Is Innovation on the Decline?

Some say that the US is losing its innovation edge in the world markets; there are concerns that we have lost our way in supporting fresh ideas and new thinking.  In the face of the current chaotic and unpredictable global economy and the threat of ongoing recession it is no wonder that these questions are arising.   When considering innovation on …

Leading a Culture of Innovation

What drives innovation in organizations? Why are younger companies more likely to be better innovators in the short term?  Curiosity and an attitude of openness to possibilities, ideas, experimentation and a sense of excitement tend to be underlying drivers for innovative organizations.  Therefore it is not hard to see why youthful organizations would have a higher innovation drive; in general …

The Why and How of a Leader’s Decision Making

Many articles and blogs on leadership effectiveness tend to offer a series of action steps that describe best practices for leadership and decision making.  Here is an example of such a list I read recently: Define desired outcomes Identify potential obstacles to those outcomes Design and implement right solutions. Though such a list is perfectly accurate and useful in the …

Curiosity and the Transactional Leader

The most challenging aspect of training up leadership in an organization is in the work of emotional intelligence.  A leader’s emotional intelligence is tied directly to their ability to create influence and to build a high functioning culture.  In the previous blog we discussed how emotional intelligence is born from developing an inner observer; seven broad steps were suggested to …

Leadership and the Inner Observer

Why Is Effective Leadership So Difficult To Pin Down? So many books have been written about the subject addressing many of the important facets that the act of leadership demands; clarity of vision, strategic thinking, high level management skills, cultural acuity,  influence and emotional intelligence, to name a few. I find that the most challenging aspect of training up the …