The Leader Whisper – Louder Please

I pulled this from a Leap-Frog e-zine…. love it!  I think you will too!

Psst… What advice would you whisper in the ear of a senior leader?

We asked thought leaders, industry leaders and leading practitioners that we work with the following question:  If you had 25 words or less to whisper in the ear of a senior leader….to dramatically impact her/his leadership team’s effectiveness….what would you say?

Here’s what 10 respected clients and colleagues whispered in response:

1 – “Discover, deep at their inner core, why each member of your team is working in the job they are.  Then you must feed that.”
Douglas “Yoda” Vlchek,  Chief Wisdom Officer – DaVita Inc.

2 –“Have you thanked someone today for what they’ve done to help you achieve your vision for yourself and your team?”
Bob Hoffman , Executive Director, Organizational Development – Novartis Oncology

3 – “Leadership teamwork is about individual genius, collectively experienced.  Don’t normalize eccentricity or brilliance.  Orchestrate a way for people playing full out to do so together.”
Foster Mobley, Chief Executive Officer –The Foster Mobley Group: Advisors in Innovative Change

4 –“Let your actions speak much louder than what you say.”
Cliff Hakim,  Career Consultant  Author: We Are All Self-Employed

5 – “Be visible, articulate a clear vision, communicate in person often, walk the talk, listen, and respond in a timely manner.”
Jeff Peris, Chief  Learning Officer – Wyeth

6 –“Know your business…know your people…have a clear vision and direction that you are able to communicate to your people. Be authentic, decisive, inclusive and most important, be humble.”

Tawfik Kamal, MD , Executive Director – Head of Strategic Marketing Capabilities
Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation

7 – “Find the people in your organization who are already doing what you wish others would do and make a big deal out of it.”
Keir Carroll, Performance Improvement Concepts

8 – “Self-awareness is critical. . . even in the executive suite.  Be aware of what others (1) think of you and (2) say about you.  Don’t criticize, judge or gossip about your peers, as your team will do the same.  Be a role model and mentor for others . . . you will then truly lead by example.” Kathleen Sack , Director Learning Programs – Tyco International (US) Inc.

9 – Drop your need to be right all the time. Your whole purpose is to help others be right”.  Court Chilton, Principal –Court Chilton & Associates

10 – “No matter what results you are trying to drive through the organization, the culture will bleed through. It starts at the top, so if your senior leaders aren’t modeling teamwork, don’t expect to break downs walls anywhere.”
Deborah Slobodnik, Principal –Options Consulting, Inc.

11 – “Breakthrough performance is rooted in remarkable people.  To attract, retain and leverage remarkable people YOU must weave the connection between their passions, their work, and one another.”
Dick Eaton,  Founder and Chief Energizing Officer –Leapfrog Innovations

Now if we could just whisper loud enough to be heard!

SO, what would you whisper to your leader?  

Helping to Make Your Culture Count – THANK YOU  ~KIRK OUT

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