#HR #RRHH Making love and making personal #branding #leadership

Let me first clarify what I mean by saying "get out of the way." I am not referring to being a passive leader nor am I saying that any good leader should be less visible. Quite the opposite. Being present and getting your hands dirty is part of the job. But there is a fine balance.

Working alongside the team in the trenches at times is important, but a high performance team must be empowered, nimble and adaptive. This is hard to accomplish when micro-managers are breathing down their necks all day. That's not a sound leadership strategy anyway and it won't lead to improving speed, efficiency or morale.

In any fast growing company, it's natural that conflict arises. It holds true at just about any company -- every type, every stage. Doesn't matter what market or size.

You'll see it happen most between functional areas. Sometimes marketing and operations will be at odds. Sometimes, it's marketing and sales, or sales and finance. Technology may want to go one direction, marketing another. Finance might lean too conservative.

It's why it's super important for your leadership team to have strong interpersonal skills and interactions. You can't rely on hiring great people alone. You also need to set the pace for solid interactions, help create and foster them. Nurture it at every turn.

We accomplish it a few ways at my company.

Great teams are led by great leaders, and great leaders all share traits that are absolutely essential to their ability to lead. These are the 5 most important traits leaders have - if you're a leader, they will transform the way you lead for mind-blowingly rewarding results.

Maybe you've been at your job for just a few months. Maybe you've been there for a few years. Either way, once you slip into a comfortable routine, it's easy to take your foot off the gas without realizing it.

You might not be coasting through the work you do. Perhaps you're even digging into your latest project really intensely—and that's a good thing. But it only increases the chances that you may be neglecting your relationships around the office, starting with your boss.

Now that the adjustment period after the holidays—aka "January"—is behind you, it's time to take a fresh look at how you've been interacting with your boss to see if you can invigorate your relationship. As career coaches are always saying, you need to make yourself indispensable, not just reliable; "satisfactory" never got anybody promoted.

Here are four things you can do to right now to remind your boss why they just can’t live without you.

Being able to communicate effectively, I believe, is one of the best life skills you can develop. Think about it, colleagues who can masterfully communicate their thoughts, feelings, ideas, concerns and wishes are better equipped to manage or avoid conflict, negotiate win-win scenarios, and increase their ability to collaborate at a high level.

Yet effective communication isn't just about talking; it is also the ability to listen and understand the other side of the fence, to "read" and interpret body language, and to know how to approach another person so you can get your points across in a respectful manner.

More people are working for themselves than ever before, but that doesn't mean the new ranks of gig workers, so-called "solopreneurs," and everybody in between are finally freed from experiencing the corporate world—far from it.

The clients that independent workers take on inevitably put them (back) into contact with work cultures, expectations, and financial pitfalls that many had hoped self-employment would mean a clean break with. And that's true not just of the businesses independents contract with but also of the third-party platforms that match both parties up. Here's a look at how to navigate that dynamic and some of the risks it contains.

There’s definitely some truth in the wisdom that it’s better to overcommunicate than undercommunicate. Ideally, every manager gives their team members just enough direction to get on course and the leeway to do their thing free of micromanagement.

The reality is often different, though. No good boss wants to leave their teams feeling empty-handed or unsupported, so they sometimes veer off too far in the opposite direction. I’ve learned the hard way that overcommunication is easier to fall into than you might think, and it winds up obfuscating my message and wasting everyone’s time.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to get better at figuring out when my communication is more distracting than useful. Here are some of the key criteria I use in order to tell whether I'm overcommunicating

I have a fundamental belief about the kind of people I try to employ. And that's that they're going to be harder on themselves than I'll ever need to be. I also believe that the concept of constructive criticism is overrated, if not an outright fallacy. Your employees are either aware of problems with their performance, or they're not.

The best way to find out which category they're in is through asking questions and listening. Let's look at some of the reasons this passive approach to problem-solving is good for both of you.

When it comes to hiring, in many cases, past performance does not guarantee future success. You want to make sure that you find a candidate that’s motivated, and a good fit for your company’s culture. That’s why you should focus on hiring smart talent, rather than direct experience.

Executive research adviser Claudio Fernández-Aráoz defines potential as “the ability to adapt and grow into increasingly complex roles and environments”. Candidates with potential are passionate learners who are dedicated to the growth of their team, which makes them an invaluable asset.

How resourceful a candidate has been in the past can often be a better indicator of how well they will perform once hired. Claudio Fernández-Aráoz also said that “Having spent 30 years evaluating and tracking executives and studying the factors in their performance, I now consider potential to be the most important predictor of success at all levels, from junior management to the C-suite and the board”.

A CEO client is over-extended, has too many priorities to juggle, and is simultaneously hyper-stressed and hyper-exhausted. Actually this describes many of my clients. Does this sound like you too?

