Three Leadership lessons from an art and innovation workshop at the McColl Center.  Originally published in the Charlotte Agenda.

When working with senior leaders one of the biggest hurdles is to get them to see constructive feedback in a positive light. Too often leaders think feedback is an attack on them.   Referring to feedback as a gift opens their eyes to the positives.

Why does the word conflict get a bad rap and how to turn conflict into a tool for better decision making.

As leaders it is the small actions that can have large impacts. Think about the last time you greeted your employees or customers in the office lobby or at the front door to your retail outlet. If you have never tried it, go for it. That small gesture will have a lasting positive impact. Learn how the actions of one school leader model the behaviors of a great leader.

The key to being a great actor is to be yourself.  Acting is not about impersonation, it is about originality.  The same concept holds true in the business world.  As a leader, the most important attribute you can bring to your job is your authenticity.  There is no one else like you in the world and that is what makes each of us special and different.  Too many people spend their working lives trying to be like someone else or adjusting their personality and approach to “fit in”. 

Stop trying to block the exit door. Instead, focus on getting your employees engaged in opening new doors within your organization.

 One helpful activity I ask my clients to do is to create a visual career timeline.  On the X axis I have them create a timeline listing years from the time they graduated from high school to the present.  On the Y axis I have them create a legend for career growth.  The next step is to plot points on the graph that show each job or pivotal career cross-roads that they have faced. 

"Life might be finite, but one's legacy can be eternal".  Dr. Fromme, or “grammpa” to me, was a psychologist, teacher and writer.  He taught at City College of New York, Sara Lawrence and Columbia University, wrote seven books and practiced psychology for over fifty years. He is also remembered for his popular lecture series at New York’s 92nd Street Y. A graduate of the City College of New York and Columbia University, Dr. Fromme was a life-long learner.  He firmly believed in the never-ending quest for knowledge, which is one of the most important leadership lessons he taught me. 

The toughest interview question I ever faced was frustrating at the time, but turned into one of my greatest career learnings.  

Whether you are looking for a new job, driving sales for your organization, building your business or looking for love try leveraging your connections for introductions to their connections.

Rather than seeing the top leadership role as being the person to provide the answers, he saw his responsibility as asking the right questions.  Too many leaders today think that leadership is about having the right answer and showing how smart you are, when in fact leadership is about bringing out the best in others.  

Having seen many Chief Human Resources officers fail to build the credibility required to succeed in an organization as well as witnessing those who have had a positive impact from the start, I have established a short list of high impact initiatives for any senior HR leader joining a new organization.

Similar to starting a new job or a new school, the Panthers entered the 2014 season feeling good about themselves.  They had completed a winning season the year before despite being eliminated in the first playoff game.  This season got off to a decent start with a 2-0 record.  The fans were on board and everyone had high hopes.  Then the Panthers hit a wall.  It was as if someone had cast a spell over them.  They won only one of their next nine games; well they did have a tie in there.  Entering December with a record of 3-8-1, the fans and everyone else had counted them out.  Maybe next year they would get their act together. 

Action learning programs exercise the strategic muscles of an organization, build leadership capability, drive employee engagement and improve business results.  Why not trust your strategy projects to your high potentials?

Not only was Oscar de la Renta a progressive fashion designer, he was also an insightful leader who recognized the importance of creating a succession plan.  Too many creatives allow their egos and sense of self worth stand in the way of creating an organization that can carry on in their absence.  Oscar de la Renta was unique in this regard.  We can all learn a lesson about just how fashionable succession planning can be from Oscar.

What really makes superman great is that he is a self-aware leader. He knows his strengths and he leverages them in his quest for peace. He is also fully aware that kryptonite is his weakness. Self-awareness is a strength that all great leaders have learned to leverage. Superman epitomizes a leader who knows how to leverage his strengths. Superman’s super power that very few talk about is his awareness of his own strengths and weakness.

A successful career must be built upon a solid foundation much like a building. A strong work ethic, determination and learning agility are keys to a successful career. Learning these skills and abilities begins with an individual’s first job. Whether that first job was mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, working retail or fast-food, those first job experiences helped build a foundation for future success.

Our best learnings occur when we push ourselves or we are pushed outside of our comfort zone.

Workplace culture is like a living organism constantly evolving. The introduction of a new employee or the departure of an employee can change the dynamic of an office culture. Too often the leadership of companies overlooks the importance of culture to organizational performance. Work styles and personal preferences have been studied for ages. 

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