Leadership Development Articles Search

Strategic Execution Planning BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. There is overwhelming evidence that most strategic initiatives fall short of the expected results. At the core, many initiatives fall short because of the lack of anticipation of what it will actually take to make it work and the impact it will have on employees and other key stakeholders. Too often there are naïve managers who mean well but are clueless as to what ...

Strategic Execution Leadership The secrets of success in strategic execution BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. Strategic execution is an intervention into the trajectory of performance of a business. It is an interruption of the current trajectory in order to improve or upgrade the direction to create more profitability and value in the business. Interruption in the trajectory of a business’s performance is neither something easily done nor an action to be taken lightly. It ...

BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. Strategic execution begins with leadership. Plain and simple. No leaders no success in execution. Leaders inspire others to act in order to achieve extraordinary performance. This process begins by generating authentic leadership, even when others around do not and may even be critical of the leader. Leaders then challenge the status quo and look for ways to dislodge the status quo. Leaders also instill confidence in others so they will begin to act. ...

By Camille Ford At a 100-year-old paper mill in the Pacific Northwest a group of employees formed a team to reduce energy costs. They called themselves the “Kill-a-Watt” team and were made up of both hourly and salary employees. Through energy awareness and education, they helped their mill save over $1 million in just one year. Across the country in Virginia, a team of beer plant employees converted the plant’s sanitization process, saving over $300,000. Another team made up ...

Authenticity Leaders Are Only as Effective as They Are Authentic BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. Authenticity is “habitual truthfulness” that shines through the leaders actions. Leaders must be perceived as being “the real deal”, or authentic, if they are to be effective in strategic execution. Personal authenticity is highly correlated with effectiveness as a leader of transformation. The converse of this is also valid as those who are not authentic are less ...

Distinctions of Leadership BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. A business exists to create value. A key element to creating value is to reliably and predictably deliver results. Further value is created when businesses achieve results beyond what is expected and what competitors are achieving. This calls for leadership. Leaders are the source of an organization achieving significant results and creating value. That is, organizations achieve unexpected results, or that which was otherwise not ...

Building Your Management Team into a Leadership Team BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. Troubled times call for, if not demand, leadership. Business has never been in more need of authentic leadership to engage ...

Foundational Commitments A key to leadership in strategic execution BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. Effective leadership must be present if strategic execution is to be achieved. Most strategic execution is not business as usual, but rather the achievement of something extraordinary. This out of the ordinary requires breakthroughs in business performance and value creation, and thus is horribly dependent on leadership. Effective leadership is not given by position, by ...

If you are going to be a leader of strategic execution, you are also “signing up” to become a great communicator. That is because communication is the essence of leadership. Leaders can do little without communication. Communication is the act of imparting, conveying or exchanging ideas, feelings, knowledge, information, intent, and strategies which inspire others to act in ways they otherwise would not act. Their actions in turn will produce results that otherwise would not occur. ...

Strategic execution begins with leadership. Plain and simple. No leaders - no success in execution. This is something that you are well aware of. I am often asked what makes strategic execution successful, and I reply, “Leaders”. Usually there is a blank look back at me as if to say “Duh, well of course”. The assumption is that there is some magic elixir that is required for success. For me the answer is, “Nope, no magic pills…only leaders doing what makes ...

I think the traditional ways we go about developing leaders and managers is just fine. Over my career, I’ve met people who say a month or more in an MBA class was a significant catalyst to their career. I went to one myself, at Darden, and spent sleepless nights on cases with great friendships forged. Put simply, I had a great time. Since then, I’ve seen fast and effective leadership development take place in-house and contribute quick and significant results. Time spent earning an MBA ...

Ownership Increasing Responsibility to Enable Employee Engagement BY BOB CHAPMAN, PH.D. Ownership is a heightened state of being responsible for one’s self and one’s surroundings. In a business, it is voluntarily holding oneself responsible for actions and business outcomes beyond one’s formal authority. Ownership is a condition of being responsible where individuals choose to be responsible in matters of the business far beyond their formal ...