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What’s sabotaging your growth?
Driving profitable growth is at the top of every leader’s priority list. Yet, according to Bain and Company, only 10% succeed in achieving sustainable profitable growth.
While growth is the life-blood of every business, at some point, your company will experience the double edge sword of growth.
Either your company will grow faster than your internal capacity to handle it. Chaos, breakdowns and burnout are the result.
OR
Your company hits a wall and growth flattens. As a result, panic often sets in and leaders make rash decisions – either prolonging the stall or causing the company to spiral downward.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on March 23, 2016 in Company Culture, Fast Growth, Hiring Practices, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Organizational Performance, Organizational Transformation, Profitability.
The Secret Weapon of Great Leaders.
Have you ever experienced in a meeting where a seasoned leader listened intently and then, with exquisite timing, asked one question that shifted the direction, focus and thinking of the entire team?
That is the magic and power of questions!
To move the needle in your organization in 2016, the first place to start is by asking thought-provoking questions. The 7 questions below are by no means exhaustive. They serve as a starting point to stimulate your own questions.
These (or comparable) questions can make the difference between a successful 2016 and a disappointing one.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on January 27, 2016 in Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Organizational Performance, Strategic Thinking.
Are You Ready To Make the Leap?
Your company is growing and has gained recognition and success. Your culture and employees are thriving and you are so proud of everyone’s accomplishments.
Yet …
you feel something is missing. You can’t put your finger on what. After all, it’s been a challenging journey. In many ways, you and your organization have arrived at its desired destination.
How could something be missing?
Guess what?
You are not alone.
That gnawing feeling of something missing is a positive thing. It’s a sign your soul is stirring …
To something greater than your role and your company.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on October 20, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.
Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Gloria Steinem
When I was a little girl, my mother encouraged me to dream. She would often tell me … “Dream big dreams. It does not cost anything to dream.”
So as a child, I would imagine myself becoming …
possibility thinking
… A gold Olympic ice skater on one day.
… The first woman astronaut on another day.
… Then it was a toss up between a princess, a cowgirl or a Mickey Mouse musketeer on the other days.
Nobody ever told me that anything was impossible. I am grateful for those early days that shaped me to thrive possibilities.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on August 18, 2015 in Accountability, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Vision.
Which keep you small?
Fears keeping you small
All leaders have fears. However, not all your fears are created equal.
Some may manifest as low level anxieties. Some are life paralyzing phobias. Some may be triggered only by certain events – like fear of public speaking. Others may be life-long fears.
Then there are the “big guns.” These are the core unconscious leadership fears from which all other fears come. They override every aspect of your being.
In this article you will learn 7 unconscious leadership fears that keep you small. First, it’s important to understand the nature of fear.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on June 17, 2015 in Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.
Do You?
Can your body language …
- Make a difference in commanding leadership authority?
- Create trust or mistrust within an organization?
- Change your emotions after a stressful day?
Absolutely!!
Leadership authority is a by-product of 2 related aspects of yourself – your physiology and your emotional state. Call them the yin and yang of leadership authority.
The purpose of this article is NOT to give you a list of gestures, postures or leadership do’s and don’ts to communicate authority. Your emotions and your body language are both driven by your mind. And your mind is too complex for such generalizations.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on May 20, 2015 in Alignment, Emotional Mastery, Employee Engagement, Influence, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset.
5 Power Words That Persuade
Influence is not something tangible, physical or material. Yet it’s real. You know when you are in the presence of it. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs just to name a few.
The Power of Words
There is no leadership without influence. You can have a leadership title, yet have no influence. How influential are you? Does your team listen to your every word with attention, openness and trust? Is your team inspired to take action simply by what you say and do?
Influence comes from the latin root “influere” meaning to flow in.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on March 11, 2015 in Employee Engagement, Goal Achievement, Influence, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.
7 Big Changes Every Leader Wants to Know About
- Do you know how current trends will change the face of leadership in your company?
- Is your company ready to meet the new leadership challenges in the coming years?
- Are you aware of how leadership is evolving to respond to those trends?
Every leader knows the importance of being strategic. Being strategic means looking into the future and identifying trends, opportunities and threats.
Below are my 2015 leadership predictions – threats, trends and opportunities – that will change the world of leadership as we know it today.
1. Complexity is the new normal.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on January 9, 2015 in Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Profitability, Strategic Thinking.
From early childhood, we were all taught never to lie. That was drilled into our psyche with such stories as Pinocchio and George Washington and the Cherry Tree
I learned growing up, however, that not lying is NOT the same thing as admitting and telling the truth. The former prevents us from making false statements; the latter has the generative power to change individuals and organizations.
In my decades of working with business leaders, I have found that there is one trait — above all others – that transforms mediocre leaders to extraordinary ones. That one trait is …
Rigorous truth-telling
Real leaders have backbone.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on November 11, 2014 in Accountability, Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Organizational Performance.
7 Clues You Are.
Note: This post was originally published on August 25, 2014 on SmartBlogs.com.
If you are a sucker for great leadership movies like I am — Invictus, Coach Carter and Moneyball just to name a few, it’s easy to assume that all leaders embody the same qualities as those in the movies.
Afterall, who hasn’t idealized business leaders to be strong, confident, make tough decisions and stand their ground no matter what?
While those leaders do exist, they are a minority. In working with leaders for 30 years, I have found that the reality is shockingly different.
Most leaders take on their roles with the greatest of positive intentions.
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Posted by Denise Corcoran on October 17, 2014 in Accountability, Beliefs, Company Culture, Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Teams.
While growth is the life-blood of every business, at some point, your company will experience the double edge sword of growth.
