An Introspective Journey to Lead from your Best Self
In daily life, only 15% of the forces driving people, projects and situations are typically accessible. To make real progress on a leadership weakness, create genuine unity in a team, or enhance an organization’s culture, you need to understand the 85% below the surface. Otherwise you can end up exhausting yourself treating symptoms with quick-fix solutions. The cost in time, money and energy is immeasurable.
Compared to other trainings, we spend little time in our seminars explaining intellectually what you should do. Between the books you’ve read, the trainings you’ve attended, and your life experience, we believe you have a good grasp of what would make you an effective leader. Instead we help you reveal the ‘invisible’ drivers preventing you from putting this clarity into action. Just as important, we teach you create environments where people support each other to make their greatest contribution.
Only 15% of an iceberg is visible above the water. Yet it is guided by the 85% below the surface, where unseen currents affect it.
Below are a selection of resources describing how to overcome your unconscious defensive routines and reach your next level. Use the filters to choose your preferred media type.
Cycle Time Revolution
After 10 years of rigorous process improvement, product development cycle time for this semiconductor manufacturer had decreased from 300 to 270 days. One year later, pilot groups working with LaL hit 90 days, then 66. Learn about the unlimited creativity at your finger tips when human dysfunction is removed. ReadContinue reading
Heal Irreparable Distrust
A F500 oil company outsourced its IT management to a multi-national computer support contractor. Chronic system outages and pervasive finger-pointing pushed the contract to the verge of termination, a potential $30M write-off. Learn how LaL helped key leaders make sense of the systemic failures and heal irreparable mistrust to createContinue reading
Millions Ahead of Budget
URSA was designed to be the world’s largest oil platform, but its development was months behind schedule and millions of dollars above budget. URSA’s Asset Leader leveraged LaL to reinvent his both own leadership and the collaboration between warring silos, ultimately delivering the platform four months ahead of schedule andContinue reading
Scientist Entrepreneurs
After decades of receiving stable work, the R&D division of a national laboratory saw its funding decrease dramatically. Scientists who preferred experiments to people needed to become entrepreneurial networkers who strategically charted a new direction. The extended leadership team used LaL to challenge their engrained work habits and cultural tendenciesContinue reading
Unprecedented Culture Change
A seven year cultural transformation. Learn how this financial services company overcame operational turf wars, a challenging business environment and stretched leaders in new roles. Changing key cultural dysfunctions helped them change the nature of how they do business — unleashed industry leading growth. Read Case Study
Victims Change Their Destiny
A few years ago, the lumber industry underwent one of its most severe downturns in history. The $200M New South saw its profit margins drop more than $25M. Starting with the CEO, New South and LaL collaborated to transform the DNA of their leadership and culture, breaking out of aContinue reading
Making Others Good
You have a relationship with a colleague that’s not working and it’s snowballing into a crisis. What do you do about it? LaL presents a most powerful and transformative tool for shifting intractable relationships. Download now!
Performance vs. Learning Goals
Read this article by Academic Advisory Board Member Jennifer Crocker, PhD and Chairman Noah Nuer on how certain goals are more effective at supporting you and making you happy than others. Download here
Us vs. Them
An article by LaL President Shayne Hughes on eliminating Us vs. Them Dynamics and unlocking the unconscious demonization that’s hijacking your organization. Download here
Shayne Hughes Keynote Address (audio) – “The Ultimate Obstacle to Leadership”
Our greatest potential in heightening our performance and effectiveness lies not in what we know we should do better, but in discovering why we are not already doing it. Identify and overcome the unconscious barriers that get in your way of rising to your full potential. This inspiring and interactiveContinue reading
Shayne Hughes – P01 Changing Limiting Behaviors
#1 out of a 3-part podcast series by LaL President Shayne Hughes: Why do we sometimes behave in ways that don’t serve us — even when we know better? Wanting to act differently is not enough. Uncover why we are committed to our dysfunctions, and how to move beyond them.
Shayne Hughes – P02 Desired and Dreaded Images
#2 out of a 3-part podcast series by LaL President Shayne Hughes: We have many barely noticeable thoughts that influence our behavior. One of them is unconsciously wondering how others judge and perceive us. Learn how this drives us to react in automatic, counterproductive ways.
Shayne Hughes – P03 The Nature of Goals and Their Impact
#3 out of a 3-part podcast series by LaL President Shayne Hughes: The quality of our goals impacts whether we feel anxious, driven or inspired. Unfortunately, our by-default goals take us out of the present moment, limiting our ability to access our intuition and potential. Learn how to define goalsContinue reading
NPR Radio – Is technology interfering with your relationships?
Listen to LaL President Shayne Hughes tell NPR’s Rachel Martin on Weekend Edition how technology impacts relationships and about his experiment banning internal email at LaL for a week.
2009 Keynote Address (video) – “The Ultimate Obstacle to Leadership”
Watch LaL President Shayne Hughes and Nasa Associate Director Cindy Lee co-present at the CCHPO Annual conference. Our greatest potential in heightening our performance and effectiveness lies not in what we know we should do better, but in discovering why we are not already doing it. Identify and overcome theContinue reading
At the Mercy / At the Source
A different approach to the usual “lose-lose” situations. For example: either I tell it like it is and get reactions from others, or I stay silent and let things fester. Finding the starting point “At the Sources” is how to break out of my paradigm.
Pattern
Familiar way of behaving that is an automatic response to an unidentified anxiety, producing unwanted consequences. For example: getting angry, shutting down, procrastinating, …
The Mattress
Preventive actions that we unconsciously take for fear of ailing – and that actually compromise our ability to succeed. For example: sandbagging and limiting my results because of it.
