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Posts tagged "mindset"

7 Leadership Questions That Will Move Your Needle in 2016

The Secret Weapon of Great Leaders.

 

Have you ever experienced in a meeting where a seasoned leader listened intently and then, with exquisite timing, asked one question that shifted the direction, focus and thinking of the entire team?

goal achievementThat is the magic and power of questions!

To move the needle in your organization in 2016, the first place to start is by asking thought-provoking questions.   The 7 questions below are by no means exhaustive. They serve as a starting point to stimulate your own questions.

These (or comparable) questions can make the difference between a successful 2016 and a disappointing one.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on January 27, 2016 in Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Organizational Performance, Strategic Thinking.

Re-Igniting Your Leadership Fire

The Secret Groundwork to an Extraordinary 2016

 

A new year is just around the corner.  Another year is about to end.

Be honest with yourself …

·      Are you feeling tired, stressed or depressed?

·      Are you feeling disconnected from what really matters to you?

·      Are you feeling like you have lost your way, not even realizing it?

In my experience, when December hits, many leaders are burned out and depleted.  They are running on empty.

leadership fireAnd understandably so.  The demands on a leader’s energy and attention throughout the year are endless.   I’ve been there myself.  I know.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on December 9, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Are You Awake?

Guest article by Marcella Bremer

How are you?

Busy? Relaxed? Energized? Tired?

I notice a pattern in modern life. I’m going too fast and packing too much in my days. I’m hunting for cover_issue_15_192x256stimuli – or at least I’m distracted by them. I notice restlessness when I’m already tired. I see most people around me living by schedules that don’t leave space to slow down and to be mindfully aware of what really happens. How do you wake up to the present?

I’m lucky, though. Since I am self-employed, I can schedule time for contemplation. I know that I need some time for silence – to be my best self again when I work with clients.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on September 29, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Deep Motivations, Not Competencies, Drive Leadership Performance.


What if…

  • You could easily predict the performance of your leaders, your teams and your organization?motivation1
  • You could gain access to the underlying motivators that drive a leader or employee to do their best work?
  • You could eliminate costly hiring mistakes and determine in advance to what extent a candidate will perform well in a role?

Such a solution exists and can unleash the potential and performance within your organization.

It’s called motivational profiling.  Your underlying (and often unconscious) attitudes and motivations determine what you pay attention to and focus on in your leadership role.

These deep motivation and attitudinal patterns  (MAPs) ultimately drive – yours and others’ –

  • Behaviors
  • Decision making style
  • Requirements for change and variety
  • Dominant motivation driver
  • Levels of strategic and visionary thinking
  • Relationship to norms/rules
  • Orientation toward innovation and creativity
  • And much more

Drawing on recent evolutions in cognitive science research, motivational profiling is a state-of-the-art assessment tool that provides a window into yours and your employees’ intrinsic motivations and attitudes at work.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on July 14, 2015 in Assessments, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Organizational Performance, Top Talent.

7 Unconscious Leadership Fears That Keep You Small

Which keep you small?

fears keeping you small

Fears keeping you small

 

All leaders have fears.  However, not all your fears are created equal.

Some may manifest as low level anxieties.  Some are life paralyzing phobias.  Some may be triggered only by certain events – like fear of public speaking.  Others may be life-long fears.

Then there are the “big guns.”  These are the core unconscious leadership  fears from which all other fears come.  They override every aspect of your being.

In this article you will learn 7 unconscious leadership fears that keep you small.  First, it’s important to understand the nature of fear.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on June 17, 2015 in Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Unleashing Your Leadership Presence …

Even Before You Speak

 

In 1987, I flew to LA to a women’s leadership conference for one reason only.  To meet Anita Roddick, founder and “then” CEO of multi-billion dollar franchise,

winning strategies

Photo by David Niblack

The Body Shop, and asked her to write the forward of my book (to which she did say yes).

When I met her, I was stunned how amazingly small she was (even smaller than myself J).  Yet her commanding presence was so powerful, 30 years later, that memory is still vivid in my mind.

Leadership presence includes character, charisma and self-confidence YET is much more.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on April 14, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Employee Engagement, Influence, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

How to Unlock Your Leadership Influence Instantly

5 Power Words That Persuade

Influence is not something tangible, physical or material.  Yet it’s real.  You know when you are in the presence of it.  Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs just to name a few.

The Power of Words

The Power of Words

There is no leadership without influence. You can have a leadership title, yet have no  influence.  How influential are you?  Does your team listen to your every word with attention, openness and trust?  Is your team inspired to take action simply by what you say and do?

Influence comes from the latin root “influere” meaning to flow in. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on March 11, 2015 in Employee Engagement, Goal Achievement, Influence, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Real Truths That Fuel Real Leaders

From early childhood, we were all taught never to lie. That was drilled into our psyche with such stories as Pinocchio and George Washington and the Cherry Tree

leadership truthsI learned growing up, however, that not lying is NOT the same thing as admitting and telling the truth.  The former prevents us from making false statements; the latter has the generative power to change individuals and organizations.

In my decades of working with business leaders, I have found that there is one trait — above all others – that transforms mediocre leaders to extraordinary ones.   That one trait is …

Rigorous truth-telling

Real leaders have backbone. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on November 11, 2014 in Accountability, Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Organizational Performance.

The ONE Question Every Leader Needs To Ask

 

Today’s companies have it all backwards.  Leaders have a thirst and drive for answers to their biggest challenges.

strategic question

Thousands of leadership books are published yearly to feed that thirst.  Buying those books to find the right answers for your company is where leaders make their biggest mistake.

 

Leadership is NOT about having the right answers.  It’s about asking the right questions.

If you’ve read my article 12 Strategic Thinking Questions That Yield Big Results, you know why questions are so powerful and how they can change organizational results … overnight.  If you have not,  click here.

 

The Make-or-Break Question Critical to Your Business Future

There is one question though, above all others, that smart leaders ask … not just once, but everyday.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on July 8, 2014 in Fast Growth, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Profitability, Strategic Thinking.

Brain Science Secrets to Increase Leadership Willpower

When I was in my 20’s and 30’s, I was the queen of willpower. I have always thrived on achieving big goals.  My downfall was using a “white knuckle” approach to achieving those goals.

ego depletion

Willpower Exhaustion

Because of my exertion-exhaustion approach,  my world came crashing down with life threatening illnesses that cost me everything in my life.  While I wished I had learned the lesson in a less traumatic way, there was a gift in that experience.

It catalyzed me to seek mindset tools and technologies to create results with ease and less effort.  It motivated me to learn how the brain works and its impact on our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on May 6, 2014 in Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Willpower.