Friends, this is no way to go through life. As someone who has dodged two cancer bullets while building two businesses and raising two sons, I have a very healthy respect for mortality, along with the insight that tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

During our call this week, my client shared her anxiety about getting everything accomplished, and that she has made no time to exercise or decompress in several days. She is on a non-stop treadmill.

Make a list of the 5 leaders you most admire. They can be from business, social media, politics, technology, the sciences, any field. Now ask yourself why you admire them. The chances are high that your admiration is based on more than their accomplishments, impressive as those may be. I’ll bet that everyone on your list reaches you on an emotional level.

This ability to reach people in a way that transcends the intellectual and rational is the mark of a great leader. They all have it. They inspire us. It’s a simple as that. And when we’re inspired we tap into our best selves and deliver amazing work.

So, can this ability to touch and inspire people be learned? No and yes. The truth is that not everyone can lead, and there is no substitute for natural talent. Honestly, I’m more convinced of this now – I’m in reality about the world of work and employee engagement. But for those who fall somewhat short of being a natural born star (which is pretty much MANY of us), leadership skills can be acquired, honed and perfected. And when this happens your chances of engaging your talent increases from the time they walk into your culture.

Even as neuroscientists continue to unearth new discoveries about the human brain, some of the most effective brain hacks have been around for years. Take Blaise Pascal, for example, born in 1623. The 17th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist explored human nature in his book of essays Pensées.

Brain Pickings sheds light on his stance on the art of persuasion: "Pascal came to see that the surest way of defeating the erroneous views of others is not by bombarding the bastion of their self-righteousness but by slipping in through the backdoor of their beliefs."

If you want to get someone to change their mind, you might be tempted to immediately start the discussion with talking points about why they're wrong. Pascal recommended a different approach. Start in their camp instead. Cozy up to what this person already believes, and admit there's truth in what they believe. Then, present the larger picture -- in which other angles and approaches exist. This approach is meant to lead someone into discovering another perspective or angle on their own. Instead of you doing the persuading, you're setting them up to persuade themselves.

The truth is that life can be tough, business can be hard-hitting and success comes with challenges. What separates those who can hold their own and keep going in times of adversity is a cluster of habits that center on resilience.

Resilience means developing a strong solid level of mental toughness. We aren't born with it--it's a habit you develop, a skill you learn. And it's absolutely essential.

Here are four core habits of the most resilient people:

1. They're connected to their emotions.
Resilient people understand their emotions and how to manage them. Some people say that suppressing what you feel is the best approach when you're going through tough times, but it's just the opposite--suppressing your emotions can backfire. People who are highly anxious or have a lot on their minds tend to struggle with unwanted thoughts. Resilient people are connected to their emotions and self-aware, which gives them more control.

2. They don't listen to negative voices in their heads.
Resilient people are able to get past the negativity and dig deeper to discover what's triggering it. Then instead of taking it to heart, they're able to turn it  into positive intentions. Resilient people are optimistic and believe in their own strength and ability to overcome any problems. In a crisis, a resilient person will be positive, open and willing to find the solution. They will not be dwelling on the problem but looking forward to the future solutions that should be considered.

Remember back when “VUCA” (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) only really applied to companies? Those were the days, huh? Lately, with geopolitical discord abroad, political tensions here at home in the U.S., and all manner of policy shifts that could impact U.S. businesses, plenty of entrepreneurs may be wishing for steadier leadership. I know I am.

Visionary leadership and great management achieves the best results. Seems obvious right? Then why do so many companies get it wrong, especially during times of needed change?

There are core fundamental differences between leadership and management that apply to any team or organization, but the focus of this article is to explore the strengths of each as they apply to leading organizational change.

Generally speaking, management is a set of systems and processes designed for organizing, budgeting, staffing and problem solving to achieve the desired results of an organization. Leadership defines the vision, mission and what the "win" looks like in the future. It inspires the team to embody the beliefs and behaviors necessary to take the actions needed to achieve those results.

The most successful transformations occur when strong visionary leadership converges with great management. Both are required to define a clear path, plan accordingly and see the mission plan through to fulfillment.

For decades, the dominant view among psychologists was that constraints served as a barrier to creativity. Anybody who spends a short time working under a confining bureaucracy, dealing with a micromanaging boss, or sitting in a classroom that teaches to the test can grasp the appeal of this argument. But it isn’t the whole story.

Patricia Stokes is a Columbia University psychologist and an expert in the science of creativity. In one experiment she conducted back in 1993, rodents were forced to press a bar with only their right paws. Eventually, they not only learned to adapt to that constraint, but they figured out how to press the bar in more ways than a group that had free use of their limbs. This has come to be called "little ‘c’ creativity"—a form of creativity not focused on producing creative works but rather on solving practical problems through new uses and applications of resources. And it’s this form of creativity that tends to get short shrift.

