CNN.com: To Inspire Others, It’s How You Do It That Counts
A great read with tips for how to be an inspired leader from Dov Seidman, author of HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything.

Leadership Now: The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership
Gary Burnison, author of The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership, considers leadership to be a privilege. He indicates, “Most people like the idea of leadership but few count the cost….To lead is to be all in, transparent and accessible, calm in the face of upset and even crisis, and always mindful that you are a steward of something bigger than yourself.” This article outlines his “Absolutes” – building blocks that must be present regardless of your leadership style or approach.

Random Acts Of Leadership: How to Elevate Your Leadership
A rave review of the book, The Zen Leader, noting “Being aware of your context, especially your beliefs and commitments, is essential to mindfully choosing your actions, just as taking action is essential to integrating new thinking and learning. ”

Leadership Freak: Whose Opinion Matters
Dan Rockwell writes another thought-provoking post about how leaders can sort through the sea of advice given to them.

Harvard Business Review Blog: If You’re Not Micromanaging, You’re Not Leading
Michael Schrage comments on the leadership lessons to be learned from JPMorgan’s multibillion dollar debacle.

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Now Inscape publishing has released 363 for Leaders as one of its Everything DiSC^® series of learning assessments. But Everything DiSC^® for Leaders isn’t just any 360. It combines the best of the 360s with the simplicity and power of DiSC^®, plus three strategies for improving the subject’s leadership effectiveness. The result is a 360 experience that’s more productive and satisfying.

How is it different?

1. First of all we took the sting out of 360 feedback:
   For many Leaders, 360 feedback can be a frustrating experience. It allows open ended comments which can be unfocused and even unhelpful. Often these anonymous comments can be a way to take an unwarranted jab at a colleague.
   With our exclusive, selectable comments feature, “Commentsmart”, raters can give focused, balanced, constructive feedbackthat the Leader can actually use. This time saving feature allows raters to expand on their ratings by choosing from a list of highly tested comments.
2. Secondly, we made it easier to understand and use:
   Everything DiSC^® 363 for Leaders combines clear visuals and a conversational narrative style to interpret and explain the data, making the report easy to understand and use.
3. And we answered the “Now What” Question:
   Everything DiSC ^®363 for Leaders answers the “Now what” question by giving leaders their next steps with three things they can focus on now! Strategies that will improve their leadership effectiveness, and  that can be translated into action immediately.

The Profile report is 22+ pages in length and is all about the leader. It contains intuitive, easy to read visuals, with rich cuts of data and feedback breakdowns. There is, also, a comprehensive listing of rater comments

The “now what” question is answered by providing three strategies for improving the leader’s effectiveness. Also included at no additional charge are communication templates and a coaching supplement.

Click to Enlarge

By its very nature 360 feedback involves rating from several sources. In the 363 one can have unlimited raters chosen from the following groups: Manager, Direct Reports, Peers, and Others. To ensure anonymity there must be at least two raters in the Direct Reports, Peers and Others categories. On the other hand this profile is flexible enough that it can be used with just the Leader and his/her manager.

The leadership model used involves 8 leadership approaches which are listed around the perimeter of the model. Each leadership approach has three practices which are shown on the inside. For example the 3 practices for the affirming approach include:

• Being approachable
• Acknowledging contributions
• Creating a positive environment

This validated leadership model is further explained in the book, “The 8 Dimensions of Leadership” (Sugerman, Scullard & Wilhelm). The authors of the book maintain that “to be an effective leader you need to know your strengths – but that is only part of the story. You also need a broad perspective on all the behaviors needed to be an effective leader.”

In Summary:

• This profile is easy to use
• It has been fully validated
• Uses “Commentsmart” technology
• Provides further direction with 3 strategies to consider
• A coaching supplement is available at no charge
• Uses a very flexible approach

For further information on the Everything DiSC^® 363 for Leaders Profile visit: http://www.360FeedbackAndMore.com

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Leadership Now: 5 Leadership Lessons: The Leader as Strategist
Michael McKinney summarizes Cynthia Montgomery’s book, The Strategist. He notes the author says we have reduced strategy to a right-brain exercise and have lost sight of what it takes to lead the effort.

