Covid causes change and change impels us to make decisions in our lives and career. Making decisions in times of change can cause emotional stress and fear. In this blog, I want to take you through how to make good decisions then support it with eight insights from Dr. Peter Drucker on decision making.

We started in Indonesia July 1st, 1992 and have never looked back. From a successful stint in Indonesia, ELAvate expanded to India/SAARC, Singapore, and then Vietnam with training and consulting across 21 nations and well over 800 clients across the world. What a blessing ELAvate has been to myself, all my past and current trainers and employees, as well as the thousands of lives we have positively impacted to be better leaders for their organizations, families and country.

McKinsey Consulting says “organizations have been consistently dissatisfied with the results of their leadership training efforts. For example, only 11% of executives in a McKinsey study believe that their leadership development interventions achieve and sustain the desired results. Strong leadership is more critical than ever as the world grapples with crisis and uncertainty.”

Being able to discern a leader’s competence and ability is crucial for business owners and senior directors to make good hiring and promotion decisions. Faulty hiring and promotions can be very costly financially and be damaging to team and employee morale. Let’s review some of the tools I use to better assess a manager’s ability to lead others effectively. I start with the 1/3 – 1/3 – 1/3 rule.

My coaching started in 1976 when I was a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Forestry Department of Malaysia. My local boss was Mr. Mok Sian Tuan, the director of Forest Management in Malaysia, who himself was a mentor and coach to me. He assigned me fresh MARA forestry graduates to coach in leading teams and project management.

I am “certain of uncertainty” in your life and mine. Uncertainty births changes in our life – some pleasant surprises, some difficult crises. How we deal with changes in our lives will ultimately determine our success in life.

People don’t accept change at the same rate. Some embrace change, or even work to bring it about, viewing change as an opportunity. Others initially resist change and feel threatened by it. Most people fall somewhere between, viewing change as both risk and opportunity.

Nothing in your organization has a more direct impact on profits, competitiveness and customer loyalty than the quality and creativity of problem solving and decision making at all levels of the organization. According to Wiley’s Digital Skills Gap Index 2021, an astounding 85% of survey respondents across Asia–Pacific countries identify problem solving as the most relevant 21st century skill.

I have been leading and motivating young leaders in Asia for over 25 years. Being an expatriate working in many Asian countries has opened my mind, eyes and behaviors to reconcile my leadership style with that of the Asians I have and still collaborate with.

First appeared in Business World

‘The problem is not with her leadership style. Everyone knows that she is a diverse candidate, and they don’t take her seriously’ a senior Human Resource leader said of a potential coaching client.

The organization had a mandate that two positions on the management committee had to be filled by women.

Reading daily blogs and insights on leadership, I find a constant “rehash” of many definitions for what makes a good leader. Whether it is living through Covid, World War II, or simply leading in your organization or team, some elements of leadership never change. I read the “Daily Drucker” most every day. I regularly read leadership insights of John Maxwell, Jim Collins and other time tested authors to grow and fine tune my personal leadership competence to walk the leadership talk of what I believe is a world class leader.

Chinese New Year is over and Asia is rolling again for business. Rather than I write a leadership blog this week, I want to give you access to four very interesting resources that will support your leadership growth and the success of your team or organization in 2022.

Leadership is a complex subject. Hence, it is difficult to give leadership a specific definition. There are some universal traits that are critical for leadership effectiveness across all cultures. I believe every leader must have the following ‘X factors’ to be successful in his/ her role.

5 minute read

Dr. Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders advises us to take half of a day to get completely alone, get away from the house and find a quiet place to reflect. During this time, think, pray, and review the past year, making notes of your 2021 evaluations along the way. Perform this ritual (this weekend?) by asking yourself the following questions

2021 has been a year of change for most of us because of the Covid pandemic. The year has given many of us time to think and reflect on our lives and our relationships. For some of us the shifts have been subtle, for others seismic.

Recently, I read an article by David Goleman called “What Matters More: Wages or Purpose?” It made me reflect on what has happened in my company in Asia over the past 30 years and how both purpose, values and salaries have been a factor for success in my company Equipping Leaders for Asia (ELAvate).

Innovation is a hot word in blogs and articles today and sometimes confusing. I researched “innovation” from the perspective of the respected Dr. Peter Drucker and found 23 short “blogs” he has written with action points you can take to be innovative.

6 Minute Read

General Colin Powell, died Monday at age 84, had a compelling legacy as a leader: the first Black officer to be a four-star general and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as first African American Secretary of State during President George W. Bush's first term.

October 5th, 2011 saw the world losing one of the best entrepreneurs of all time – Steve Jobs. Having 10 years to see how he has impacted the world even after his death has led me to these personal insights on his enduring leadership lessons.

^{Credit: Photos: Courtesy of Annita Katee}

Annita Katee recently sent me a blog of the “house rules” her Australian 91 year old grandma named Gigi has used to provide direction to her extended family. As I read them, I thought they are good to follow to keep things “in order” at your home or back in the office.