Don’t Give Up on a Great Idea Just Because It Seems Obvious (How can a GREAT IDEA becomes so OBVIOUS to the CREATOR but, not for many others – great insight!

“And it turns out I would have known better if I had listened to some of the best-known innovators, including Isaac Asimov and Steve Jobs. Obviousness, it turns out, is a common — and even important — part of the creative process. Whether you’re considering the possibility of launching a startup or you want to create change within your organization, learn from my experience. Don’t procrastinate like I did.”

“When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while,” Steve Jobs told Wired in 1996. “That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

“In times of clarity, your resolutions appear obvious and simple; but in fact, they appear simple because the illumination has all the parts lining up and shedding light on a resolve,”

“But there’s also a flip side to this. “Obvious” answers aren’t obvious to most people, partly because most people aren’t thinking about the question.”)

Stamp Your Emotional Intelligence Passport (How would we effectively communicate across CULTURES? Through EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE! A great link between the two.)

Emotional Intelligence Guru Dan Goleman Said the Best Leaders Always Do This (The significance of VERIFYING DECISIONS (especially for leaders) we make with our GUT FEELINGS!

“He says the emotional centers of the brain get a summarized version of your past experiences when faced with a turning point. “Our life wisdom, our life experience is collected out of our awareness constantly as we go through life,” says Goleman.”)

Five Practices to Build Emotionally Intelligent Leaders (Some important tasks for a LEADER – developing a high degree of SELF-AWARENESS, a culture of COMPASSION and investing in CONTINUOUS LEARNING.)

You Can Be a Great Leader and Also Have a Life (GREAT LEADERSHIP and WORK-LIFE BALANCE – it is POSSIBLE and can be SPREAD to the WORKPLACE.)

Why Design Thinking Works (DESIGN THINKING (interestingly a SOCIAL/HUMAN-FOCUSED TECHNOLOGY), which starts with the important step of EMPATHISING, to promote INNOVATIONS/CREATIVITY!

“I have seen that another social technology, design thinking, has the potential to do for innovation exactly what TQM did for manufacturing: unleash people’s full creative energies, win their commitment, and radically improve processes. By now most executives have at least heard about design thinking’s tools—ethnographic research, an emphasis on reframing problems and experimentation, the use of diverse teams, and so on—if not tried them. But what people may not understand is the subtler way that design thinking gets around the human biases (for example, rootedness in the status quo) or attachments to specific behavioral norms (“That’s how we do things here”) that time and again block the exercise of imagination.”)

What I Learned From Reading 52 Books In a Year – It improved my leadership skills, and made small talk much more interesting (Reading books for enhancing CREATIVITY and LEADERSHIP SKILLS – great practical advice!)

The Work of Leadership (Why ADAPTABILITY is a key characteristic with an ever-increasing significance for EMPLOYEES as well as LEADERS of all levels (not to mention in EVERY DAY/ PERSONAL LIVES)!

“Solutions to adaptive challenges reside not in the executive suite but in the COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE of employees at all levels”

“…adaptive change is distressing for the people going through it. They need to take on new roles, new relationships, new values, new behaviours, and new approaches to work. Many employees are ambivalent about the efforts and sacrifices required of them. They often look to the senior executive to take problems off their shoulders. But those expectations have to be unlearned. Rather than fulfilling the expectation that they will provide answers, LEADERS HAVE TO ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS. Rather than protecting people from outside threats, leaders should allow them to feel the PINCH OF REALITY in order to STIMULATE THEM TO ADAPT. Instead of orienting people to their current roles, leaders must disorient them so that new relationships…develop. Instead of quelling conflict, leaders …draw the issues out. Instead of maintaining norms, leaders have to CHALLENGE “the way we do business” and help..distinguish immutable values from HISTORICAL PRACTICES that must go”)

This is how to gauge the emotional intelligence of your company (A great notion – a CULTURE of EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION (similar to an emotionally intelligent person)! A measure that is highly likely to give an organisation a STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE in the longer run, irrespective of the INDUSTRY of operation.

“Job satisfaction also requires a company that has a VALUE SYSTEM CONSISTENT with yours. If your agency’s PRIMARY focus is MAKING MONEY, but yours is creating public service ad campaigns, you may experience a DISCONNECT. When you work with a company that shares your values, say, helping to foster development in low-income communities, you’re more likely to gain deep satisfaction from your work.”

“Finally, the best organizations help you (and other employees) become BETTER PEOPLE by consistently adhering to and promoting a set of VALUES. For the top companies these ideals will likely include courtesy and politeness; the importance of collaboration; the need to listen and respond to others; and the value of caring. If you’re in a company where the culture is COMPETITIVE and CUTTHROAT, those NEGATIVES are likely to rub off on those around you. If you sense those vibes, it’s likely time to update your resume.”)

Why Data Science Teams Need Generalists, Not Specialists (The need for DATA SCIENTISTS to be GENERALISTS ( we may also ask why shouldn’t other specialists broaden their scope as well)!

“Alas, we should not be optimizing our data science teams for productivity gains…is what you do when you know what it is you’re producing—pins or otherwise—and are merely seeking incremental efficiencies. The goal of assembly lines is execution. We know exactly what we want—pins in Smith’s example, but one can think of any product or service in which the requirements fully describe all aspects of the product and its behavior. The role of the workers is then to execute on those requirements as efficiently as possible”

“But the goal of data science is not to execute. Rather, the goal is to learn and develop profound new business capabilities. Algorithmic products and services like recommendations systems… and more can’t be designed up-front. They need to be learned. There are no blueprints to follow; these are novel capabilities with inherent uncertainty. Coefficients, models, model types, hyper parameters, all the elements you’ll need must be learned through experimentation, trial and error, and iteration. With pins, the learning and design are done up-front, before you make it. With data science, you learn as you go, not before you go.”)

Yes, Sustainability Can Be a Strategy (SYSTEMS THINKING into STRATEGY FORMATION – SUSTAINABILITY as a STRATEGY!

