Certified Strengths Trainer - Jim Seybert » Leading

Leading or Creating? Or Both?

Jim Seybert — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:25:46 +0000

My mind has been wandering recently around the juxtaposition of leadership and creativity.

What influence does one have on the other? Are all leaders creative? Does creativity, by default, make one a leader? Can a leader be too creative? Must leaders be creative?

I am not an expert in either of these areas but I do have [...]

No curves in sight

Jim Seybert — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:05:08 +0000

It’s easy to be lulled into a sense that your current plans are going to get you where you want to be – specially when the road ahead appears to be clear of anything that might cause deviation.

Don’t be caught in the Paradox of Success.

Reliance on past or current success for future results is like [...]

In praise of managers

Jim Seybert — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:40:05 +0000

Pity the lowly manager.

We have a preponderant preoccupation with leaders, leadership and leading these days.

I did a quick Google search and found 30,200,000 pages mentioning “great leaders” and half that many for “great managers.”

We worship leaders and tolerate managers. Leaders are followed (often blindly) while managers are obeyed. Leaders paint pictures of a desired future, managers [...]

The cost of lost opportunity

Jim Seybert — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:52:47 +0000

Chatting recently with a young executive who has great insights into the value of maximizing time.

His approach at work is to understand his strengths and those of his team and then look for opportunities to apply each person’s abilities toward the best possible result. He has embraced the truth that team performance is linked directly to [...]

Things at which I suck

Jim Seybert — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:51:01 +0000

Is it counter intuitive for a certified strengths trainer to post an entry focused on weaknesses?

My friend Andrew Cooley sent this video clip from a Washington Post series and it resonated so strongly with me that I just had to share it with my readers.

Watching this clip is well worth the 4:40 of your life you’ll [...]

Not everyone wants to lead

Jim Seybert — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:49:51 +0000

Companies and organizations have leaders, managers, administrators and a bunch of folks who are very skilled at the tactical sand and gravel of achieving the goals and meeting the mission.

There is an over-emphasis on the ideal of being a leader. Yes, they are out front, they set the pace and cast the vision. Without a leader [...]

Pulling your company name out of a hat

Jim Seybert — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:34:35 +0000

I was driving on highway 101 near Salinas, CA on Thursday when I happened upon a service truck with the company name Leadership Fumigation.

Is this some kind of service that goes into corporate board rooms and executive suites to rid the company of its management team?

Could the company by chance be owned by someone whose last [...]

Tweet or ReTweet ?

Jim Seybert — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:00:12 +0000

I happened across Seth Godin’s blog this morning.

Hadn’t been in a while and wanted to see what his incredible brain was up to. I’d thought of him because I intend to re-read THE DIP this weekend as I prepare for some changes in my consulting practice – but more about that in a few [...]

Are boring people better leaders?

Jim Seybert — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:13:16 +0000

Some sounds bytes from a recent David Brooks column in the NY Times.

Traits like being a good listener, a good team builder, an enthusiastic colleague, a great communicator do not seem to be very important when it comes to leading successful companies. Organized, dogged, anal-retentive and slightly boring people are more likely to thrive [as C.E.O.s].

. . [...]

Grab a bucket and start bailing

Jim Seybert — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:36:04 +0000

From a News Release announcing further staff reductions at an organization struggling for survival:

The streamlining emphasizes the formation of high-performance teams working in a fluid structure rather than departments, a strategic approach that better takes advantage of the core strengths of each staff member to apply his or her skills and talents across projects. An increased [...]