KACHARAGADLA

Although organizations spend more than  $24 billion  annually on leadership development, many leaders who have attended leadership programs struggle to implement what they’ve learned. It’s not because the programs are bad but because  leadership is best learned from experience . Still, simply being an experienced leader doesn’t elevate a person’s skills. Like most of us, leaders often go through their experiences somewhat mindlessly, accomplishing tasks but learning little about themselves and their impact. Our research on leadership development shows that leaders who are  in learning mode   develop stronger leadership skills than their peers. Building on Susan Ashford and Scott DeRue’s  mindful engagement  experiential learning cycle, we found that leaders who exhibit a growth mindset diligently work through each of the following three phases of the experiential learning cycle. First, leaders set challenging learning goals in the form of “I need to learn how to…” For some

The best teachers all have at least one thing in common: they ask great questions.  They ask questions that force students to move beyond simple answers, that test their reasoning, that spark curiosity, and that generate new insights. They ask questions that inspire students to think, and to think deeply. As a business leader, you might have years of experience and the confidence of your organization behind you, so it may be tempting to think that your job is to always have the right answers. But great leaders have to inspire the same curiosity, creativity, and deeper thinking in their employees that great teachers inspire in their students – and that starts with asking the right questions. Any answer is only as good as the question asked. As a dean, I find it useful to remember the statement often (perhaps  spuriously ) attributed to Albert Einstein that if he had an hour to solve a problem, and his life depended on it, he would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining t

The   research   is clear: when we choose humble, unassuming people as our leaders, the world around us becomes a better place. Humble leaders improve the performance of a company in the long run because they create more collaborative environments. They have a balanced view of themselves – both their virtues and shortcomings – and a strong appreciation of others’ strengths and contributions, while being open to new ideas and feedback. These “unsung heroes” help their believers to build their self-esteem, go beyond their expectations, and create a community that channels individual efforts into an organized group that works for the good of the collective. For example,   one study   examined 105 small-to-medium-sized companies in the computer software and hardware industry in the United Studies. The findings revealed that when a humble CEO is at the helm of a firm, its top management team is more likely to collaborate and share information, making the most of the firm’s talen

Everyone has to interact with someone they don't get along with every once in a while, so be prepared the next time it happens to you. It’s inevitable that you’ll encounter people with whom you disagree. There are some people you instantly  click with  and others you can take or leave. And then, there are the select few you  just can’t stand ! How can you get along with someone you find difficult, distasteful or downright obnoxious? Well, it helps to remember that you aren’t perfect either. Remember that whatever you might feel about a person, someone else might feel the same about you. We’re all human, after all. We all  have our faults . It’s usually possible just to avoid people you don’t get along with. However, at some point you may have to work with someone you dislike. That may seem tough, but you can work with (almost) anyone if you just keep a few things in mind. In fact, by using these tips, you might find that a challenging person can still offer useful ins

Reading is the only proven shortcut to success. One of the best ways to ensure that you grow as a person and a leader is to read -- a lot. Time and time again, we learn that the most successful people are also avid bookworms. Constant reading allows them to absorb knowledge, broaden their worldviews and perspectives and challenge obsolete viewpoints. But of course not all books are worthy of the time and effort it takes to go from cover to cover. To help you on your journey toward becoming a successful leader, here are the top 10 books you should be reading now. 1.  Managing the Mental Game  by Jeff Boss Using a blend of mental-training methodologies, former Navy SEAL Jeff Boss shows readers how to build self-confidence and fortitude, enabling them to reach new levels of success. Managing the Mental Game  contains useful exercises on learning how to manage chaos and pressure in order to stay clearheaded and calm in uncertain and difficult situations. Boss’s advice hel

The world tends toward continuums. We order everything from temperature (cold to hot, with tepid in the middle) to wealth (poor to comfortable to rich). Continuity along a linear line, like the inexorable laws of hydrodynamics, helps to capture and comprehend the complexities of science and society, and offers the promise of progress and growth. It’s tempting to think leadership also follows a continuum, one anchored by bad and great, with good somewhere in between. This deeply rooted belief reassures us that leadership follows a predictable pattern, and that through hard work and experience one can progress along the drawn line. That anyone can develop as a leader is not in question. What I dispute is the stubborn resolve that great and good are points along the same stream. That just isn’t so. Great leadership and good leadership have distinctly different characteristics and paths. Leadership is not one-dimensional. It can be great and good, or one but not the other, or neith

Early leadership experience can be very valuable. Selective colleges screen for  demonstrated leadership experience , and   studies   have found that people with high school leadership experience are paid up to 33% more than those without it. This wage premium is similar to the one associated with a college degree. However, we know little about what types of skills early leadership service may help to develop. Although adults who serve as leaders are observably different from nonleaders — leaders tend to have  higher cognitive ability, more self-confidence, and more motivation or drive  — we don’t know much about whether these differences arise because leadership service changes individuals or because these individuals are selected for their preexisting skills. To investigate this question, we  studied  378 seventh-grade students in a Chinese secondary school. Among the top 92 students, we randomly assigned classroom leadership positions to 46 of them. We tracked the students f