“With our work, we contribute towards moving the broader field of CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY BEYOND the narrow focus on the cross-sectional understanding of sustainability practices and the implications for performance, TOWARDS developing a more DYNAMIC, COMPLEX and MULTI-LEVEL UNDERSTANDING of the adoption of these practices over time. And our results suggest that SUSTAINABILITY can be both a NECESSITY and a DIFFERENTIATOR. Some sustainability activities are simply becoming “best practice” and so are a necessity. But the data suggests that some companies are creating real STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE by adopting sustainability measures their COMPETITORS CAN’T EASILY MATCH.”)

THE ROYAL COMMISSION AND THE TALENT LANDSCAPE (In the wake of serious WORKPLACE CULTURE ISSUES unearthed in the BANKING ROYAL COMMISSION of Australia, the DIRE NEED to EDUCATE, DEVELOP and RESOURCE talent in the RIGHT DIRECTION/WAY!

“The Royal Commission into MISCONDUCT in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Sector DEEPLY impacts the TALENT LANDSCAPE in Australia. The Commission has revealed the FAULT LINES that run through many of our MOST TRUSTED INSTITUTES and provided an IMPETUS for WHOLESALE CHANGE in how LEADERSHIP and TALENT are REWARDED, RESOURCED and DEVELOPED. CULTURE IS KING and TRUST is the NEW CURRENCY in Australia’s financial services sector.”

“I hope you find these INSIGHTS USEFUL and we WOULD WELCOME an opportunity to talk to you further about how CULTURE and VALUES can be IDENTIFIED WHEN SOURCING and DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES and LEADERS.”)

The overlooked essentials of employee well-being (The need to push EMPLOYEE WELLBEING to the forefront to develop SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACES/SOCIETIES.

“Workplace stress is exacting an ever-higher physical and psychological toll. It adversely affects productivity, drives up voluntary turnover, and costs US employers nearly $200 billion every year in healthcare costs. ”

“Studies going back decades have shown that job control—the amount of discretion employees have to determine what they do and how they do it—has a major impact on their physical health. Recent research also indicates that limited job control has ill effects that extend beyond the physical, imposing a burden on employees’ mental health, too.”

“Unfortunately, workplaces sometimes have characteristics that make it harder to build relationships and provide support. Consider, for example, practices that foster internal competition such as forced curve ranking, which reduces collaboration and teamwork. In fact, anything that pits people against one another weakens social ties among employees and reduces the social support that produces healthier workplaces. “)

Why Inclusive Leaders Are Good for Organizations, and How to Become One (The need for a DEEPER SENSE of INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP supporting DIVERSITY for ORGANISATIONAL GROWTH!

“Companies increasingly rely on DIVERSE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY teams that combine the COLLECTIVE CAPABILITIES of women and men, people of different cultural heritage, and younger and older workers. But simply throwing a mix of people together doesn’t guarantee high performance; it requires INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP — leadership that assures that all team members feel they are TREATED RESPECTFULLY and FAIRLY, are VALUED and sense that they BELONG, and are CONFIDENT and INSPIRED.”

“INCLUSIVENESS isn’t just nice to have on teams. Our research shows that it directly ENHANCES PERFORMANCE. Teams with inclusive leaders are 17% more likely to report that they are high performing, 20% more likely to say they make HIGH-QUALITY DECISIONS, and 29% more likely to report behaving COLLABORATIVELY. What’s more, we found that a 10% improvement in perceptions of inclusion INCREASES WORK ATTENDANCE by almost 1 day a year per employee, REDUCING the cost of ABSENTIEEISM.”)

Trusting Your Intuition Could Change the World or Save Your Life! (SAVING YOUR LIFE and CHANGING/TRANSFORMING the WORLD! The significance of INTUITION/GUT FEELING (which relies on a large volume of implicit knowledge that we are not conscious of) in DECISION-MAKING!

“Years ago, I did not realize there was scientific evidence to support the validity of my “gut reaction” (the HeartMath Institute calls your “heart reaction”), but it turns out that approaching life from your heart is better for you both physically and socially. This information has inspired me to encourage those around me to also follow their instincts as we are conditioned to ignore our intuition and yet it is critical to our well-being and success.”)

INTRODUCING: A NEW BREED OF FUTURE-READY LEADERS (The emerging leadership model -FUTURE-AWARE  DISRUPTIVE LEADERSHIP – the significance!

“Our research has built a new model of leadership, identifying five dimensions that high-performing self-disruptive leaders have in common. This model of high-performing leader incorporates and builds on existing concepts of agile, digital, and inclusive leadership. Self-disruptive leaders are distinguished by their capacity to deploy their leadership skills to create opportunities and capitalise on the flow of knowledge.”

“They capture competitive advantage through connecting resources and people adeptly to build an innovation ecosystem. This enables them to bring robust ideas to market quickly and, crucially, to adapt to change by disrupting themselves again and again.”

“This strong portfolio of future-oriented skills is captured in the Korn Ferry ADAPT model, encompassing the abilities to anticipate, drive, accelerate, partner and trust.”)

REWARDING INNOVATION: IS IT TIME FOR MINDSET-BASED PAY? (To promote INNOVATION (through SELF-DISRUPTIVE LEADERSHIP), can the PAYMENT be BASED ON MINDSET – probably an INNOVATION/INNOVATIVE IDEA in itself?

“The PEOPLE-AS-GENIUSES approach is based on a central belief that INNOVATION and HUMAN CAPITAL go hand in hand. …The challenge is how to connect the two and create a forward-thinking and CREATIVE CULTURE. In truth, it will never be just one thing. Instead the organisation’s ENTIRE TALENT SYSTEM – including LEADERSHIP and REWARD – must be aligned to create an INNOVATIVE ECOSYSTEM.”

“Using MONETARY INCENTIVES RISKS extinguishing INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, CRUSHING CREATIVITY, ENCOURAGING UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR and SHORT-TERM THINKING – all things ESSENTIAL to cultivating the SELF-DISRUPTIVE MINDSET and INNOVATIVE CULTURE.”