Next Level
How do I need to stretch myself in the coming year in order to make the highest impact in all areas of my life? A visioning tool.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
How my beliefs and expectations about myself and others influence the behavior and performance of people around me.
Goals and Core Issues
In peeling the onion, we discover that our most challenging endeavors are only answers to deeper issues. Identifying these underlying motivations allows us to adapt our strategy when these core issues evolve.
Keynote Address (video) – “Your organizational turf wars won’t change unless…”
Watch Shayne Hughes’ keynote at the MAPI conference. Every employee wants to do their best and yet organizations are plagued with turf wars and dysfunctional behaviors. Through real life examples, LaL President and culture change partner Shayne Hughes presents how working on collective dysfunctions enabled companies to break through internalContinue reading
Multitasking: Public Enemy #1 of the Strategic Leader
Do you ever come to the end of a work day feeling spent, aware you’ve been slammed all day, putting out fires, responding to near-incessant demands, but still wonder what you really accomplished? You’re not alone. In “Multitasking: Public Enemy #1 of the Strategic Leader”, LaL’s Chief Possibilities Officer Marc-Andre Olivier tells the story ofContinue reading
What does neuroscience have to say about hot buttons? A LOT!
Longtime LaL senior executive coach, culture change partner and facilitator Carole Levy — our cartoonist-in-residence — shares her unique perspective on the neuroscience of the birth and nurturing of our ego’s hot buttons in her popular blog series, “Hot Button Mastery”. For a brief overview on where the roots of our perceived threats reside, andContinue reading
3 Leadership Dysfunctions That Could Be Costing You Millions
Brandon Black, the former CEO of Encore Capital, was a client of LaL’s for several years while he struggled to grow the company in a challenging industry — debt collection. Brandon teamed up with his coach, LaL President Shayne Hughes, and the LaL team to change the culture of Encore, starting at the top. ThisContinue reading
What Male Leaders Desperately Want
Learning as Leadership’s work is more than just teaching executives to be effective in their leadership, or to build high-performing teams and cultures. It’s about supporting men and women in positions of weighty responsibility to let go of their Egosystem and rediscover their humanity. This makes them far more inspiring and trusted leaders, allows theirContinue reading
We are Links in a Chain
By Noah Nuer, Chairman, LaL A CEO who was attending the first seminar in our 4-Mastery program shared with me his quandary: Over the course of his career, he had worked with many outstanding individual contributors, but he wasn’t sure he was ever part of a real team. In other words, his teams had alwaysContinue reading
What does my childhood have to do with my leadership?
By Shayne Hughes “That’s just the way he is.” How many times have you heard or uttered that phrase? John is a risk-averse CFO, unwilling to make a decision without all the facts. Linda, in operations, is conflict-averse; everyone knows she won’t address personnel problems or speak up in meetings. Only God knows what she’sContinue reading
Vulnerability Does Not Equal Weakness
I work with many clients who had to be tough to succeed. Whether they’ve had to overcome challenging life circumstances to get where they are or they grew up in a “normal” household, many people I coach did not become successful by being average! As they moved up the ranks from acceptance into the topContinue reading
The Secret to Giving Transformational Feedback
Recently while I was collecting feedback from a colleague of a client as part of an in-depth 360º assessment, I was struck by something rare: The opinions she shared were unusually direct, detailed and thoughtful, yet clearly coming from a place of love and compassion for our client. In my role as a 360º feedbackContinue reading
The Courage to Lead Culture Change
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Peter Drucker Creating change is an act of courage. In this month’s issue of Fortune magazine, former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is quoted saying to incumbent CEO Marissa Mayer, faced with the daunting task of rebuilding Yahoo, “I really wish her well. Changing culture is not a sprint. It’sContinue reading
Changing Limiting Behaviors
Welcome to our ongoing series of FAQ blogs about the core principles of LaL’s methodology. In this FAQ, CEO Shayne Hughes discusses what prevents us from changing behaviors that don’t serve our goals. Q. Most people know the pain of trying to change a behavior like being argumentative or procrastinating. Why is it so difficultContinue reading
The Power of Vulnerability
LaL executive coach Marc-Andre Olivier explores the power we gain by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in the workplace. It was the standard CEO kick-off speech launching our WeLead training program. My client (the CEO) came in and spoke to his team about the transitions they were facing as an organization, what some of theirContinue reading
What’s Really Underneath Your Unwanted Behavior?
One of my clients is your typical type A, fast-paced, multi-tasking Vice President. He can’t sit still, and his electronic devices are constantly invading his work and home life — and he knows it. He prides himself on being organized and efficient, is a Harvard graduate and a rising star in his company. He isContinue reading
Procrastinating on Uncomfortable Conversations
Note: This post is the final in a four part series. In this final post of the series on emotional clarity as a pathway to self-discipline, we’ll examine how these tools can help leaders breakthrough the most common form of procrastination I see in US organizations: conflict avoidance.
Book Press
PODCASTS:
- Interview of Shayne Hughes on CEB Talent Angle (link to the podcast)
- Interview of Brandon Black on News/Talk WSVA (link to the podcast)
ARTICLES:
- Huffington Post (link to the book review)
- Forbes (link to the article)
- The CEO Magazine (link to the article)
- Leadership Excellence Essentials (Download February 2017 issue)
- Review on Coaching Tip (link to the blog post)
- Business Standard India (download article) (link to newspaper)
- The Hindu Business Line (link to article)