Welcome to this week’s edition of Elite Leadership Insights: Weekend Reads, a resource for you to utilize as you continue your leadership journey and packaged so you can casually read them over the weekend. We curate these articles from leading business and academic organizations. Continuous learning is a critical part of leadership improvement. Feel free to share this with your team. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
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Don’t miss the bonus articles at the bottom of this post!
Here are this week’s Weekend Reads. Enjoy and feel free to share this with your colleagues.
Leadership Lessons From an Underdog, Inc. Magazine, October 5, 2023. We all love a good underdog story, where a humble team defeats a seemingly unbeatable opponent. But have you ever wondered how these underdogs manage to succeed against the odds? Is it pure luck, or is there an underdog winning formula? There are also countless stories of entrepreneurs in the business world who did something extraordinary when no one believed they could, starting as underdogs to then becoming some of the best in their industries.
It’s Not the “Glass Ceiling” Holding Women Back at Work, new Analysis Finds, CBS News, October 6, 2023. The struggle women face landing senior leadership roles in corporate America is commonly blamed on the “glass ceiling” — the metaphorical gender barrier that blocked their ascent to the highest levels of management. Yet new research indicates that the problems for women in the workforce begin far lower down the professional ladder. Women early in their careers are far more likely to stumble on a “broken rung,” or failing to get a promotion out of their entry-level jobs at the same rate as men.
Why Learning Is The Key To Leadership, Forbes, October 8, 2023. Today, leaders are constantly challenged to navigate unprecedented shifts in business models, tech advancements and workforce expectations. Now, more than ever, the ability to learn and adapt is not just a nice-to-have trait for leaders; it’s an absolute necessity. In the words of John F. Kennedy, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
Team Readiness In Q4 Will Help CEOs Turn The Page In 2024, Chief Executive, October 10, 2023. In the current business environment, most leaders understand the benefits of convening core team members at moments of transformative change. A new fiscal or calendar year—with refreshed strategy and budget updates—can necessitate team readiness work, especially amidst long periods of uncertainty.
The One Critical Skill Managers Need to Work With all Personality Types, Fast Company, October 5, 2023. If you’ve ever completed a behavioral assessment, it will become apparent that almost everyone you work with has a different perspective and response to various events. So, if you lead a team, how can you oversee, support, encourage, and mentor such a broad group of personalities? The answer is being adaptable as a leader, which is one of the most undervalued skills in leadership.
THIS WEEK’S BONUS ARTICLES
What Do the Top-Performing Athletes Have in Common With the Top-Performing Business Leaders? They Practice, Inc. Magazine, October 9, 2023. If you were on a short flight, what would you be doing? Most people would just relax, eat, or watch a movie. Xander Schauffele, a pro golfer who was rookie of the year and a 2020 Olympic gold medalist spent the entire flight watching his performance again and again–he analyzed his swings and divots in slow motion–and he repeated this routine hundreds of times. This is what it takes to be one of the best in the world.
It’s Time to Prioritize Brain Health—Here’s Why, McKinsey & Company, October 10, 2023. Nearly one billion (or one in eight) people had a mental disorder before the COVID-19 pandemic; the prevalence of anxiety and depression is believed to have increased between 25 and 30 percent worldwide since. The global disease burden is alarming: Mental and substance-use disorders are on par with cardiovascular diseases as one of the top three most burdensome conditions in our society.
Why Shameless Self-promotion Backfires at Work, Knowledge at Wharton, October 9, 2023. If you want to brag about your accomplishments at work without sounding self-absorbed, take a lesson from professional athletes. From the sidelines and at post-game press conferences, the most admired players talk about their own performance but always mention the strength of their opponents, the skill of their teammates, and the support of their coaches.
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