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Leadership & Curiosity

November 28, 2011 in Innovation, Leadership, Success, Uncategorized with 10 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Have you ever noticed how the best leaders also tend to be the most curious leaders? Great leaders simply aren’t satisfied with what they know. They possess an insatiable curiosity for discovery and learning – they are in constant pursuit of what they don’t know, and what lies ahead. Real leaders are not nearly as concerned with attainment (stasis) as they are with betterment (change). Since the dawn of time the world has been shaped by leaders who understand that curiosity is the gateway to the future. So my question is this – How curious are you?

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Leadership & Discipline

November 14, 2011 in Leadership, Productivity, Success with 13 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

The difference between good and great often comes down to discipline. So my question is this – how disciplined are you as a leader? Context, fluidity, and other nuanced behaviors are positive traits to embrace so long as they don’t serve as an excuse for a lack of discipline. I’m not suggesting that leaders should be robotic or static in approach – quite to the contrary. Implementing a framework of discipline allows leaders more flexibility not less. While subjecting yourself to the rigor of discipline is not easy, it is essential if you want to maximize your effectiveness as a leader. The best leaders I know are extremely disciplined people – they simply do the things others are not willing to do.  Are you disciplined in all facets of your life, or just those which come more easily to you?

This is a preview of Leadership & Discipline. Read the full post (629 words, 1 image, estimated 2:31 mins reading time)


 

Leadership and Mentoring

June 14, 2011 in Leadership, Productivity, Success with 10 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Mentoring - A word to the wiseLeadership and mentoring go hand-in-hand. In fact, this is so much the case I don’t believe a person qualifies as a leader unless they are a mentor. If you accept this premise as correct, then why is it so many in positions of leadership fall woefully short in successfully transferring the benefits of their wisdom and experience to others? To the chagrin of many reading this post, I believe there is regrettably all too often a difference between someone who holds a leadership position, and that of a mature, effective leader. In the text that follows, I’ll share a few thoughts on not only the benefits of mentoring, but how to do it effectively.

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Defining Great Leadership

May 3, 2011 in Leadership, Success with 16 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

With all the attention and emphasis given to leadership, I have a few questions for you: Why is it that so many people refer to themselves as leaders, but truly great leaders are so few in number? How do you measure great leadership? And finally, is there a common thread that distinguishes those viewed as great leaders from the masses of those who hold leadership positions? While you can measure many things when assessing a leader, great leaders stand apart from the masses based on the impact of the sum of their accomplishments. It’s not a leader’s traits or characteristics that make them great, it’s how they apply them that matters. Here’s the thing – nobody really cares if you have all the right tools if you don’t know how and when to use them…

This is a preview of Defining Great Leadership. Read the full post (1030 words, 1 image, estimated 4:07 mins reading time)


 

Leadership & Mental Models

February 14, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Success with 10 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

When was the last time you conducted an honest evaluation of your thought life? Does the integrity and quality of your thinking position you for success, or does your tendency toward intellectually dishonest rationalizations and justifications doom you to a life of chaos and failure? Few things in life are as important as your thought life, so in today’s post I’ll examine the two things most likely to impact your thinking: 1.) what you think about, and; 2.) how you think about it. In the text that follows I’ll discuss mental models and critical thinking.

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Leadership – No Talent Required

February 9, 2011 in Leadership, Success, Talent Management with 25 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

While not all leaders will develop their talents and abilities to the same level, all successful leaders  more or less begin with the same foundation. Here’s the thing – the foundational elements of leadership require no skill or talent whatsoever. Clearly the difference possessed by all great leaders is that they refine, develop and build from their foundation – they don’t ignore it or take it for granted.  However the most important thing I want to communicate today is that I’d take an unrefined leader with a strong foundation over a slick leader with a weak foundation eleven times out of ten.  In today’s post I’ll share 6 leadership characteristics that require zero talent or skill.

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Attitude Reflects Leadership

January 19, 2011 in Success with 46 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

How's Your AttitudeMy question for you today is a simple one: ”How’s Your Attitude?” Show me a CEO with a bad attitude and I’ll show you a poor leader. While this sounds simple enough at face value, I have consistently found that one of the most often overlooked leadership attributes is that of a positive attitude. As a CEO, how can you expect to inspire, motivate, engender confidence, and to lead with a lousy attitude? The simple answer is that you can’t…it just won’t work. CEOs with bad attitudes will not only fail to engage their workforce, but they will quickly find themselves shown the door as their attitude’s impact on performance becomes visible to the board. In today’s post I’ll examine the importance of CEOs having a positive attitude…

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The Fallacy of No

January 6, 2011 in Leadership, Rants, Success with 15 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

There seems to be a popular movement afoot that believes the word “no” is the super antidote to the far inferior word “yes.” There are many well known axioms espousing the benefits of learning to use the word no with greater frequency. In fact, there are some very bright people who believe you cannot become a good leader without developing a mastery for using the word no as evidenced by the following quote from Tony Blair: “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes.” I couldn’t disagree more…In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on what I refer to as the fallacy of no.

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Family Matters

December 31, 2010 in Leadership, Rants, Success with 45 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

For the last post of the year I decided to update a piece I published earlier this year – I also consider it to be the most important work I authored this year…it applies to all of us.  Over the years I’ve come to believe that there is only one sure fire litmus test for measuring leadership success, and to the chagrin of many reading this post, it has little to do with what happens on the job. Today’s post might push a few buttons and test the boundaries of your comfort zone, but if you stick with me, I promise you’ll be glad you did. I’m going to peel back the layers on your personal brand, question your priorities, and quite possibly put a big dent in your carefully crafted professional facade. We’re going to get very personal today – How’s your family life?

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Success vs. Significance

December 21, 2010 in Leadership, Miscellaneous, Rants, Success with 15 Comments

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth 

As one year draws to a close and another begins, I can think of no better time to dust off an old post and ask you to ponder the difference between success and significance. Some would say that any discussion along this topic line is nothing more than a semantical debate. However, it is my opinion that those who hold this view truly don’t understand the difference between the two, and are simply attempting to blur lines in order to feel better about themselves. Harsh? Perhaps, but I’ll let you be the judge. In today’s post I’ll attempt to clearly lay out the differences between success and significance, and why you’ll be better off setting your sites on the latter and not the former…

This is a preview of Success vs. Significance. Read the full post (1193 words, 1 image, estimated 4:46 mins reading time)


 
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