Tell It Like It Is: Constructive Feedback is Key
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Regardless of what we do professionally, the only way we can truly improve our performance and leadership is to receive and accept critical feedback without being defensive or argumentative. Exceptional leaders recognize this and are committed to providing constructive feedback to help their team members grow. The following tips and tools will help you give critical feedback even when it is hard for your team members to hear:
Fiorina Exposes Trump
by Steve Adubato, PhD
“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.” stated Carly Fiorina in Wednesday’s GOP Debate. More powerful words have never been spoken in a Presidential debate. Republican candidate Carly Fiorina eviscerated and publicly humiliated tough guy, Donald Trump, in front of the world with those words when asked to respond to Trump’s sophomoric and disgraceful comments about her face (which he said were misinterpreted because he said he was talking about her “persona”). There you have it, in my view as well as millions of others. Donald Trump was exposed for who and what he really is.
Trump Hits a New Low
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Just when I thought Donald Trump couldn’t get any worse in his public speeches, he hit a new low in Rochester, NH (after bragging that he did so well in the CNN GOP Republican debate) in which he clearly did not step up and act like a leader. Trump’s first question from the audience came from a supporter who asked, “We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslims. You know our current President is one. You know he's not even an American… Anyway, we have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That's my question: When can we get rid of them?"
Hillary Clinton's Apology: Too Little, Too Late and Way Too Calculated
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Much of Hillary Clinton’s problem right now is a product of her own doing. If she were a stronger leader, with a greater sense of integrity and honesty, she would have dealt with this email controversy in a very different way. Instead of saying that storing thousands of emails on a private server – potentially, many sensitive emails – as Secretary of State was “allowed,” what she should have simply done from the beginning was say something like this; “I was wrong. It doesn’t matter what the law allows, what I did was inappropriate. I should have gone to the government email server given my role as Secretary of State. It created the wrong impression about my intent regarding those emails and I am fully responsible for that problem. I need to deal with this immediately by turning over those emails and fully cooperating with all of the agencies investigating this situation. It was a mistake and I need to do better in the future.”
Great Leaders Lead Great Meetings
by Steve Adubato, PhD
In any organization, the quality of meetings directly impacts productivity, effectiveness and employee engagement and happiness. Think about it. If your organization requires that you attend countless meetings that you find boring – and not especially relevant to you and your work – how engaged would you be? Yet, too often poorly run meetings become part of an organization’s normal course of business. I often hear, “It’s just the way we do things” as the explanation but I don’t buy it.
Trump is No Leader... But He is Very Dangerous Indeed
by Steve Adubato, PhD
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I can’t figure out the Donald Trump thing. I can’t figure out his appeal to so many voters and I’m amazed that the masses haven’t figured out how full of it he really is. Not only isn’t he a legitimate leader – by any reasonable standard of defining what a leader is – he’s the king of insults. Donald Trump is like the Don Rickles of presidential politics. He insults just about everyone. Except Rickles is funny, Trump is just mean. As Peter Wehner, a senior White House advisor to George W. Bush, recently said, “He shouldn’t be let near a Twitter account, let alone nuclear weapons.”
It’s About THEM... The Power of Empathy
By Steve Adubato, PhD
Very often, as leaders we talk about how WE see the world – our vision, our strategy, our plans. It’s critical to have a distinct vision and to clearly communicate it to the people we will be asking to help us get there. However, a truly well-rounded leader must also have the ability – and a burning desire – to empathize and care about those they are trying to lead and serve. This includes our audience and our stakeholders, those on our team, our peers, and our clients or customers. Simply put, we need to empathize with those who help us achieve what we need to get done every day and allow us to get credit when things go right (and yes, if you are a really good leader, take responsibility when things go wrong).