Thursday, September 4, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Number One Reason Why Leaders Fail - by Keith Johnston
How often have you seen people thrust into leadership roles and fall
flat on their face? Sometimes you knew or maybe even hoped they would
fail because in your mind they did not have what it takes to be a
leader. Other times the person was simply not ready to take on
leadership responsibility.
Leadership failure does not just hurt the individual; the whole organization suffers when a leader fails.
Regardless of the situation, a high percentage of new leaders, or people taking on new leadership responsibilities, do fail.
I believe the primary reason for the high failure rate is because many people simply don’t understand leadership. As a result, management fails in their responsibility to prepare and support leaders in their roles.
If they understood leadership they would:
• Ensure that new leaders understood what is expected of them
• Invest time in matching the skills of the individual with their role
• Prepare their people for leadership responsibilities through training, and
• Provide the opportunities to test their leadership skills prior to stepping into a leader’s shoes.
When management makes a decision to promote someone into a leadership position they are frequently under pressure to fill a crucial role. The pressure is created as the result of a vacancy in a leadership position or new projects/initiatives creating a need for new leaders.
Forward thinking management teams have been preparing people for leadership roles and have several options when they find themselves needing a new leader.
Management teams who do not understand leadership are caught flat footed. They end up taking a knee-jerk reaction, promoting people into leadership roles based on the wrong criteria.
Criteria that are used most frequently include experience in current position and technical ability.
Given the need for leaders to be credible there is some logic to these decisions; but they fail to consider the leadership skills which are critical for success.
Critical skills include the ability to: 1) instill confidence, 2) inspire a shared vision 3) build relationships 4) make tough decisions 5) get things done through other people.
Not all leaders will be required to build and promote a vision for their team, but they may have to create alignment around a vision or champion the execution of tasks to achieve a vision.
Regardless of the role facing the leader, the challenge will be to achieve goals through other people. The people that need to be influenced include subordinates, executives, outsiders and peers. Many of these new leaders have always been able to achieve results in isolation and therefore find it difficult to motivate other people to deliver results.
Management teams fail to recognize leadership is not a one size fits all proposition. Different leadership styles and skills are needed in different situations. Ignoring this fact can result in good people being put into the wrong roles.
The really sad thing is that developing an effective leadership program is not rocket science, and companies don’t need to send their people to a six week course at The University of Notre Dame to teach them leadership.
There are multiple assessment tools, programs and coaches available that can help jump start leadership development programs without breaking the bank or consuming an inordinate amount of time.
Leadership failure does not just hurt the individual; the whole organization suffers when a leader fails.
Regardless of the situation, a high percentage of new leaders, or people taking on new leadership responsibilities, do fail.
I believe the primary reason for the high failure rate is because many people simply don’t understand leadership. As a result, management fails in their responsibility to prepare and support leaders in their roles.
If they understood leadership they would:
• Ensure that new leaders understood what is expected of them
• Invest time in matching the skills of the individual with their role
• Prepare their people for leadership responsibilities through training, and
• Provide the opportunities to test their leadership skills prior to stepping into a leader’s shoes.
When management makes a decision to promote someone into a leadership position they are frequently under pressure to fill a crucial role. The pressure is created as the result of a vacancy in a leadership position or new projects/initiatives creating a need for new leaders.
Forward thinking management teams have been preparing people for leadership roles and have several options when they find themselves needing a new leader.
Management teams who do not understand leadership are caught flat footed. They end up taking a knee-jerk reaction, promoting people into leadership roles based on the wrong criteria.
Criteria that are used most frequently include experience in current position and technical ability.
Given the need for leaders to be credible there is some logic to these decisions; but they fail to consider the leadership skills which are critical for success.
Critical skills include the ability to: 1) instill confidence, 2) inspire a shared vision 3) build relationships 4) make tough decisions 5) get things done through other people.
Not all leaders will be required to build and promote a vision for their team, but they may have to create alignment around a vision or champion the execution of tasks to achieve a vision.
Regardless of the role facing the leader, the challenge will be to achieve goals through other people. The people that need to be influenced include subordinates, executives, outsiders and peers. Many of these new leaders have always been able to achieve results in isolation and therefore find it difficult to motivate other people to deliver results.
Management teams fail to recognize leadership is not a one size fits all proposition. Different leadership styles and skills are needed in different situations. Ignoring this fact can result in good people being put into the wrong roles.
The really sad thing is that developing an effective leadership program is not rocket science, and companies don’t need to send their people to a six week course at The University of Notre Dame to teach them leadership.
There are multiple assessment tools, programs and coaches available that can help jump start leadership development programs without breaking the bank or consuming an inordinate amount of time.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Fratline Field
Fratline was proud to be a sponsor of the Kosair Charities Softball Tournament which made nearly $12,000 for Kosair Kids.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Brother Ernest Borgnine
(January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012)
Brother Borgnine was a member of Abingdon Lodge No. 48, Abingdon, Virginia, and Hollywood Lodge No. 355 in Los Angeles.
He joined the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles in 1964, received the KCCH in 1979, was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1983, and received the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour in 1991.
Brother Borgnine was born in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents separated when he was two years old, and he and his mother went to live in Italy.
By 1923, his parents had reconciled. his family had settled in North Haven, Connecticut, where he attended public schools.
Brother Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935, after graduation from James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut.
He was discharged in 1941, but re-enlisted when the United States entered World War II and served until 1945 (a total of ten years), reaching the rank of Gunner's Mate 1st Class.
He served aboard the destroyer USS Lamberton (DD-119). His military decorations included the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
Brother Borgnine was an American actor of television and film. His career spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty. On television, he played Quinton McHale in the 1962–66 series McHale's Navy and co-starred in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, in addition to a wide variety of other roles. Borgnine is also known for his role as Mermaid Man in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine earned an Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER.
(January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012)
Brother Borgnine was a member of Abingdon Lodge No. 48, Abingdon, Virginia, and Hollywood Lodge No. 355 in Los Angeles.
He joined the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles in 1964, received the KCCH in 1979, was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1983, and received the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour in 1991.
Brother Borgnine was born in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents separated when he was two years old, and he and his mother went to live in Italy.
By 1923, his parents had reconciled. his family had settled in North Haven, Connecticut, where he attended public schools.
Brother Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935, after graduation from James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut.
He was discharged in 1941, but re-enlisted when the United States entered World War II and served until 1945 (a total of ten years), reaching the rank of Gunner's Mate 1st Class.
He served aboard the destroyer USS Lamberton (DD-119). His military decorations included the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
Brother Borgnine was an American actor of television and film. His career spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty. On television, he played Quinton McHale in the 1962–66 series McHale's Navy and co-starred in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, in addition to a wide variety of other roles. Borgnine is also known for his role as Mermaid Man in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine earned an Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER.
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