Stepping up to the Demands of 2010 in Innovative Ways

Saw this post through a link on an ASTD LinkedIn group. Has some good advice about leadership, but what I found interesting were the statistics and studies cited. Excerpts below. Full post at http://bit.ly/7zePH4

I want to know how will you approach the new year at work.

“1. See it as a new decade, not just a New Year….

2. Commit to continuous learning. …

3. Learn how to add value. Experts suggest that 40% of executives in key positions in organizations fail, at a cost to the organization of six times their annual salary (Training, July 2008). They fail because they haven’t learned how to add value….

4. Keep the big picture in focus. John Kotter suggests that 70% of change initiatives typically fail. Much of the reason is because leaders start to “drill down” into the details and lose the big picture and their role as change champions….

5. Speak up. Research done by the Concours Group suggests that 85% of why projects fail is due to “silence.” It begins with project sponsors who do not communicate clearly about expectations and are resistant to hearing feedback. It follows with “fact-free planning” when deliverables, budgets and timelines are set with no opportunity for input from the people who will actually do the work. When this happens, there is an 88% failure rate. Once a project starts, it can derail when team members neglect to honestly communicate project risks, delays and problems. Seventy-eight percent of these projects will go over budget and 74% will under-deliver. And, over 80% of projects are compromised by members who do not show up for meetings, fail to meet schedules, and don’t bother to respond to emails or communicate with team members….”

Posted by Kathy Sandler on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 10:39 PM