“Does this lead us to a NEW MODEL for REWARD? Moving beyond skills-based pay and performance-based pay, it may now be time to consider MINDSET-BASED PAY.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean completely re-writing your reward strategy. Current elements can be re-deployed to make sure the RIGHT MINDSET is RECRUITED and RETAINED, while new elements can be added to better enable the organisation to tailor individual packages keep the best people MOTIVATED for the LONG HAUL.”)

DISRUPTION IS COMING TO TALENT MANAGEMENT (“How would the TALENT/HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT of FUTURE (of not that far away) look like?

“The BRUTAL TRUTH is the TRADITIONAL MODELS of talent management…are simply NOT DELIVERING…FUTURE-READY LEADERS. Things have to CHANGE. And QUICKLY”

“..companies need a collective model of talent management that EMPOWERS EVERYONE in the company to develop their LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES. LEADERSHIP development must be made AVAILABLE to EVERYONE..to cultivate the self-disruptive mindset at all levels of the organisation…A NEW APPROACH is needed”

“Think MINDSET, not role: Rather than preparing specific people for specific leadership roles, forward-thinking organisations are shifting to MINDSET DEVELOPMENT”

“Talk career, not development: Leadership development needs to be reimagined as a CAREER-LONG journey embedded in DAILY WORK. It needs to be as NIMBLE as future leaders will be required to be. This means ensuring employees are EMPOWERED to DIRECT their own careers”

“Think person, not process: Future-ready leaders are defined by their individual ‘fit’, not just skills match. Organisations need to facilitate always-on development ..by helping busy employees NAVIGATE training easily and REWARDING them for LEARNING”)

RESET MINDSETS: DEVELOPING FUTURE-READY LEADERS (FUTURE DIRECTED SELF-DISRUPTIVE LEADERS with  a MINDSET that EMPOWERS EVERYONE to CHALLENGE THEIR OWN THINKING in order to promote INNOVATION!

“..MINDSET, we’re..referring to the set of general ATTITUDES that SHAPE the way we think …and how we MAKE SENSE of the world…drawing on our CORE BELIEFS, but showing themselves in our behaviours as we navigate the real world.”

“For Self-Disruptive Leaders, their MINDSETS are their SUPER POWER. They enable them to keep pace with the rapidly transforming environments.. Other leaders – in fact the majority (85%) of leaders, based on our research – are paralysed by the kryptonite-like effects of yesterday’s mindsets.”

“To become future-ready..must rise above their existing frame to access the same flexible mindsets of their self-disrupting colleagues…it was once thought that cognitive development plateaued in adulthood, we now know that we can push our minds in new and different directions. But it won’t be done through traditional leadership development approaches”

“Slow down to accelerate: speed is given great privilege in today’s market, but embedding a new leadership paradigm won’t happen overnight…Mindsets will only shift through thoughtful and intentional work, so take the time to reset.”)

A Deceptively Simple Way to Find More Happiness at Work (The significance of MEANINGFUL work in WELL-BEING and the NEED to TRANSFORM work to be MEANINGFUL!

“A study from the Mayo Clinic found that physicians who spend about 20 percent of their time doing “work they find most meaningful are at dramatically lower risk for burnout.””

““We’re told in every commencement speech that if you find a job you love you’ll never work a day in your life. But the verb is wrong,” he said, adding that successful people who love their jobs take “the job that was there at the beginning and then over time they transform the contents of that job.”

“To be sure, transforming your job isn’t easy. But you have to start somewhere, and there’s a wonderfully simple but surprisingly revealing trick that can help.”)

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gave a brilliant lesson in modern leadership in one harsh sentence(When and why should you RESET your VALUES – MICROSOFT sets a TIMELY EXAMPLE – hats off to SATYA NADELLA!

“If you really believe a CORPORATION can be worth more than a COUNTRY, more than so much CULTURE, HISTORY, PASSION and so many FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, it’s time to RESET your VALUES.”

“A company — even a huge one like Microsoft — is only its PEOPLE. If they place such EXTREME VALUE on a NUMBER, what value do they place on other essences such as HUMANITY, EMPATHY, and JOY? What MOVES them to GO TO WORK and CREATE, BUILD and SURPRISE?”

“Once, MICROSOFT was a NASTY company. EXTERNALLY, it BULLIED businesses into buying its software. But internally, employees would CEASELESSLY MACHINATE AGAINST EACH OTHER with HEARTLESS GLEE.”

“Nadella has tried to bring a little CIVILISATION to the place. So when he was asked by Bloomberg Businessweek how he felt about the company being valued at $1 trillion, he said: “I would be DISGUSTED IF somebody ever CELEBRATED our market cap””

“Nadella said if any employee truly started to hoot over this alleged milestone, it would be “THE BEGINNING OF THE END.” In essence, he wants to fight AGAINST SELF-SATISFACTION. He fears employees will become smug. He wants to FOCUS ON THE FUTURE.”)

The Business Benefits of Purpose (How having a PURPOSE (PURPOSE-ORIENTATION)  relates to the COMPANY BOTTOMLINE!

“…purpose-oriented workers report greater job fulfillment, do better on their performance evaluations, and are much more likely to promote their employers to others. Purpose-oriented workers saw their work as being personally fulfilling and helping other people, while non purpose-oriented workers saw their job as merely a source of income or status.”

“As Laurence Fink, CEO of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock wrote in his annual letter to CEO’s: “PROFITS are in NO WAY INCONSISTENT with PURPOSE—in fact, profits and purpose are inextricably linked.””

“When Satya Nadella took over as CEO in 2014, purpose took center stage, marking the beginning of a RENAISSANCE. Believing that “a sense of PURPOSE in MISSION and CULTURE” are the two “ENDURING PILLARS” of any organization, Nadella reinvigorated the role of purpose in order to remind MICROSOFT’S employees and stakeholders that the company was still relevant in an industry dominated by GOOGLE and APPLE.”)

Superbosses: How Leaders Guide Generations of Success (Hard to find SUPERBOSSES – who are they? How do EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI) competencies help in EMULATING them? LEADERSHIP for GENERATIONS of SUCCESS.

