Does Diversity and Leadership Co-exist?

I have taken a couple of weeks off due to Memorial Day. Throughout this time I have reflected on a recent luncheon seminar with my local ASTD Smoky Mountain chapter on diversity in the workplace. The focus of the presentation was thoughtful in the way we as individuals are influenced by our surroundings that may hinder diversity in our lives. As leaders, we are often challenged with leading others, who may or may not directly report to us. How do we support or view diversity? What may hinder a leader to shy away from diversity in the workplace? I’ve listed out 5 key areas of reflection that might hinder a leader from working with diversity among teams.

Leadership + Communication = Influence?

Throughout my career, I have sat on several team projects. Team projects usually have a defined leader with an official title of responsibilities and duties. Then, there is the unofficial leader with no title and responsibilities that seem to merge among the group. What is the defined skill between assigned leaders and natural leadership?

3 Common Mistakes of Leaders

A few weeks back I promised my followers on Tweeter I’d be online more. I have made a personal pledge to blog more myself. As I’m figuring out what this first blog post will be, I have realized some very important things are missing to help me complete the process.

Learning: What are the next waves?

Photo courtesy of Zsuzsanna Kilian

Last week, my blog post was “missing in action.”  Why?  I was busy researching and putting together daily topics for the latest information on adult learners as my local American Society for Training and Development chapter (ASTD Smoky Mountain) celebrated what has been deemed Employee Learning Week (ELW).   Below are the daily email tops sent out to our chapter members that will be good to know in the upcoming decade.

What is Employee Learning Week?

The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) created Employee Learning Week as an opportunity for organizations and chapters to demonstrate their commitment to employee learning and to emphasize the connection between a highly skilled workforce and organizational results.  To learn more about ELW, see www.employeelearningweek.org.

Proclamation

This year the Chapter received proclamation from the City of Knoxville for Employee Learning Week (ELW).  If you are not able to view the photo below of proclamation, please see the News section of our website.

 

Day 1 WLP Topic:

Is your organization prepared for the emergence of informal and mobile learning?  Will mLearning replace what we know as the textbook, and traditional classroom letcure?  How will mLearning impact group discussion during the delivery of course material?  Do you find yourself automatically grabbing a smart phone to quickly research a topic for class or discussion

When Days & Nights Collide!

Five days later, I’m still recovering.  Black Friday or should it be called Zombie Day (as a friend of mine already called the local shopping zone Zombie Land).  From the fighting in the isles, waiting in the frigid cold, to the checkout lane that never moved – I decided to attempt Black Friday again.  At 4am, I’m beyond loony – not realizing at 9am, I’m to be in the kitchen cooking Thanksgiving Dinner as my immediate family celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday of this year. 

Change? Really?

Well these days, I think I’m changing up how I do blog posts and focus on content vs format.

To speak of change, it seems that every class and seminar that I have been to lately focus on change and human behavior (including my present graduate class).

The central theme is that we can’t change people. The change has to come within. Ironically, I laugh at this when I see Corporate America trying to change people to fit the idea “corporate” associate instead of just working with who they have. Guidelines, maybe we need a few, but just how many guidelines are required before you loose personal identities that lead towards shutting down creativity and then loosing your chance at the latest invention, solving your budget crisis, taking your organization to the next level?

The next time you like to change someone, think twice. Think rather, how may I use their uniqueness? If behavior is still an issue, have some emotional intelligence to confront and manage the situation. That associate turn around may become your highest performer.

Until next time, enjoy the season change,
Bryon

Are you ever going to come out of the cave???

Photo Credit: Don Wang, Dublin, OH

Well as with any type of leader, he or she has to take a sabbatical sometimes from the front lines. These five months have been an exciting challenge in regards to “leading self” – one of the toughest challenges for leaders I have found. Yes, it is quiet easy to tell others how to lead, but telling yourself how to lead, and applying some of that very own teaching? How profound, right? Any type of healthy leader will realize that, he or she has to take a sabbatical sometimes from the front lines (and the world will continue to go on with out you for that short time period). 

Networking Roulette: Spin the wheel, here is your next contact!

In October 2010 of this year, I was provided a unique opportunity to participate in an online networking event called Network Roulette, sponsored by BrazenCareerist.com.  If it is one thing that I have learned in my professional career, it is networking…whether you have a job or do not have a job!  Being a part of the Network Roulette beta group, this had been the first time I have been involved in an online speed networking activity – an experience that I truly enjoyed.

Gen Y Visioning for 2020?

Over the past few weeks, in my leadership study group for work we have been studying what is vision from a personal

Photo Credit: Malik Bhai

development perspective. Well, to be honest, it has taken me a year to discover any type of real vision and to unearth the passions in side of me. In looking over my life span, I have realized two things. For one, it has taken me a number of years to find how a) items that make me become emotionally alive, b) things I would just about die for, c) the vision for my own life vs. the vision others may have for me.   Second, since the vision that I want for my life is very obtainable and may be easily accomplished, it is probably not a strong enough challenge for me. 

Why Should Anyone Follow You?

 

Photo Credit: Dani Simmonds

I’ve decide to blog this week from a coined phrase used in the presentation from Anne Bruce, a keynote speaker at the 2010 ASTD ALC conference in Washington DC (for those not in the training profession, that is American Society for Training and Development Chapter Leaders Conference).  So, why should anyone in the world follow you?  Follow you on tweeter, listen to you teach, speaking engagements, follow your business plan?

How many of us have these great ideas, but when we truly become honest with ourselves, do we have an answer to why anyone would want to follow us?  Is it because of our wit?  Do we have or claim to have an upper handle on some type of knowledge that others might find