Forbes.com: Google Can Survive Too Much Innovation. You Can’t
This post outlines why leaders need to focus on the best opportunities only, and not invest in every good innovation or idea that comes your way. The result of “idea overload” can burn-out even the best team, or bankrupt your company.

Fast Company: How Great Entrepreneurs Lure Their Competitors’ Sheep Away
A clever article that shares the lesson of  ”sheep stealing” and how cutting-edge and aggressive companies like IGATE are doing the same now to advance in the market.

Forbes.com: High-Growth Women Entrepreneurs Nurture Talented Teams
This article argues women business owners may have an advantage when it comes to running teams, as they recognize that talented staff allow the CEO to build the business instead of just doing a job.

Harvard Business Review Blogs: Find the Reverse Leaders in Your Midst
Reverse leadership is defined here, as “someone not in a formal leadership role demonstrates great leadership ability: when a field service agent steps up with a solution to a persistent problem, for example; when a customer service rep inspires her colleagues through her exemplary customer-centric behavior.” The article then goes on to then outline ways to recognize them, cultivate them, and learn from their example.

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Everything DiSC is^® the fastest, easiest way to go – from assessment to action, with tips and strategies to connect better with your co-workers and improve your workplace relationships. Each profile is topic specific with in-depth information, including tips, strategies, and action plans to help learners become more effective.

Each profile is:

• Specialized: application focused programs improve critical people-skills in the areas of management, sales, leadership, communication and more
• In-depth: follow-up tools create a complete learning experience that takes you from assessment to action – fast
• Customizable: will meet your organization’s needs with easy to use features that help you make the program your own
• Personalized: online assessments provide individualized profiles with tips and strategies for development

The Profiles

1. Everything DiSC^® Work of Leaders: The Work of Leaders made simple: Vision, Alignment and Execution. Based on best practices, Work of Leaders connects to real world demands, generating powerful conversations that provide a clear path for action.
2. Everything DiSC^® Workplace: Can be used with everyone in an organization, regardless of title or role, to build more effective relationships, and improve the quality of the Workplace.
3. Everything DiSC^® Management: Teaches managers how to bring out the best in each employee. They learn how to read employee styles and adapt their own styles to manage more effectively.
4. Everything DiSC^® Sales: Helps salespeople connect better with their customers by understanding their DiSC sales style, understand their customers’ buying styles, and adapting their sales style to meet their customers’ buying styles.

And What‘s Next?

One of the great strengths of the Everything DiSC profiles is that they can also include valuable follow-up reports that help you in applying your learnings.

1. Everything DiSC^® Comparison Report:
   Follow-up reports that can be created for any two participants to illustrate their similarities and differences. Unlimited access is available at no additional charge, with all Everything DiSC^® profiles. 
2. Everything DiSC^® Customer Interaction Map:
   Personalized follow-up interaction maps to help salespeople navigate from their sales style to their real-life customers’ buying styles. Exclusively for the Everything DiSC^® Sales Profile – unlimited access at no additional charge.
3. Everything DiSC^® Group Culture Report:
   Helps you determine the group’s DiSC Culture, explore its advantages and disadvantages, discuss its effect on group members, and examine its influence on decision making and risk taking. Sold separately.
4. Everything DiSC^® Team View:
   Provides an at-a-glance view of any group of respondents and their individual Everything DiSC^® maps. No limit to the number of people that can be included in the report. Unlimited access available with all Everything DiSC^® profiles.

By using this third generation of the DiSC^® assessments, participants understand and appreciate the styles of the people they work with. The result is more effective and productive working relationships. For Further information on these valuable profiles, visit http://www.DiscAndMore.com

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Forbes.com: This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You
Mike Myatt explored the value of  pursuit  - the pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves.

