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Posts tagged "motivation"

7 Leadership Questions That Will Move Your Needle in 2016

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?

goal achievementThat 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.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on January 27, 2016 in Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Organizational Performance, Strategic Thinking.

Re-Igniting Your Leadership Fire

The Secret Groundwork to an Extraordinary 2016

 

A new year is just around the corner.  Another year is about to end.

Be honest with yourself …

·      Are you feeling tired, stressed or depressed?

·      Are you feeling disconnected from what really matters to you?

·      Are you feeling like you have lost your way, not even realizing it?

In my experience, when December hits, many leaders are burned out and depleted.  They are running on empty.

leadership fireAnd understandably so.  The demands on a leader’s energy and attention throughout the year are endless.   I’ve been there myself.  I know.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on December 9, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Deep Motivations, Not Competencies, Drive Leadership Performance.


What if…

  • You could easily predict the performance of your leaders, your teams and your organization?motivation1
  • You could gain access to the underlying motivators that drive a leader or employee to do their best work?
  • You could eliminate costly hiring mistakes and determine in advance to what extent a candidate will perform well in a role?

Such a solution exists and can unleash the potential and performance within your organization.

It’s called motivational profiling.  Your underlying (and often unconscious) attitudes and motivations determine what you pay attention to and focus on in your leadership role.

These deep motivation and attitudinal patterns  (MAPs) ultimately drive – yours and others’ –

  • Behaviors
  • Decision making style
  • Requirements for change and variety
  • Dominant motivation driver
  • Levels of strategic and visionary thinking
  • Relationship to norms/rules
  • Orientation toward innovation and creativity
  • And much more

Drawing on recent evolutions in cognitive science research, motivational profiling is a state-of-the-art assessment tool that provides a window into yours and your employees’ intrinsic motivations and attitudes at work.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on July 14, 2015 in Assessments, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Organizational Performance, Top Talent.

7 Unconscious Leadership Fears That Keep You Small

Which keep you small?

fears keeping 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.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on June 17, 2015 in Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Real Truths That Fuel Real Leaders

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

leadership truthsI 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. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on November 11, 2014 in Accountability, Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Organizational Performance.

My 12 “Must Read” Best Leadership Books for 2014

With the new year coming, I asked myself … what wisdom could I provide to help leaders change their game in 2014?

Most leaders’ looming questions during this time are …

•    Where do we go from here?
•    What can we do to get to the next level?
•    What are we not being that we need to be?
•    What are we not doing that we need to do?

While there are many classic leadership books that are still relevant today – like Good to Great and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – and a flooded market of other business books, I wanted to share ….

Posted by Denise Corcoran on November 30, 2013 in Fast Growth, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Organizational Transformation.

Shocking Costs of Hiring Mistakes

… And The Secrets to Avoiding Them

One costly hiring mistake that I have observed with leaders is the unconscious avoidance, denial and/or toleration of under-performing employees.

Money down the toilet

Shocking costs of hiring mistakes

More commonly known as the cost of a mis-hire.

According to Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos, hiring mistakes have cost his company as much as $100 million!  That’s alot of dollars immediately subtracted from the bottomline.

For many companies, that one mistake can make the difference between surviving and thriving, between mediocrity and high performance.  Mis-hires and under-performing employees are the #1 profit leak in companies today.

 

Why Does This Issue Perpetuate Unknowingly in Many Companies?

Posted by Denise Corcoran on October 30, 2013 in Hiring Practices, Leadership Performance, Organizational Performance, Top Talent.

The Accountable Leader: Developing the Right Practices That Ignite Performance (Part 3)

Photo Credit: David Niblack

This final part of our accountable leader series addresses my top 10 leadership and culture practices for a strong accountability organization.

Keep in mind that the 6 internal drivers, addressed in parts 1 and parts 2, account for as much as 90% of your performance and results, including accountability.  Practices by themselves, can’t drive accountability.  They can only reinforce and support a healthy accountability mindset.

From Accountability to High Performance: Top 10 Leadership and Culture Practices To Make That Giant Leap

To build a high performance organization, a strong accountability mindset and practices must be embedded into your company’s DNA.  

Posted by Denise Corcoran on October 1, 2013 in Accountability, Alignment, Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Organizational Performance, Organizational Transformation.