Leadership Insights
from the Untangle Doctor®
Blog Post Archive
- AIG 1
- Captain Sullenberger 1
- Hush Hush Tangle 1
- Introduction 1
- Jangle Tangle 1
- Lominger 1
- Marcia Ruben 1
- Meg Wheatley 1
- Strangling Tangle 2
- Tangle 1
- Twitter 1
- VUCA 17
- accountability 1
- adult development 1
- air cover 1
- ambiguity 1
- anger 1
- assessment 2
- backbiting 1
- blame 1
- brain based leadership 2
- cascade tangle 1
- catastrophize 1
- change management 1
- chaos 1
- coach qualifications 1
- collaboration 7
- commitment 2
- communication 4
- competence 3
- complexity 3
- conflict 1
- conflict resolution 1
- consultant qualifications 1
- corporate gridlock 1
- courage 4
- crisis 1
- crooked triangle 1
- culture 6
- decision making 2
- emotional contagion 1
- emotional intelligence 5
- emotions 4
- empathy 2
- empowerment 1
- ethics 4
- executive coach 3
- executive coaching 5
- executive leadership 11
- executive leadership coach 4
How Organizational Structure Contributes to Organizational Tangles
Wall Street Journal reporter Kara Swisher interviewed Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, at the recent All Things Digital Conference. I was struck by Bartz's assertions that organizational structure has limited Yahoo's ability to innovate. Bartz's comments validated findings from my own research. I was interested in uncovering the organizational enablers that contribute to the unwinding of organizational tangles. I define tangles as those interpersonal, political, and human dynamics messes that tie organizations up in knots. What I found in my research is that an organizational structure that ensures clear levels of authority and accountability creates clear channels of communication and removes the fuzziness that stalls forward progress.
Ten Best Practices for Leading Organizational Change
Based on my more than 20 years of experience as an organizational change strategist and executive coach, the following ten best practices will ease the pain of large-scale change and ensure successful implementation.
A Realistic Approach to Decision Making That Avoids Tangles
Jason Zweig, author of the Wall Street Journal's Intelligent Investor, writes that "smart people trying to do good, honest work on behalf of others" may have been responsible for the financial crisis. Zweig's article masterfully lays out some of the challenges that investment committees, boards of directors, and state boards of trustees can face in decisions to invest or not invest. His insightful column can also provide advice to corporate leaders making decisions regarding strategy and strategy execution.
Active Listening Tips for Avoiding Strangling Tangles™
A Strangling Tangle™ paralyzes organizations and can lead to plummeting profits, lost revenue, and precipitous falls in market share. There are a number of causes for Strangling Tangles. Based on my experience and research, organizations with corporate cultures that discourage speaking up and sharing bad news are particularly vulnerable. Leaders play a huge role in building, maintaining, and changing corporate culture. One way leaders can change the culture is by learning and demonstrating active listening skills.