Zenger Folkman October Newsletter

A note about external focus…

I remember when I was in my first firm and we were admiring our progress and growth over our first five years. We felt like we were very successful, and then we looked at the average growth for all companies. It turns out we were below average! It’s not hard to grow when everybody is growing. Looking outward helped us gain a greater perspective about where we truly stood. 

At Zenger Folkman, we’ve found that those leaders who were classified as the most persistent and determined had an external focus. Sometimes when there is so much turmoil inward, it’s hard to look outward. Many leaders feel like they are just trying to keep their heads above water; how can they focus on someone else? What they don’t see is that if they looked outward, they might find someone who has found a raft. We are living in a time when an external focus can be beneficial. Look around at other businesses and leaders in your industry; how are they adapting to this environment? Now is the time to share new ideas, to show compassion and optimism for the future. Look at those you can learn from, look at those you can help, and let that outward focus energize and bring you hope as you keep pushing forward. 

-Joe Folkman

UPCOMING WEBINAR 

Register for the live webinar “Fresh Facts About Feedback” with Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman (October 28,2020 11am PT, 1pm MT, 2pm ET)

Is it time to rethink our traditional assumptions about feedback—maybe flipping it entirely upside down? Most listeners will be surprised at some of the findings. You’ll leave with new ideas about what you and your organization can do to make feedback happen more frequently, and have a more powerful, positive impact.

ARTICLES

·      “Is Practicing Inclusion and Valuing Diversity a Common Blind Spot?” by Joe Folkman

Most leaders want to be perceived as someone who values diversity and includes others. There are five skills that can profoundly impact a leader’s ability to value diversity and promote inclusion.

·      “The Link Between Leadership & Sales: Perks of Identifying Great Leaders” by Joe Folkman

It may not take a lot of experience for someone to identify a good leader. This study shows how sales were significantly influenced by the effectiveness of the leader.

·      “Six Down-To-Earth Lessons Learned From The Most Effective Coaches”  by Jack Zenger Assuming that most of us would like to become better leaders, what lessons can we learn from those seen by their colleagues as outstanding coaches? Using data from 4,000 coaches I found some simple practices that the most effective coaches use.

THE 90th PERCENTILE PODCAST

·      Episode 4: 360s Moving From Weakness To Strengths

·      Episode 5: What Great Listeners Actually Do

·      Episode 6: The Art of Decisive Leadership

EVENTS

·      Live- Online: The Extraordinary Coach, November 9 & 10

·      Live- Online: Elevating Feedback, December 1 & 4

·      Live- Online: The Extraordinary Leader and Certification Workshop, Dec. 2 & 4

Highlight from our International Partner

Our friend and partner, Morten Kamp Andersen, has started a new podcast, What Monkeys Do.

This is a podcast about what it takes to make a change and make it stick. So, if you are looking for insights, tools, and ideas to help you change yourself or the person standing next to you, then subscribe to this great podcast. Jack Zenger is featured in episode two.

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