Tag Archives: executive communications

Why Smart People Make Stupid Mistakes

By chipscholz | Published: June 28, 2011
In my post last week about executive wisdom, I mentioned that intelligent, well-educated people are particularly susceptible to five fallacies that stop them from making wise choices and actions. You can read more about these fallacies in Robert J. Sternberg’s book Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid (2003), but I will summarize them here: The unrealistic-optimism [...]
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How to Speak Up to the Boss and Be Heard

By chipscholz | Published: June 21, 2011
Speaking up to the boss is risky, especially if you don’t have a trusting relationship. If you’re not sure if you have the boss’ trust and respect, you’re going to need to work on this first. That’s where executive coaches can help. But even if you’re sure you’ve got his or her respect, you still don’t [...]
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Followers and Leaders: When the Boss Goes Nuts…

By chipscholz | Published: June 6, 2011
Have you ever listened to your boss and wondered if he or she’s gone nuts? Or maybe just a little off-track? Ever had the courage to speak up… and had it go well? It’s not easy to manage the boss, but they need your participation. The more I listen to the stories my clients tell me, [...]
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Leadership Styles: Creating a “Miracle”

By chipscholz | Published: May 31, 2011
Leadership styles in action: I was drawn into a sports movie on TV last night about the 1980 Olympic victory in ice hockey of Team USA over the Soviets. “Miracle” is the story of a group of ragtag college players who were shaped by a hard-driving coach, Herb Brooks. Coach Brooks is played by Kurt Russell [...]
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Business Success: Be More Positive than Negative

By chipscholz | Published: May 4, 2011
In business, levels of happiness and positivity create success. A positive brain has more intellectual resources. What’s needed is to improve your positive/negative ratio. I never knew this, but it makes sense: in chemistry and physics there is something called activation energy: in order to catalyze a reaction, there is an initial investment of energy that [...]
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The Positivity Zone in High Performing Teams

By chipscholz | Published: May 2, 2011
Positivity has attracted the attention of scientists in the last 15 years because of its link to health, long-life and success. Apparently there’s more to “being positive” than just feeling good. When practiced in business teams, it produces bottom line results. There is a specific positivity zone in which teams excel. I’m reading about the power [...]
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Leadership Effectiveness: Enhanced by a Dose of Humility

By chipscholz | Published: April 11, 2011
When Jim Collins conducted his research for Good to Great, humility was one of only two characteristics he found that distinguish great leaders: those who can lead top-performing companies from those who can transform their companies into great performers. (The other trait was intense professional will, or fierce resolve.) Level 5 Leadership: Leaders are humble, but [...]
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How Stress and Play Create Peak Performance

By chipscholz | Published: March 29, 2011
Is it up to managers to create optimal conditions for peak performance? I don’t think they are responsible for everything, of course. In my last post about the importance of play (The Road to Peak Performance is Paved with Play), I suggested managers ask open-ended questions to encourage playfulness and creativity. Can you do that and [...]
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How Leaders Create Loyalty

By chipscholz | Published: March 3, 2011
There are leaders, and then there are those who actually lead. Every executive who supervises others knows how to motivate people—that skill isn’t difficult. However a truly good leader creates loyal customers and engaged employees and inspires them to go beyond incentives and self-interest. That’s the most challenging part of inspirational leadership: how does one create [...]
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How Leaders Seduce Us

By chipscholz | Published: March 1, 2011
There are as many different formulas for leadership development as there are brands of cereals at your local supermarket. Why is it that some CEOs inspire people to go beyond their job descriptions? And, why do so many others not inspire dedication and loyalty? I believe it comes down to better communication skills. Great leaders are [...]
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