“When RECRUITING and HIRING, SUPERBOSSES value intelligence, CREATIVITY, and ADAPTABILITY and seek out people with these QUALITIES. They often select people who could excel in a RANGE of POSITIONS, NOT just one SPECIFIC role, and will tailor a job to a mentee they see something in. And they’re willing to take risks on hires with UNCONVENTIONAL EXPERIENCE or EDUCATION.”

“SUPERBOSSES also consider the QUALITY of TALENT MORE IMPORTANT than long-term RETENTION. Instead of assuming the best people will stick around, they FOSTER “TALENT FLOW” as a key ORGANISATIONAL VALUE, instead of talent retention. In this way, turnover becomes an OPPORTUNITY for GROWTH, as superbosses keep IN TOUCH with FORMER employees and these employees’ reputations continuously BRING TALENT to the superbosses’ doors.”

“When cultivating talent, superbosses set high expectations and utilize strengths in INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP to rally MENTEES around THEIR VISION. “)

Leading with Humility (Do we have a notion called HUMBLE LEADERSHIP? if YES, will it IMPROVE the BOTTOMLINE at all?

“HUMBLE LEADERSHIP emphasizes the importance of SHARED ACHIEVEMENT above PERSONAL GAIN…since HUMILITY is CONTAGIOUS, implementing these ideas..help…FOSTER HUMILITY, COLLABORATION…INNOVATION across your team and IMPROVE the BOTTOM LINE as well”

“By “HUMILITY” I mean holding a MODEST OPINION or estimation of your OWN IMPORTANCE, RANK, and such. In a LEADER, this means ACCEPTING that you don’t have ALL the ANSWERS, and choosing and REWARDING team MEMBERS who can bring THEIR own STRENGTHS and IDEAS to the table. By stepping back and MAKING SPACE for their team MEMBERS to CONTRIBUTE MEANINGFULLY, HUMBLE LEADERS bring out the BEST in OTHERS and FOSTER a CULTURE of GROWTH…an effort to CONNECT with their TEAM instead of MERELY treating them as a MEANS to an end”

“The PHILOSOPHER Martin Buber WARNED against the “thingification” of people–the CORROSIVE DEPERSONALISATION of relationships… cautions against INDIFFERENCE to how OTHERS FEEL, even SUFFER, and using SOCIAL SKILLS for PURELY SELFISH ends…commends the stance that empathizes..cares, and that takes RESPONSIBILITY for others as well as for oneself. This is the essence of HUMBLE LEADERSHIP”)

Time to Think: The Importance of Introspection in Leadership (INTROSPECTION – an essential quality of LEADERSHIP!

“The classic definition of INTROSPECTION is a REFLECTIVE looking INWARD, an examination of one’s own thoughts and feelings. A leader needs introspection time for looking inward–to consider WHO THEY ARE, what THEY VALUE, what MOTIVATES them–to build their SELF-AWARENESS. I work with leaders who know the value of this SELF-REFLECTION; they show up FOCUSED and CLEAR. I also work with leaders who LACK this habit of personal introspection. These leaders tend to show up FRUSTRATED and UNFOCUSED.”

“JOURNALING is a simple practice leaders can adopt to STRENGTHEN INTROSPECTION and SELF-AWARENESS. There is great power writing. Not only does it bring INNER CLARITY, the act of writing increases our ability to achieve. “)

3 Common Hiring Mistakes New Managers Should Avoid (COMMON HIRING MISTAKES but LESS AWARE(conscious) by the HIRING TEAM!

““INTERVIEWERS who lacked SYSTEMATIC MEASURES of what their company was looking for tended to FALL BACK on THEMSELVES and DEFINING MERIT in “their own image,” meaning that the MOST QUALIFIED INTERVIEWEES were those who BEST RESEMBLED their INTERVIEWERS.” It’s EASY TO WANT TO MAKE this kind of hire — a CARBON COPY of yourself. But they will be bored and frustrated quickly because there’s NO HEADROOM for them to GROW and ADVANCE. You already have you and DON’T NEED ANOTHER YOU.”

“A more disturbing version of this problem is …to hire someone to take on not the boring work, but the “DIRTY WORK.” …a few years ago, I was invited to interview for the CFO role at a fast-growing tech company. …the COO said to me, “I want to HIRE SOMEONE to TELL EVERYONE what they can’t spend,” I realized he wanted a HENCHMAN.”

“There may be tasks that demand attention but you don’t personally have the expertise to complete them. You value this skill in other people, and it’s what you’re looking for in a new hire. But there can be a couple of pitfalls with thinking this way. Sometimes, there’s an undercurrent of envy — you may feel threatened because they have talents you lack. “)

Why employers are spending more on learning and development (A new form/emerging trend of ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY – supporting/undertaking CONTINUOUS LEARNING!

“Kelly Palmer, CLO at Degreed, said in an email that cost is not an excuse for not training employees. “The reality is that today anybody CAN LEARN ANY TOPIC, FROM ANY DEVICE, ANYWHERE in the world at LOW TO NO COST,” she said. With so much content available, she added, “it’s more about ENCOURAGING and ALLOWING employees to spend time learning.””

“The changing labour market demands a shift to modern learning, and employers will need to meet the needs of continual learning across the workforce,”

“..so the choice is really between paying the price of learning or PAYING A PRICE in the MARKETPLACE.” By doing nothing, … companies will face employee turnover, recruitment challenges, LOST PRODUCTIVITY, LOST SALES, loss of staff to competitors and LACK OF INNOVATION – all of this, … is far HARDER to RECOVER from.”)

How do we become more Effective, Successful, and Compassionate Leaders? (Becoming an EFFECTIVE and SUCCESSFUL LEADER – the MUST – COMPASSION!

“The strongest people I know are the most COMPASSIONATE. True UNCONDITIONAL COMPASSION requires almost SUPER HUMAN strength and SELF-CONFIDENCE – Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn”)

Long-Term Purpose, Short-Term Goals (Appropriately managing the PURPOSE (long term) along with GOALS (short term)!

“What’s a higher business priority: QUARTERLY GOAL setting or promoting a DEEP and CONNECTED  SENSE of PURPOSE?”

