As a part of the next phase in management evolution, the differences between those who lead using closed-system versus open-system methods will become blatantly clear. The more mature you grow as a leader, the more you will view the workplace and organizations as systems. Every aspect of organizational life and business process intertwine with one another. They create a network of systems or a meta-system. A change in one system will have a reactive change in another. Organiz

As the world’s best leaders develop strategies and business models to ensure growth in the volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, leadership itself is evolving. Leaders are designing organizations strategically to create autopoietic systems (auto-poy-etic systems: life-sustaining systems that reproduce and perpetuate themselves automatically).  When designed well, they cut waste and weed out unhealthy processes.  Creating and maintaining autopoietic s

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects, “between 2014 and 2024, 36.4 million workers will enter the labor force, and 28.6 million will leave”.  Its statistics reveal that the makeup of the workforce is changing; it is getting older.  Considering the changes coming and the effects they will have on team power, leaders need to re-evaluate their current workgroup makeup.  If the team mix doesn’t represent members from all stages of life and different skillsets, change it.  St

Appreciative Inquiry (AI). It is a set of skills based on positive psychology and the idea of creating a safe environment where people feel free to share and contribute. It is a positive, healthy leadership strategy and all of the generations are drawn to it. America’s culture of freedom connects all the generations in the American workforce. Our free market system is what made our economy the greatest on earth. Current and emerging leaders should develop these skills. AI sk

Imagine it’s a typical day in the office, and Monday morning's 11:00 am team meeting has just ended...Bob and Bill, a Boomer and a Gen Xer leave angrily... “Bill, what heck the was that?!  These damn Millennials are so arrogant it’s unbelievable, can you believe Arden just let his team run off at the mouth. Does he think he can come in here and take over?” Bill responds, “I hear ya, Bob. He’s the FNG!  Who does he think he is?  They all think they’re entitled to everything

Leaders can either empower teams and organizations or destroy them. Positive leadership skills fuel the engines of innovation and growth. Negative fear-based, micromanagement throttles creativity and chokes out team power.  ​ Leadership is part art and part science. Great leaders are not born great. They learn the art and science of leadership over time, with experience, and through education. One of the most important ideas in leadership development is the concept of “Us

In one of Matthew McConaughey’s latest movies “The Englishmen,” the movie opens to a scene where he is sitting comfortably at a table in his pub. As the leader and kingpin of his organization, he feels extremely safe in his establishment. Then, in the background we see a silent assassin pull out a gun with a silencer, point it at McConaughey’s character Michael Pearson, a shot rings out, and the scene fades out (Richie, 2019). Unresolved conflict is a silent killer of lead

Equal work as defined and mandated by the Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963, which protects against wage discrimination based on gender. It uses six elements to ascertain wage (in)equality: Skill: As measured by experience, ability, education, and training required to fulfill a specific job a person performs for remuneration, Effort: As measured by the degree of physical or mental exertion needed to perform the job, Responsibility: As measured by the amount of accountability needed

If you graduated high school or college before the year 2000 you will want to take notes…Today’s effective leaders are double-loop learners, who can motivate not only their own generation but today’s Millennial based workforce as well. What do double-loop leaders look like we ask? Leaders who understand that as time, generations, and societies change, so must their foundational assumptions, beliefs, and norms from which they lead. Historically based leadership methods and lea

Traditionally there are three G’s of growth; consistent growth, competitive growth, and profitable growth. However, in today’s business envi

Just Say Yes In our modern fast-paced society it seems that few are willing to volunteer to take a leadership position; but, when asked, people are willing to do much as a follower. Many reasons can be cited for this phenomenon; but, as it relates to leadership, it indicates that the single largest step toward being a leader is the willingness to say, “I will.” Try it the next time someone says, “I need someone to ….” Of course, once having volunteered to lead, one must ask,

Emerging Leadership: Mentoring the New Wave of GenX & Millennial Leaders This article seeks to reveal harmful and helpful leadership styles so that the new wave of GenX and Millennial leaders may learn from their predecessors and find sources of mentorship even if from afar. Leadership Skills Which Result in Compliance and Resentment In the early years, Jack was devoted to technical knowledge and expertise. His work ethic was reflected in the fact that he worked long hours, w

Competent leaders are transformational, they build teams, and get results and thereby have sustainable performance. Studies show that only 2