by Deborah Leverett | Dec 8, 2011 | Blog, Uncategorized
You probably have heard the saying that one’s true character is revealed in times of adversity. I have certainly found that to be true in my own life. In working with executives, I am discovering as the economy continues to tighten and bring uncertainty, more and more are willing to cut corners, to fudge the numbers, to make questionable decisions just to ensure the bottom line is still looking good. In light of the most recent Black Friday we see more and more people are crossing ethical lines to make sure they ‘get the goods’. In 1944, historian Arnold Toynbee, cautioned that the United States was on the verge of failure and that it would fall – not because of an external enemy – but that she would fall because of an internal moral collapse. Our moral crisis continues to intensify. Most of the decline in America is a result of the collapse of ethics, morality and standards. This has created an intense time of transition: we have left the old and we are not sure where we are headed. Transition always comes with unanswered questions that can lead to fear and anxiety. But it can also drive us in a more positive direction: to serious self- examination about our lives. It might even prompt us to ask what is our responsibility in impacting our culture? History tells us that no generation, nation or family can rise above its leadership. Most people – especially leaders – want to do good and avoid evil. But without an understanding of how to grow in moral strength, stressful circumstances can influence us...
by Deborah Leverett | Nov 11, 2011 | Blog, Uncategorized
Today, I want to give a shout out to my friend Monica Benoit-Beatty, the new COO of the Central Texas Girl Scouts of America. The GSA has played a critical role in the the development of the moral character of young women, myself included. It is where we learned about hard work, valuing others, developing personal skills, collaborating and honoring our country. Below is an essay written by Monica on the value of an organization dedicated to the character development of our next generation of women leaders. We cheer you and the GSA on to greater accomplishments, Monica! The Importance of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience The modern Girl Scout leadership experience allows for the personal development of today’s young women to be educated and empowered as they focus on three vital principals: discovering, connecting and taking action in the world around them. By discovering and understanding their personal values, they use their knowledge and skills to explore the world. Connecting with other girls who are also concerned about emerging issues allows them to take effective action to make a personal, local or global impact on a particular issue that benefits their respective community. From concept to proven results, young girls are learning vital life skills for personal success as they become the emerging voices and leaders of tomorrow. Whether it’s through personal dreams, career goals or community causes (or all three), the process and effect of today’s Girl Scouting experience helps to develop confident young women, resilient decision makers and outstanding role-models who are capable of leading themselves and others during uncertain times and unchartered territories. Girl Scouts...
by Deborah Leverett | Nov 1, 2011 | Blog, Uncategorized
After 20+ years in the field of leadership development, personal and organizational excellence; I ask myself why have we not seen leadership excellence in our nation, schools, healthcare industry, marketplace? Sure, there are pockets of greatness in every field, but where are the leaders who can take us beyond our current state of affairs? Many executives I have worked with have been extraordinary managers: they have a great sense of business, they excel at crunching the numbers and making them work, they can execute plans well. Extraordinary leaders? There is still too much short-term thinking and narrow vision with a preoccupation for individual achievement and accomplishment; not exactly qualities of an individual perched to transform a business, neighborhood, community or nation. I am convinced that the way we develop leaders is too much around training instead of development; personal style instead of character; skill development instead of personal excellence. Throughout history, the cornerstone of transformational leaders has been character in action – though far from perfection, they were individuals with virtuous qualities who understand that there is a difference between enduring virtues and shallow values; those who practice principles of private morality, decency and honor. Even these words seem old-fashioned, don’t they? This should frighten us most of all. Take some time for self-examination and take stock of your own personal character and long-term virtues: courage, selflessness, commitment, sense of duty and honoring others. We’re all in the same...
by Deborah Leverett | Sep 30, 2011 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s been several months since last post. Did you know a blog could be broken? I wrote for several posts before I knew that no one was able to access. I am not sure it is fixed, but here we go! Just noticed that time on the posting site says 9:41 pm. It is 4:41pm in Texas. Oh, well; if you write a blog that nobody reads, does it still exist? Being disconnected – feeling disconnected- is not an anomaly in the workplace. In the midst of a hundred cubicles, where people appear to be productive, there is little to no communication, collaboration or connecting. Isolation exists in the boardroom, on the executive team, in the employee cafeteria as well and is a serious symptom of benign neglect. With collaboration being a critical component of innovation as well as a marker for a healthy environment, why can executives and managers do to foster connectivity? Most say they don’t really see it or that there are other more pressing issues with which to deal. 3 Tips to Facilitate Collaboration: 1. Create dependencies: organize work so that it is dependent on several people to produce total product. 2. Recognize and Reward teamwork: make it a point to highlight those who do work in teams and give perks to those teams who produce. 3. Brainstorm to teambuild: Bring in a selection of individuals from a cross-section of departments and ask them to solve a problem. What does your organization do to break down...
by Deborah Leverett | Feb 25, 2011 | Blog, Uncategorized
Run down this list: it can be a valuable tool to use to identify gaps or obstacles keeping your organization from high productivity, innovation and customers as advocates: 1. Organizational values, mission and vision are ignored. 2. Lack of organization-wide service philosophy. 3. No company-wide hiring strategy. 4. Inadequate or inconsistent training. 5. Employees are unable to connect day-to-day activities with the goals and overall mission of organization. 6. No measurement of performance = no feedback = no personal accountability = no improvement= status quo. 7. Culture does not allow employees or customers to give input. If input is received, it is ignored. 8. Leadership does not daily live out the values of the organization. 9. No investment in development of employees. 10. Leadership does not see the strong connection between a service culture and the bottom...
by Deborah Leverett | Jan 12, 2011 | Blog, Uncategorized
Our capacity, or potential, is unlimited. But few people reach their potential because they don’t understand that in order to grow, you must change. And change, as we all know, is uncomfortable, stretches us beyond what we know; even going to points of perceived pain. In our culture of seminars, development programs, leadership books, we are not want of information. Yet we can deceive ourselves and think because we have read it, our job is done. A huge lie! it is not until you begin to practice new behavior that you will grow. The process of true change requires certain attitudes: 1. Desire. If you don’t wanna you ain’t gonna. 2. Humility. You must admit you haven’t reached perfection, and you don’t know it all. (Ahem, don’t think you need to show this to your boss/spouse/etc. Stay focused.) 3. Awareness. You must find out what is not working. You really don’t need someone else to tell you. You can just take stock of what is going right in your and what is going wrong. You don’t even need to spend a week in the mountains. You can begin immediately by asking these after an important meeting, after a heated discussion or at the end of your day: What went wrong/right? What part did I play? Did I make it worse? Better? What could I have done differently? 4. Take responsibility. Once you’ve asked these questions of yourself, make a quality decision to find out how how to do it better. Books, internet, peers, mentors, etc. No excuse that you don’t have access to the information you need. 5. Do....
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