“Likely your FIRST THOUGHT is that, of course, it’s hitting quarterly targets.  But there’s a surprisingly strong argument for the importance of purpose in the long-term OVER PROFITS in the SHORT-TERM.”

“OKRs require every employee, FROM INTERNS TO the CEO, to take RESPONSIBILITY for setting THEIR OWN objectives. GONE is a TOP-DOWN approach to goal setting. Instead, every single person is asked to ENGAGE, LINKING their own objectives to those of their TEAM, LEADERS, and ORGANIZATION at large. Explains Grove, “We see a nesting hierarchy of objectives: if the subordinate’s objectives are met, the supervisor’s will be as well.””)

How to Move from Self-Awareness to Self-Improvement (the important NEXT STEP – starting from SELF-AWARENESS to SELF-MANAGEMENT!

“It’s natural to behave in ways that FEEL GOOD and FAMILIAR — to NOT SELF-MANAGE— and yet, if we did this all the time, we’d NEVER GET BETTER at anything. To become as effective as possible, LEADERS need to move BEYOND SELF-AWARENESS to SELF-MANAGEMENT. Start by recognizing your current actions, considering ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS, and then putting in the HARD WORK required to RESIST what may be MOST FAMILIAR or COMFORTABLE. Instead, COMMIT to effectively executing what is MOST PRODUCTIVE.”)

An Introvert’s Guide to Leadership (Can INTROVERTS (who are likely to be highly SELF-AWARE) be LEADERS in the modern world? It appears they can!

“As humans, we often have a tendency to MISTAKE LOUDNESS for CONFIDENCE, and AGGRESSION for STRENGTH. As such, EXTROVERTS often have an easier time rising to the TOP of an organization. Once at the top, however, I’ve found that the traits and behaviors most often associated with INTROVERTS are the ones that separate SUCCESSFUL LEADERS from FAILURES.”

“The key for introverted leaders, then, is to take the things they’re NATURALLY GOOD at – DEEP THINKING, EMPATHY, and the ABILITY to LISTEN – and augment those skills with a strategic dose of extroversion. If you’re able to strike the right balance, you’ll develop a leadership style that is uniquely SUITED for the MODERN WORKPLACE.”

“We’ve all encountered individuals in the workplace who SPEAK FIRST and THINK LATER. These types of people can be DIFFICULT to work with because they don’t RESPECT the nuance and details of the situation at hand and ACT from a POSITION of FORCE.”

“When these people find their way into LEADERSHIP positions, the team they’re working with often LOSES RESPECT as a result of their behavior”

“INTROVERTED leaders, on the other hand, can THRIVE where these individuals fail.”)

The Response To Workplace Burnout Is Compassionate Leadership (Overcoming workplace BURNOUT through COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP – the DIRE need for a PARADIGM CHANGE in LEADERSHIP for PROMOTING INNOVATION!

“If we do not look at our HUMANITY – what we’re doing to ourselves and to the people we work with and for, we’re looking at a BLEAK FUTURE. Our ECONOMIC GROWTH is NOT going to come from PRODUCING MORE, but from CREATIVITY and INNOVATION to RETHINK how we live and work. This cannot come about by TREATING OURSELVES and EMPLOYEES like MACHINES. We’re seeing the impact of that. We are BURNING OUT, so much so that even the WHO has now recognized it as an occupational phenomenon. DEPRESSION is now the LEADING cause of DISABILITY WORLDWIDE. ..We need a NEW MODEL of LEADERSHIP, one that ENHANCES our INNATE HUMAN POTENTIAL… This will REQUIRE a PARADIGM SHIFT”

“Our GENERATION has GROWN UP with a WORLDVIEW steeped in STRIVING, INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE, SUCCEEDING at ALL COSTS, and that looks like MORE MONEY, MORE POWER, MORE STATUS. It is a MINDSET based on FEAR and SCARCITY. To SHIFT this MINDSET to a NEW WAY of LEADING, we need to TRANSFORM these fears and RECONNECT to what gives us MEANING and PURPOSE

“Only by CULTIVATING COMPASSION can we lead SUSTAINABLE organizations and build workplaces that NURTURE and CHERISH TRUE INNOVATION and CREATIVITY”)

Compassion Means Business at LinkedIn (COMPASSION = BUSINESS (= LINKEDIN))

Compassionomics 101: How kindness can make a big difference in health care (Do COMPASSION and ECONOMICS (more specifically in HEALTHCARE) meet together by any chance? It appears that DATA/DATA SCIENCE shows “YES” as highlighted in the new book “COMPASSIONOMICS: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence..”

Does COMPASSION matters in HEALTHCARE?

“Does it really matter?” Trzeciak said. “I would hope that most people in health care would answer the question, ‘Well, of course it matters, because we have both a MORAL OBLIGATION and an ETHICAL OBLIGATION.’ We ought to be COMPASSIONATE.”

“Dr. Stephen Trzeciak did not always believe that COMPASSION makes a difference in health care – even if that seemed like the IDEALISTIC viewpoint to hold.”

“Then he took a look at the data. Trzeciak – an intensivist who heads Cooper University Health Care’s critical care unit – not only became a believer, but an ARDENT ADVOCATE.”)

The Art Of Learning Side-By-Side: Why The Way We Develop Is Not Working For Our Workforce (LEARNING and DEVELOPMENT at the WORKPLACE! Overcoming the CHALLENGES to realise HUMAN POTENTIAL fully.

“The issue of learning and development is a problem not unique to corporations. In 2018.. the World Economic Forum in Davos..discussed…The future of education and workplace experience…it would be fair for me to report that there seems to be a much BROADER and SYSTEMIC FLOW in the way we approach LEARNING in general.”