The internet is chock full of daily habits that will help your routine, but what about bad habits? Because habits are so ingrained into our daily routines, we often don't notice how harmful ones sneak in and ruin our success.

Try eliminating the following habits from your life and see how your success in business and in life improve:

Technology has made it difficult to tell a trend from something that’s merely trendy because of the ways in which tech changes are often complicated, confusing, or invisible. It’s easy to fixate on what’s trendy—the latest app, gadget, or platform—but harder to track how technology is shaping our organizations, government, education, economy, and culture.

At any moment, hundreds of small shifts are taking place in technology—beginning as developments on the fringe—that will impact our lives in the future. Not all of them will prove authentic trends, though. A real trend is a new manifestation of sustained change—whether it’s within an industry, the public sector, society, or in the ways we behave toward one another.

Understanding trends can help us meet the demands of the present while planning for the future. They’re the analogies our minds make in order to grapple with change, but our minds can often mislead us. Here’s how to know when something that’s trending really is a trend worth paying attention to.

You finally got approval to go to that pricey training seminar. Maybe you’ll be learning the secrets of entertainers or fishmongers. But do you know how you’re going to deliver a return on the training investment to your company?

"Organizations that send people out for training really need to have some type of a plan from beginning to end," says David Lewis, president and CEO of OperationsInc., a human resources consulting firm. And if your organization isn’t providing such a framework, it’s up to you to do so, so that you can not only prove that it was worthwhile, but also to open the door for future training.

Here is what you should be doing before, during, and after to maximize the return on investment.

But, we don’t live in an ideal world. Bias, deception, and hidden agendas can put even the most forthright negotiator at a disadvantage. A new study bears this out. Women ask for raises as often as their male counterparts, however the research found that they got what they wanted 25% less often.

Whether you’re dealing with people’s stereotypes or biases because of who you are, or if there’s another reason your counterpart is not being forthright and honest, how you handle the negotiation can make all the difference, says leadership consultant and career coach Avery Blank.

We all hear about the importance of injecting fun into the workplace, and research has proven the benefits of fun. One recent study of 2,000 employees, conducted by Professor Sir Cary Cooper with BrightHR, showed that integrating fun into the workplace reduces absences, increases productivity and reduces stress.

Ditching the doldrums is becoming even more important as millennials continue to make up a larger percentage of the workforce. The Cooper/BrightHR study also showed that 79% of graduates believe fun at work is important. 44% believe it encourages a stronger work ethic.

Dave Hemsath, author of 301 Ways To Have Fun At Work, believes fun may be the single most important trait of a highly effective and successful organization. In fact, companies with “fun policies” cite greater job satisfaction and increased employee loyalty as two major benefits.

So the value is there. But how do you turn your workplace into a funplace? There are lots of ways to add play to work, ranging from the office environment to experiences beyond the office. In this post, I share some success stories.

So much of your job isn’t about hitting goals, but rather about being rooted in reality, constantly striving to bring perspective and empathy to whatever situations you encounter. Sometimes, finding the right words can be the biggest challenge of your day. But other times, you’re overthinking it, and it’s as simple as saying these six tiny sentences.

As an FBI counterintelligence agent, I relied heavily upon emotional intelligence to be successful in identifying foreign spies and recruiting them to work for the U.S. government.

Emotional intelligence is your ability to 1) identify and manage your own emotions; 2) pick up on the emotions of others and manage them; and 3) in so doing, build trust and grow influence.

It is not necessarily a skill that people associate with FBI agents. Loud, boisterous, and pushy behavior may get attention, but it certainly does not get respect.

Meanwhile, a softer skill like emotional intelligence often goes unnoticed because it is not related to book smarts or a formula that includes aggressive behavior relying upon intimidation to be effective.

First the bad news: 85 percent of companies report an urgent need to develop their leadership pipeline. But only 40 percent believe their current pool of high-potentials can meet their future business needs.

Now the good news: With Millennials taking over as the largest working generation, it would behoove current leaders to identify who amongst them have the key leadership traits that lead to success.

The brutal truth of what to look for in your high potential leaders. This will make or break your organization.

Ever wonder what sets highly successful people apart? I've polled countless executives about the things they're doing every day which give them an edge, and certain themes have surfaced over time. These high achievers often get up early, proactively manage their health and practice mindfulness, as opposed to flitting from one electronic task to another while neglecting important human relationships. Check out these quotes from 28 high-achieving individuals who talk the daily habits which help them get ahead in business and life.

"This one is simple. Motion creates emotion. The idea of the desk needs to die. Walk for calls, walk for meetings, walk for thinking. You're better when you're walking."

--Chris Hale, founder and CEO at Kountable, a San Francisco-based platform connecting investors and entrepreneurs.