FRESH IDEAS FOR LEADERS

JANUARY 2022

The importance of vulnerability among leaders

Friends,  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance of vulnerability among leaders. Being vulnerable isn’t easy, it often takes practice and becomes a leadership strength that can be leveraged.  As a leader, revealing your vulnerable side gives others permission to let their guard down as well.  Vulnerability is also where trust is cultivated. It is in this space where meaningful conversations and connections take place.  It allows for authenticity.  It creates a safe space for people to openly share their mistakes and fears rather than hide from them. I have personally found this is where growth happens. This is something that inevitably comes up in sessions with leaders I coach but I have been thinking more about it lately after interviews with three extraordinary individuals who each have courageously overcome tragedies and emerged as tremendous leaders.   Read more

Unlocking the true potential of leadership coaching As a human resources professional for more than two decades, Gail Lebel was well aware of coaching leaders and the benefits it can bring. But it wasn’t until she went to university to become a leadership coach herself that she was struck by its true power. Enrolled in the highly respected executive coaching program at Royal Roads University, Gail found she was most challenged by making the shift in how she would coach someone. Long accustomed to coaching others by providing advice based on her own experience and in mentoring leaders, Gail and the rest of her class were taught the effectiveness of the non-directive approach to coaching – asking questions to help leaders find answers within themselves and come to their own conclusions on the best way forward.  Read more

Heart surgeon Marc Pelletier and his self-improvement journey Cardiac surgeon Marc Pelletier still remembers the article he discovered years ago now that hooked him on coaching as a way to improve his leadership. The piece in the New Yorker was penned by noted American surgeon, writer and public health researcher Atul Gawande, chronicling the notion of coaching outside of the sporting world – and his own decision to have a retired surgeon watch him in the operating room to see how he could do better.   Marc, then serving as chief of cardiovascular surgery at the Saint John Regional Hospital and the New Brunswick Heart Centre, immediately realized the benefits of having that critical, neutral assessment to improve performance. “It was the idea for me of self improvement that I really enjoyed. How do I know I am doing as good a job as I can? Who is going to tell me I’m doing a good job?” he says. “Not my students and not my colleagues.”  Read more

Building your leadership presence I recently had the opportunity to chat with Elissa Bernstein and Steven Lecky, who work with clients to build their personal and leadership presence through improved public speaking opportunities.  There’s leadership power that can come from sharing your knowledge in an authentic, unique-to-you delivery style. Gain new insights into developing your own presentation style and leadership presence in this recent Boiling Point podcast episode with my special guest co-host David Savoie.

In keeping with the opening theme, Inc. has a moving piece about leadership and vulnerability with To Succeed With Purpose, Make it Personal: A CEO's Reminder to Lead Authentically.

The Harvard Business Review shares critical strategies for retaining employees in Five Questions Every Manager Needs to Ask Their Direct Reports. Another Harvard Business Review piece I found thought-provoking: Feedback Isn’t Enough to Help Your Employees Grow.

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