“The majority of curriculums are founded upon ‘OLD WORLD’ views, HISTORIC mindsets…Often, the course design takes into consideration theories..frameworks grounded in the realities of the 18th and 19th CENTURIES and delivery includes OUTDATED methods”

“Take…the perspective of scarcity, a predominant mindset…For years…we have been making people believe there is not enough resources to a situation or a capacity inside of an individual and have been promoting focus on the ‘lack of…We have been embracing the view on fixed learning and instead of encouraging individuals to discover their unique gifts — which I consider to be a combination of skill, intelligence, sophisticated knowledge, judgment, and intuition that’s been gained through practice, we have been presenting them with external gifts for means of reference and utilization”)

Daniel Goleman – Making EI More Accessible (4 min clip from A Key Component of Effective Coaching) (Can we use the term EMOTIONS (and also LEARNING) in BUSINESS (more specifically in TRADITIONAL ORGANISATIONS and/or in more TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED ones)? How can we make these notions more accessible to ORGANISATIONS and LEADERS with DIVERS (SUSTAINABLE OR NOT) CULTURES?)

Here’s how businesses can stop wasting billions on failed learning initiatives (Making sure the INVESTMENTS in LEARNING – upskilling and reskilling(within ORGANISATIONS) MATTERS!

“Most importantly, businesses need to build and embrace cultures of CONTINUOUS LEARNING. A commitment to learning should be communicated from the very top in the C-suite and supported by managers, who make sure their employees have TIME to LEARN as part of the NORMAL WORK week.”

“When all these factors are in place, people embrace their company’s learning offerings. They also view the company as a great place for development, which goes a long way toward attracting and retaining top-notch workers, particularly Millennials. As Gallup put it, “Millennials want jobs to be development opportunities.””)

The Art Of Learning Side-By-Side: Why The Way We Develop Is Not Working For Our Workforce (LEARNING and DEVELOPMENT at the WORKPLACE! Overcoming the CHALLENGES to realise HUMAN POTENTIAL fully. “The issue of learning and development is a problem not unique to corporations. In 2018.. the World Economic Forum in Davos..discussed…The future of education and workplace experience…it would be fair for me to report that there seems to be a much BROADER and SYSTEMIC FLOW in the way we approach LEARNING in general.” “The majority of curriculums are founded upon ‘OLD WORLD’ views, HISTORIC mindsets…Often, the course design takes into consideration theories..frameworks grounded in the realities of the 18th and 19th CENTURIES and delivery includes OUTDATED methods” “Take…the perspective of scarcity, a predominant mindset…For years…we have been making people believe there is not enough resources to a situation or a capacity inside of an individual and have been promoting focus on the ‘lack of…We have been embracing the view on fixed learning and instead of encouraging individuals to discover their unique gifts — which I consider to be a combination of skill, intelligence, sophisticated knowledge, judgment, and intuition that’s been gained through practice, we have been presenting them with external gifts for means of reference and utilization”)

Time To Claim ‘Human’ Back In Human Resources | Sesil Pir | DisruptHR Talks (The future of HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HR) (or DISRUPTIVE HR)- PEOPLE FIRST (employees and customers ahead of technology and processes)!)

Here’s how businesses can stop wasting billions on failed learning initiatives (Making sure the INVESTMENTS in LEARNING – upskilling and reskilling(within ORGANISATIONS) MATTERS! “Most importantly, businesses need to build and embrace cultures of CONTINUOUS LEARNING. A commitment to learning should be communicated from the very top in the C-suite and supported by managers, who make sure their employees have TIME to LEARN as part of the NORMAL WORK week.” “When all these factors are in place, people embrace their company’s learning offerings. They also view the company as a great place for development, which goes a long way toward attracting and retaining top-notch workers, particularly Millennials. As Gallup put it, “Millennials want jobs to be development opportunities.””)

Millennials: The Purpose Generation (It is great to see the emerging POSITIVE trend of making organisations PUSHED to be PURPOSE-DRIVEN! “In a recent survey, 63% of millennials—essentially workers under 35—said the primary purpose of businesses should be “IMPROVING SOCIETY” instead of “GENERATING PROFIT.” A study from the Society for Human Resource Management tells us that 94% of millennials want to use their skills to BENEFIT a CAUSE and 57% wish that there were more company-wide service days.”)

Managers At Last See Value In Emotional Intelligence (EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI) competencies as THE means of addressing issues with a VOLATILE FUTURE. “In the nearly 25 years since Daniel Goleman published his book EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, the idea that something OTHER THAN OUTRIGHT INTELLIGENCE, or IQ, is required for SUCCESS in BUSINESS and LIFE in general has been much discussed. The HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW has described the concept of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE as “a REVOLUTIONARY, PARADIGM-SHATTERING idea” and GOLEMAN has appeared in many lists of the MOST INFLUENTIAL BUSINESS THINKERS. ” “more than 500 UK workers with PEOPLE MANAGEMENT responsibilities, TRUSTWORTHINESS, FLEXIBILITY, CONFIDENCE and RESILIENCE are all REGARDED as MORE IMPORTANT THAN EXPERIENCE OR EDUCATION LEVELS. In addition, most people managers think that the HIGHEST PERFORMING members of THEIR TEAM DISPLAY a HIGH EQ and feel that EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE is MOST VALUABLE when LEADING a TEAM through CHANGE. More than half believe that MEASURING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE would be a VALUABLE ELEMENT in employee PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT plans”)

6 Reasons We Make Bad Decisions, and What to Do About Them (It all comes down to GOOD DECISION-MAKING for all of us – how can we IMPROVE? “Research has shown that that the TYPICAL PERSON makes about 2,000 decisions every WAKING HOUR. Most decisions are minor and we make them INSTINCTIVELY or AUTOMATICALLY — what to wear to work in the morning, whether to eat lunch now or in ten minutes, etc. But many of the decisions we make throughout the day take real thought, and have SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. CONSISTENTLY making GOOD DECISIONS is arguably the MOST IMPORTANT HABIT we can DEVELOP, especially at work. Our CHOICES affect our HEALTH, our SAFETY, our RELATIONSHIPS, how we SPEND our TIME, and our OVERALL WELL-BEING” “Susan Cain articulates so well in her book Quiet, many INTROVERTS are RELUCTANT to SPEAK UP in a meeting until they know precisely what they want to say. Yet, these members of our teams often have some of the BEST IDEAS to contribute, since they spend so MUCH of THEIR TIME THINKING” “DECISION-MAKING EFFECTIVENESS SUFFERS by up to 40% when we focus on TWO COGNITIVE TASKS at the SAME TIME” “…MORE INFORMATION we have to consider, the LONGER we typically take to MAKE a DECISION…decision-making process should be THROUGH, the BEST WAY to make GOOD DECISIONS is usually…REVIEW the PERTINENT INFORMATION you need”)

Vanessa Druskat: Why is Leadership Important? (Why LEADERSHIP is IMPORTANT? To make us THINK/CONTEMPLATE on WHY WE ARE DOING WHAT WE ARE DOING and ARE WE MAKING AN IMPACT!)

