Author Archives: Business Advisors

Negative Emotions Limit Capacity to Think

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Daniel Goleman explains how once the survival response has been triggered, the mind gets obsessed with the thoughts linked to negative emotions, such as fear and anger. Negative thoughts shrink the cognitive ability to make sound decisions and to tackle the work at hand. Unchecked negative emotions limit the capacity to think.

To watch the complete presentationclick here

Viewpoint on the Impact of Negative Emotions in the Workplace

A big part of executive coaching is about developing the self-mastery of leaders, helping them increase their self-awareness about emotions, self-management when they have been triggered into negative emotions, and also developing empathy to be able to recognize when others have been triggered.

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Top Thought Leaders In Trust

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Alain Bolea is delighted to be included in the 2015 list of Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trust. The list is put forward by Trust Across America | Trust Around the World. Founded by Barbara Kimmel, TIA|TAW is dedicated to bringing the topic of organizational trust to the forefront. It provides information to inspire leaders and tools to increase trust in business practices and institutions.

He is honored to be in the company of Patricia Aburdene, Ken Blanchard, Tim Cook, Stephen M.R. Covey and Bill George to name a few.

The complete list is available in the new issue of Trust Magazine. The magazine also contains my article Foster Trust—Build Team Performance. You can get your free copy of the magazine by clicking on the cover below.

Trust Magazine Cover

Creating Success in IT Projects

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By Alain Bolea and David Keller

A high proportion of Technology projects do not deliver: they are late, the product or service does not match end-user requirements, and/or requires significant late stage changes to satisfy the client’s needs. Such outcomes usually reduce a company’s competitive position, increase project costs, and strain relationships. Creating success in IT projects calls for greater project team alignment upfront.

Common Pitfalls of Technology Projects

At their inception, troubled projects tend to follow the same scenario; we call it “Rushing to fail” and it typically goes like this:

  • High-level project parameters are set by a few individuals using an incomplete view of the needs of end-users, project constraints and risks.
  • Because key project assumptions come from senior management, the project staff often unconsciously avoids fully vetting them; “solutions” are railroaded to meet timetable, budgets and requirements.

This faulty process, sourced in an incomplete view of the project as a whole combined with a rush to performance, is the real reason why projects fail.
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Collaboration

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Elon Musk discusses how collaboration needs to be a concern even when hiring exceptionally talented individuals because their ability to work well with others is essential.

To watch the complete interview click here

Viewpoint

Collaboration is key to having teams function well. The level of collaboration impacts both the team’s ability to perform and its ability to innovate. Keeping in mind that even the smartest person will have to interface with others in order to be effective is an essential part of a healthy hiring process.

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Toxic Behaviors

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Jack Welch responds to a question on how a leader knows who is being “cut-throat” and who is doing their work. Toxic behaviors need to be handled promptly.

To view the entire presentation click here

Viewpoint on Toxic Behaviors

With toxic behaviors present in a group, there is very little chance that people will fully trust each other, speak openly, and work in a collaborative manner. Cut-throat behaviors such as taking credit for work that others have done, backstabbing, gossiping may happen behind a leader’s back so to speak, but the consequences are always visible in the way people talk and act. Toxic behaviors can be detected in the patterns of avoidance in the team’s interactions.

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Integrity in Organizations

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Simon Sinek discusses how leaders need to value integrity in order to be trusted as leaders and to foster trust in their organizations.

To watch entire presentation click here

Viewpoint

When integrity in organizations is low, trust is also low; people do not acknowledge they have made a mistake, do not admit that they don’t know how to do a part of their job, and avoid asking for help for fear people (and especially their boss) will think they are incompetent. Such behaviors always begin and get reinforced with what values leaders embody by their behaviors. If integrity is not acknowledged and rewarded by the leader, it will not be a core value.

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Culture of Accountability

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Alan Mullaly explains how the executive team at Ford Motor Company changed to a culture of accountability.

To watch the entire presentation click here

Viewpoint on Creating a Culture of Accountability

True accountability needs a culture of trust and openness and it is up to the leader to put in place the following necessary conditions: safety, clarity of purpose, trust, and an environment where responsibility is valued. Talking about accountability without such conditions in place will cause people to go into a mode of self-protection rather than initiative.

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Solutions Come from Inside

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Carlos Ghosn of Renault-Nissan discusses his experience of organizations in trouble. Whatever the organization, it can find inside solutions to its problems. It is a matter of listening to the people who are involved in the key processes.

To watch the entire presentation click here

Viewpoint on How to Let Solutions Come from Inside the Organization

Bringing out the reality of the situation is the first step to turning around teams in difficulty. Establishing a common reality that everyone can agree on is the absolute necessary phase to turn around a group or an organization. Interviews can provide insights, but there is no solution better than the collective solution generated once the group has come to term with the current reality.

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Candor in the Workplace

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Candor in the workplace as Jack Welch describes is the necessary lubricant for organizations to run well. What prevents candor is fear.

To watch the entire presentation click here

Viewpoint on Candor in the Workplace

In our experience, candor grows when leaders have established the following prerequisite conditions: safety, trust, clarity and transparent accountability.

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