Forbes.com: If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going – Winston Churchill
A terrific reflection of the achievements of Winston Churchill, and the leadership lessons he offered during his tenure as Prime Minister during WWII, including, “No matter what kind of shape your business is in, if your attitude is never, never, never give up, you stand a much better chance of succeeding.”

LeadershipNow Blog: What Matters Now
A rave review of Gary Hamel’s new book, “a blueprint for creating organizations that are fit for the future and fit for human beings.”

HBR Blog Network: It’s Time to Rethink Continuous Improvement
This surprising take on improvement cites  recent evidence from Japan suggesting that it’s time to question the quest for continuous improvement.

Inc.com: Make Your Team More Nimble: 8 Rules
Real-world suggestions to be a better leader.

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First of all, Work of Leaders approaches leadership as a one-to-many relationship, as opposed to the  one-to-one relationship of management. It, therefore, focuses on leading a group or an organization toward desired outcomes. For example, Leaders often may be responsible for staff for which they do not have a direct reporting relationship.

Research Based
The Work of Leaders’ Profile is the result of a four year development effort. During this process the work of prominent leadership researchers were analyzed and distilled; including input from more than 300 subject experts at over 150 organizations. The main thrust was to identify leadership behaviors.

The Profile
Work of Leaders is a two part assessment. First there is the 79-itme Everything DiSC assessment and then there is the Work of Leaders’ assessment – 64 pairs of statement that measure leadership behaviors.

The result is a 23 page highly personalized report that includes 18 behavioral continua, strong visuals to illustrate key messages, context specific feedback and tips and strategies for improving leadership effectiveness.

Based on best practices, Work of Leaders, connects to real world demands, generating powerful conversations that provide a clear path for action.

Connects to Real World Demands
Using the framework of vision, alignment and execution, Work of Leaders encourages leaders to understand their own leadership behaviors, and how they impact their effectiveness. Rich compelling narrative adds depth to the data and strong visuals support the learning process by illustrating key messages.

Generates Powerful Conversations
Consistently thought provoking, Work of Leaders stimulates fresh conversations and perspectives regardless of the leader’s knowledge or experience. It is an opportunity for leaders at all levels of learning to reflect on how they approach each step of their work. In addition Work of Leaders encourages reflection and discussion about the team and the organization.

Provides a Clear Path for Action
Work of Leaders helps leaders take action with personalized tips and strategies that give clear direction and are easy to apply. Context-specific feedback and developmental steps along with helpful case-in-point narratives show how progress can play out in real life.

How can Work of Leaders help in a company or an organization?

• Well, it can provide context-specific feedback for the Leader as well as developmental suggestions for performance improvement
• The profile provides an opportunity for Leaders to reflect on how they approach their work on an everyday basis
• It can help Leaders take action, and improve results, with personalized tips and suggestions
• And it also encourages reflection and discussion, by the Leader, on the work of the Team and/or the Organization.

For further information on this profile please click this link or visit www.DiscAndMore.com

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Forbes: 7 Character Traits of Charismatic People
Charisma is often the key to success in life and in business. Forbes writer Jennifer Cohen points out that scientists have determined that this quality is 50% innate and 50% trained. The top character traits are reviewed here.

Leadership Freak: How Leaders Shoot Themselves in the Foot
This article reviews how self-defeating behaviors can be the downfall of leaders.

Wall Street Journal: Nine Rules Women Must Follow to Get Ahead
Specific tips for women on how to get in positions of power and leadership. Do you agree?

Fast Company: Empathy Is The Most Powerful Leadership Tool
The idea of “Become the other person and go from there” is explored as a leadership tool.

HBR Blog Network: Increase Your Team’s Motivation Five-Fold
When people make their own decisions, they are more dedicated to everything that follows. If your team wants what you want them to want, you are five times more likely to get it. Steps to merging your vision with their dreams are outlined in this article.