Businesses Need to Embrace the New Science of Learning (The DIRE need to EMBRACE the SCIENCE OF LEARNING in ALL TYPES of LEARNING. “…AMAZON recently announced it will SPEND $700 MILLION to “UPSKILL”…its U.S. workforce by 2025. ALL OVER the WORLD, LEADERS of CORPORATIONS are WORRIED about whether they’ll have employees with the SKILLS to carry their BUSINESSES INTO the FUTURE” “They’re RIGHT TO BE CONCERNED. The PACE of CHANGE in business is UNPRECEDENTED, with new technologies constantly altering the landscape. “FINDING and HIRING employees with the key skills they need to SUCCEED in the digital world continues to keep CEOs AWAKE at NIGHT,” PWC “..has reported. Eighty percent of CEOs say they’re worried—up from 56 percent in 2011.” “…explored the LATEST FINDINGS from the SCIENCE OF LEARNING and the related SCIENCE OF MOTIVATION. We found that current CORPORATE APPROACHES TO LEARNING FLY IN THE FACE of established SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.” “For DECADES, most corporate learning has consisted of people being forced to SIT THROUGH LECTURES and POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS. Even when courses are made available online, they still often consist largely of an EXPERT TALKING “at” listeners… “Most of the time, this OLD-STYLE APPROACH simply is NOT HOW people LEARN BEST, whether in SCHOOLS OR WORKPLACE”)

The emotionally intelligent way to make a significant (and long-lasting) change (The need of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE competencies for MANAGING CHANGE (change management as commonly known) effectively – more specifically, the PEOPLE factor of CHANGE! “If we want to MAKE DECISIONS in an EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT way, we need to be aware of how these factors INFLUENCE our CHOICES. Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as EQ) is not just about introspection and empathy—despite what you might have heard or read. EQ is the INTELLIGENT USE of EMOTIONS, not only in terms of ME but also the WE and the WHY.”)

Why the need to upskill and reskill the workforce is getting more urgent (Why do (so-called) SOFT SKILLS matter? Because of the lack of it COSTS collectively TRILLIONS in DOLLARS. “The American Action Forum (AAF) RECENTLY issued a REPORT predicting that a shortage of workers with some HIGHER EDUCATION — an associate degree; some time spent studying in college; a bachelor’s degree, or higher — will lead to nearly $1.2 TRILLION in LOST ECONOMIC output” “The findings “indicate that CURRENT LEVELS of EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ARE INSUFFICIENT, and POLICYMAKERS can address these SHORTFALLS by ENCOURAGING higher levels of education and SKILLS DEVELOPMENT”” “..solution to UPSKILLING and RESKILLING…WORKFORCE WON’T COME…primarily from SCHOOLS. Today MORE THAN EVER, it’s up to BUSINESSES to make sure they create CULTURES of CONTINUOUS LEARNING, in which EMPLOYEES are ALWAYS ENGAGED in DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS” “…MISSING SKILLS aren’t JUST TECHNICAL…they’re… “POWER SKILLS”…referred to as “SOFT SKILLS.”…TOP MISSING TECHNICAL SKILLS…welding or machine work… BIGGEST MISSING SKILLS OVERALL are PROBLEM SOLVING, CRITICAL THINKING, INNOVATION, and CREATIVITY. Thirty-seven percent of HR LEADERS cited these as MISSING, while 32% said candidates LACKED adequate “ability to deal with COMPLEXITY and AMBIGUITY.””)

George Kohlrieser on Purpose and Calling (Finding PURPOSE and MEANING from PAINFUL MOMENTS of the IMPERFECT WORLD. It is not about CHANGING HISTORY, but about finding the WAY FOREWARD!)

How to turn loss into inspiration | George Kohlrieser | TEDxLausanne (How can we TURN (unavoidable) LOSS/GRIEF into INSPIRATION? To GUIDE the WORLD to a BETTER PLACE!)

Welcome to the IE University Center for Learning Innovation (LEARNING and LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT through UPSKILLING and RESKILLING within organisations!)

Why Leadership Development Is Still Stuck In The Dark Ages (An intriguing study into LEADERSHIP DILEMMA! “Why DOESN’T LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Work?” “Whether or not EINSTEIN suggested that ‘a PROBLEM CANNOT BE SOLVED at the LEVEL OF THINKING that CREATED it’, nowhere does this MAXIM hold more TRUTH than in the field of LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.”

“…because it fails to address the TOTALITY of who and what we are as HUMAN BEINGS. It fails to recognise the PROFOUND DEPTHS of our INNER WORLDS and the POWER and responsibility that go with what we THINK and FEEL. It FAILS to RESPECT the CAUSAL nature of the MIND, whilst MISTAKENGLY looking for the LEVERS of CHANGE in the OUTER WORLD of effects”)

A Big Step on Corporate Purpose (At least some HOPE on the horizon in relation to SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY- the most recent STATEMENT OF PURPOSE coming from some MAJOR ORGANISATIONS

“STATMENT of PURPOSE proclaims that “While each individual business has its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to ALL of our STAKEHOLDERS.” SIGNED by 181 leaders, the document goes on to define this commitment across five critical areas: value to CUSTOMERS; investing in EMPLOYEES through fair compensation, important benefits, training, EDUCATION, INCLUSION, DIGNITY and RESPECT; dealing FAIRLY and ETHICALLY with SUPPLIERS; GIVING BACK to the local COMMUNITIES and embracing more SUSTAINABLE business practices; and upholding TRANSPARENCY and effective management with shareholders.

