Some Final Reflections on Leadership
There have been a lot of changes at The Wall Street Journal since Rupert Murdoch bought Dow Jones and, unfortunately, one of them is that Carol Hymowitz is wrapping up a 10-year run of her weekly column on management, "In the Lead." In her valedictory piece, Carol shares the personal story that led her to start the column and reviews some of the highlights from the past 10 years.
In sharing insights from leaders like Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella, Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Rite Aid CEO Mary Sammons, Hymowitz notes that a lack of self-absorption is a trait that great leaders share. In coaching leaders over the years, I’ve learned that seeking and acting on the feedback of others is a great way to do that. In our Next Level Leadership® group coaching program, we call the feedback process an Executive Success Plan (ESP)™. It’s a simple process of focusing on the one or two most tangible behaviors that could improve your leadership effectiveness, telling your stakeholders what you’re working on, and asking for an acting on their best ideas for improvement. As we’ve measured the results, we’ve seen an average rate of improvement of improvement for leaders who focus, follow-up and follow through on feedback.
What are the performance improvement routines that work best for you?