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This video will highlight the differences between the Classic DiSC^® graphs and the new circular model Everything DiSC^®.

In future weeks we will talk further about each of the following Everything DiSC^® reports:

• Everything DiSC^® Workplace
• Everything DiSC^® Sales
• Everything DiSC^® Management
• Everything DiSC^® Work of Leaders
• Everything DiSC^® 363 Feedback for Leaders

Please enjoy this short video, and again we welcome your comments on any or all of these reports.

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Leadership Now: Why Leaders Can NOT Procrastinate
We are all guilty of procrastinating, but for leaders, the results can damage much-needed client or employee relationships as well as their bottom-line. Author Jason Womack outlines three ways to get going and sustain your productivity.

Leadership Freak:  16 Secrets for Dealing with an Empty Tank
Leaders can lead on an empty tank, notes Dan Rockwell. Some energy drainers are pointed out, and steps to recharging your batteries so you can continue to lead passionately!

Leadership Freak: Six Secrets of Inspirational Leadership
Dan Rockwell’s blog is always an excellent source of inspiration. April 25th’s post boils down what inspirational leadership is, and kicks it off with an exceptional quote: The real test of leadership isn’t what you do, it’s what you inspire others to do.

Forbes.com: Intentional Leaders Are Not Victims of Circumstance
George Bradt argues the actions or reactions of a leader should be intentional, not something that ‘just happened.’

HBR Blog Network: Leadership Teams: Why Two Are Better Than One
The CEOs of Fishbowl outline the benefit to this unique management style.

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Establishing new work behavior patterns is difficult, because it usually involves having to replace old ingrained work habits that have developed over decades of reinforcement. Some team members, left to their own devices, are just are not able to perform up to the organization’s standards – or to their potential. A leader’s help is required to motivate them to change their behavior and to realize their potential. It is easy to tell employees, or team members, that they are responsible for their own professional growth and development. But without the motivation, support, and encouragement of their leader it is often an exercise in futility

In addition, research shows that the support and encouragement of leaders is the single most important factor in determining whether what the member learns in the company classroom transfers into on-the-job behavior change. This takes leaders who:

• Continuously coach and support the development of their team members
• Encourage their members before, during and after each training session
• Effectively handle “Coaching moments” so members learn to teach themselves

Yet many organizations neither equip leaders to coach and develop their team members, nor require them to do so. Thus time and training expenses often result in little or no behavioral change and/or performance improvement.

How does the leader learn to be a great coach who can reinforce the skills of each of his/her team members, while at the same time help each individual grasp new skills?

Vital Learning, of Omaha Nebraska, has developed an online program called Developing and Coaching Others™. This program helps leaders learn the specifics of how they can effectively influence the learning process and use “coaching moments” with team members to change non-productive behavior, and improve productivity and performance;one of the prime tasks of leadership!

Developing and Coaching Others™ is designed to meet two key objectives:

1. Provide leaders withthe skills and strategies to guide their teams through a learning process with specific methods to help team members before, during and after training  – to ensure training goals are met
2. To provide team leaders with a “coaching moments” model so that leaders can help team members gain understanding and insight about their actions in a way that supports self-awareness, and offers opportunities to learn and improve.

These“coaching moments”are often unplanned discussions between the team member and the leader, usually following an actual incident, and normally follows a sequence similar to:

• What happened?
• What consequences ensued?
• What could you have done differently?
• What can you do right now?

Team members are unlikely to change behavior without the team leader’s involvement and support. Without these factors, the development and growth of individual skills is not a priority, and likely will not happen! On the other hand, team leaders are often judged by their ability to get their team members performing at a high level.

Coaching and Developing Others focuses on a methodology for productive interactions by team leaders, to build on the basics – the skills required to manage ways that change behavior and impact on the performance of their team members. Basically the course is about helping others achieve peak performance.

As a special incentive, this online program is being offered at an investment of just US$34 through June 30, 2012.

For further information about the course CLICK HERE.

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