All of us are emerging from Covid for better or for worse. On the horizon, we see inflation, chaos, and the continual noise of negative and amplified social media. As you and I finish off 2022, I want you to reflect on how you have grown or possibly regressed through Covid and experiences of 2021 - 2022. If you decide to do this, have a pen and paper ready to record what you have learned, how you have grown, and what you might do differently in the future.

Over the past 30 years, I have interviewed thousands of candidates for positions in leadership, sales and service. From this long experience of “success and failure,” I have gleaned four actions you should always employ during any interview. The four actions support the solid interviewing skills of preparation, conducting, and evaluating the interview.

Wow! It is already the fourth quarter of 2022. Many of us are already into reviewing results for 2022 and planning our 2023 goals. These 4th Q activities usually involve the review of sales, revenue, KPI’s and of course the dreaded year-end performance appraisal.

During my home leave over the past month, I have experienced the deaths two people and have reflected on the legacy they left behind: an ex-boss who became a personal friend, and a queen of 70 years. After examining their lives, I will leave you with insight and questions you may ask yourself about the legacy you are establishing as you journey through your life of relationships

In times growth, the success of an organization is often regarded as a by product of the market place and the organizations strategic position. However, when things aren’t going so well, attention goes to the company’s leadership.

Pause and reflect for a moment on communicators you’ve heard speak at conventions, retreats, special events or other conferences. My guess is—some of them were so good you can still remember their big idea. Others, I imagine, you only remember their name. You can’t remember what they said for the life of you. Most of you reading this article communicate with students in some context. If you’re like me—you win sometimes, and you lose sometimes.

Last week I sat down with Mette Johansson to discuss her upcoming book on authentic leadership. We discussed how being an authentic leader means actively living your core values in the cultures you live in and the relationships you have. I then read the article by Michael O’Malley of HBR on the 10 Principles of Effective Leadership and made the connection that effective organizations are led by authentic leaders.

Last week PwC sent me an article on their research on trust between organizations and their customers and employees. The research paper is called “Trust: The New Currency for Business.” PwC has much deeper pockets and global reach for research than my little company, so I have provided you with the download of the article at the end of this short blog.

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.