The message is clear: CEO’s are thinking harder about the future of people and the planet. It’s a wide departure from the mentality that existed for the last 50 years or so — that above all, an organization’s purpose was to build profit for shareholders.”)

Keeping Amazon Honest (The need for pushing #organisations towards #PURPOSE-DRIVEN for ACHIEVING #SUSTAINABILITY GOALS!  “As Shattuck says, we need “the FINANCIAL ACUMEN of WARREN BUFFET, the HEART of MOTHER TERESA, and the agility of MacGyver.”

“Experts agree that when it comes to having the resources, infrastructure, and talent to carry out their big PURPOSE-POWERED plans, FEW ORGANISATIONS are ready. In order for all of us to know the LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT of a major business, it will take GOVERNMENT, NON-PROFITS, SCIENTISTS, RESEARCHERS, ACTIVISTS, and companies ACROSS INDUSTRIES to COME TOGETHER and COLLABORATE.”)

5 Reasons Your Company Should be Investing in Mindfulness Training (#MINDFULNESS for enhancing #CREATIVITY, #PRODUCTIVITY and minimising #EMPLOYEE #BURNOUT! Is it worth INVESTING – personally as well as within organisations?)

The Leader as Coach (The much-needed #PARADIGM-SHIFT for #PRODUCTIVITY and #INNOVATION-LED #SOCIAL #SUSTAINABILITY for a 21st-century #MANAGER = a #COACH!

“Once upon a time, most people BEGAN SUCCESSFUL CAREERS by developing EXPERTISE in a technical, functional, or professional domain. Doing your JOB well meant having the RIGHT ANSWERS. If you could prove yourself that way, you’d rise up the LADDER and eventually move into PEOPLE MANAGEMENT—at which point you had to ensure that your SUBORDINATES had those SAME answers.”

“As a manager, you KNEW what needed to be done, you TAUGHT others how to do it, and you EVALUATED their PERFORMANCE. COMMAND AND CONTROL WAS THE NAME OF THE GAME, and your goal was to direct and develop employees who understood how the business worked and were able to REPRODUCE its previous successes”

“NOT TODAY. Rapid, constant, and DISRUPTIVE CHANGE is NOW THE NORM, and WHAT SUCCEDED IN THE PAST IS NO LONGER A GUIDE TO WHAT WILL SUCCEED IN THE FUTURE. TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MANAGERS simply DON’T..have all the RIGHT ANSWERS. To cope with this new reality, companies are MOVING AWAY from TRADITIONAL-COMMAND AND CONTROL practices and toward something VERY DIFFERENT…GIVE SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE RATHER THAN INSTRUCTIONS, and employees learn how to ADAPT to CONSTANTLY CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS”)

Finding Our HR Voice: Unfolding Courage, Creativity And Compassion ()#IDENTITY CRISIS of #HR (Human Resources Departments) in its CURRENT STATE- the need to EMBRACE #COURAGE, #CREATIVITY AND #COMPASSION! From the words of a RENOWNED HR EXECUTIVE.  “To find one’s VOICE CLEARLY, however, one needs to RELATE #DIFFERENTLY as much as to show up – being – DIFFERENTLY inside a GIVEN #CULTURE. #COURAGE IS FUNDAMENTAL though #CURIOSITY can be HR’s BEST FRIEND in terms of teaching us how to become a #BETTER VERSION OF OURSELVES.”

“…to GAIN CLARITY of voice, one needs to APPROACH WORK – ‘doing’ – #DIFFERENTLY.”

“#IDEALISM holds standards of PERCEIVED #REALITY, which I find to be LIMITED to our MENTAL QUALITIES. For that, I am INVITING my HR colleagues to FREE THEMSELVES to EXPERIENCE mental and spiritual displacement through daydreaming and play. #SELF-INTERESTED behavior is NOT a LONG-TERM STRATEGY to MOVE businesses FORWARD, it is time we ROLE MODEL the way through #FLOURISHING of COURAGE, CREATIVITY AND COMPASSION.”

What Power Does to the Brain (How can we AVOID POWER CORRUPTING/ DAMAGING our BRAINS in a NEURAL/PHYSICAL sense? Great to see that it is DOABLE for the BENEFIT of BOTH PARTIES on the POWER SEASAW the broader society.

“RESEARCH repeatedly shows that POWER CAN INHIBIT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. And those TASTING POWER for the FIRST TIME are particularly SUSCEPTIBLE to NEGATIVE changes.”

“…the MORE POWER an individual has, the LESS NEURAL mirroring they experience. Instead, those in positions of power “tend to rely on STEREOTYPES” when meeting new people. This REDUCED ABILITY to understand others’ perspectives can have a range of CONSEQUENCES, including isolation, GROUPTHINK, and DIMINISHED resonance.”)

GOOGLE TALKS ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE/HEALTHY MINDS/EMPATHY/COMPASSION/OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE/PRODUCTIVITY ETC. (THE TECH GIANT INVITES LEADING RESEARCHERS IN RELATED AREAS TO TALK TO THEIR EMPLOYEES TO DIRECT THEM TO PERSONAL GROWTH LEADING TO PRODUCTIVITY)

• David Rock on “Your Brain at Work”(Why we need to manage emotions (both positive and negative ones) optimally at workplace and how we ca do it. The role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the integrated operation of the brain )
• Daniel Siegel on “Mindsight – The New Science of Personal Transformation” (How can we define mind? How can we develop healthy minds? The significance of the integrated operation of the brain)
• Daniel Goleman on Emotional Intelligence ( Why does EQ value more than IQ (which is valued only at a threshold level)? Why do graduate study entry scores (such as GRE scores) only measure success in the first year of graduate school, but not career/life success (This appears to be true for almost all other academic examination barriers – getting through the barrier only means an entry to the next level, but not candidate’s potential in life or career)? Why high internal standards and motivation to continuously work towards them are more important in career/life success more than anything else?)

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