An easy way to pick the right leadership style for the situation — The Skill-Will Matrix is a situational leadership model, made popular by Max Landsberg in his book The Tao of Coaching (2003). The Skill-Will method is easy to remember and apply, and that is why it remains popular with managers. The approach is primarily used to help identify the leadership style…

The right questions to ask to ensure productive meetings. — What is the one thing that wastes most of your time at work? You might have said ‘emails’, you might even have said ‘that annoying colleague who always hangs around my desk’, but most likely you will have said ‘meetings’. That is because most employees face meetings overload in their…

The Rule of Three for Writing, Public Speaking, Decision-Making and More — As a leader, I often have to speak, at short notice, to various groups of people. This might be in the context of a meeting, while facilitating training, or even at a social function where I might be asked to “say a few words”. When this happens, I have a…

The theories and approaches to support your leadership from good to great — Here is a short introduction to some of the most important leadership theories, trends, and models. These can all be instructive in understanding your own leadership style, broadening your expertise, and giving you tools to improve as a manager. Great-man theory Great Man theory (1840) is one of the oldest leadership theories…

The Right Questions Newsletter: Monthly Digest — I hope you have had a great week! Here are some of the things I have been writing about over the last month (in case you missed them). Just click on the hyperlinks to read more. Enjoy! The Problem with Myers-Briggs Personality Tests The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was the first personality test that I came…

How executive coaching has been proven to help CEOs and senior leaders — Why would a senior executive want a coach? There are many assumptions that people make (including senior leaders) that can create a negative answer to this question. Executives are seen as having achieved a great deal, so what further goals would they want to accomplish with a coach? They are…

Why understanding personality traits is important for individuals and teams, and how the Big 5 (OCEAN) model can help — Do you have the right personality type for the job you are doing? This is a potentially controversial question. Popular culture tends to support the idea that we can do anything we want to if we put our minds to it. However, psychological research suggests that we can be better…

How to give amazing presentations (with practical tips from TED, Made to Stick, and more) — What makes a good presentation? We know an effective presentation when we see and hear one. We certainly know a bad one when we are forced to endure it. The phrase, Death by PowerPoint was not coined by accident! That same phrase came to mind recently while I was at…

The Right Questions Newsletter — I hope you have had a great week! Here are some of the things I have been writing about this month (in case you missed them). Just click on the hyperlinks to read more. Enjoy! Artificial Intelligence What does the advent of AI mean for us, particularly in the workplace? For leaders…