It took me almost as long to finish developing the keynote speech for The Growth Leader as it did to write the book! It's harder than it sounds to select the highlights of 200 pages of content and craft it in to a 45-50 minute speech. But it's done and has been well received by audiences this summer at CEO conferences, leadership events, and sales meetings. The content and messages from the book can be tailored to your audience. If you want to drive a message about growth to your teams contact me.

Individual Leadership: Be Discerning About Feedback

I’m a big believer that feedback is a valuable part of the performance improvement equation. I’ve written a lot about this topic and how to use it to develop leadership skills.

The existence of feedback does not necessarily validate it as the best course of action. In fact, there are times when acting on feedback may not align with your goals or best interests. Especially when it comes from an individual or a team with a different agenda, biases, or conflicting priorities.

To determine whether to act on feedback, consider:

--What is the context?

--How might this impact results?

--Is it specific and behavioral or personal?

--What conditions may be influencing the feedback?

--Does it conflict with other feedback I’ve received?

After careful consideration, making sure you truly understand the feedback you’ve been given, you’ll be ready to determine the best course of action going forward.

Organizational Leadership: Define Your Values Pragmatically

As I met with a C-suite leader, the topic of company values came up. I asked what the company values were. He was able to recite 4 out 5 values. Which is pretty good for dentists recommending Trident gum, but lousy for a senior leader who is supposed to be modeling these values. It was a vivid reminder that values can be powerful in guiding behavior at all levels of a business, or they can be utterly useless. Most companies are somewhere in between.

If you want your company values to become more than numb artwork on an office wall, do the following:

 Define your values in behavioral terms.

This means creating clear, specific statements about expected behaviors, not grandiose declarations. Come up with a handful of actions that characterize each of your values and get your leaders modeling these behaviors for everyone to see.

If culture is about the beliefs that shape behavior, then making your values pragmatic and easily identifiable is the key to wide-spread understanding and adoption. Few things will have a stronger impact on your company culture than a deep commitment by leaders to actively demonstrating company values.

Perspective: Turn FOMO Into JOMO

It’s been over a decade since the term JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) was introduced as an antidote to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out.) It is still far less known. JOMO is about being present and choosing to focus on what’s best for your big-picture well-being, rather than meeting never-ending social expectations or social media pressures.

Embracing JOMO can be challenging because it requires us to say no to things that are desirable. Or at least seem desirable. I often find it very difficult to say no to things that are interesting, important, or enjoyable. But saying “no” frees us up for the joy of what we can say “yes” to.

It’s a simple idea, but very challenging to do. It requires you to be intentional about your choices and consistently reflect on why you are making them, putting your most important priorities front and center. That’s what turns FOMO into JOMO.

LinkedIn Live: Cultivating Executive Presence

If there is one topic I consistently hear that separates senior leaders from managers, it's executive presence. But what is it? Join me to find out what it is and how to develop this critical area of leadership competence. Tuesday, September 17th at 10am EST.