AMA

4 Exercises to Help Build Your Leadership Fitness

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Your ability to continuously develop as a leader will have a direct effect on the impact you have as a leader. However, when it comes to development, today’s leaders are faced with two challenges. First...

12 Questions to Evaluate Where Your Corporate Culture Needs Improvement

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Given the rapidly changing demographics of the workforce and the highly competitive nature of the economy, organizations that value hiring top employees have no choice but to do a thorough, honest self-assessment of their corporate culture and determine if it is helping or hurting their recruiting efforts.

My law firm did precisely that five years ago. We found...

How Does A Short Attention Span Affect Us In Work And In Life?

Mon, 03 Dec 2018 07:00:00 -0500

AMA talked with Charlie Harary, the author of Unlocking Greatness: The Unexpected Journey from the Life You Have to the Life You Want (Rodale Books, 2018), about the topic of brain plasticity and the potential impact of a short attention span. Harary believes that a failure to focus can keep us from gaining wisdom. Here's an excerpt of his interview with AMA...

Is Your Organization Set Up To Meet Its Strategic Goals?

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Setting your sights on specific revenue or sales targets, a desired market position, and other types of goals is a critical part of strategy. Goal setting helps clarify an organization's direction and what its needs are if it is to deliver optimal value. But to focus on goal setting to the exclusion of other strategic considerations would be a mistake. In addition...

Listening Skills A Vital Part Of Women's Leadership Training

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 10:00:00 -0500

For women on a leadership track, mastering the "soft skill" of listening can play a huge role in moving ahead in your career, says Dianne Faieta, principal at Faieta & Associates and an AMA instructor specializing in communication. Being a better listener offers these potential benefits...

Featured Digital Event: Mastering Excel Formulas and Functions

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 12:00:00 -0400

When you need to crunch database-like data, you can only go so far with sorting, filtering, and inserting subtotals. What you need are ways to create summary totals based on multiple criteria and the ability to interchange fields, add other fields, and sort results in a flash. Moreover...

Leadership In The Age Of A Remote Workforce

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 12:00:00 -0400

Today's managers must be prepared to lead remote employees and hybrid teams of onsite and offsite members, who may be working outside the office or located across time zones or countries. In a survey of 18,000 professionals globally...

Not The Formal Project Leader? Here's How To Lead By Influence

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 12:29:00 -0400

Leadership naturally has challenging moments, but those challenges take on a new layer of complexity when you must drive a project without the benefit of formal designation as team leader. Perhaps you are a subject-matter expert for a project, or...

3 Qualities Today's Business Leaders Must Possess

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 10:49:00 -0400

AMA Quarterly spoke with Jacqueline Carter, the co-author with Rasmus Hougaard of The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results (Harvard Business Review Press, 2018). Carter discussed the three qualities business leaders need to possess and why they need them. Here, an excerpt of that interview...

3 Questions To Help You Define Any Management Problem

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 07:37:40 -0400

Executives routinely face vexing challenges and tough decisions-in a business culture that emphasizes action over reflection. But before you jump into action to solve any problem, you need to understand the context in which it is occurring. There are three simple questions any leader should ask before tackling a problem...

5 Body Language Positions Used By Charismatic Speakers

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 06:55:06 -0400

Your body language and posture reveal a lot about your personality, state of mind, and confidence level, among other things. This is true when you give a presentation or speech, lead a team meeting, and communicate face-to-face with co-workers and others. But have you considered...

How To Say No To An Employee Request

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 08:07:14 -0400

Every manager will be forced periodically to refuse a request made by an employee. But there are different ways to say no, and you want to do so in a manner that sustains the relationship and keeps the lines of communication open. The manager's job when refusing a request is to...

Reinventing Yourself for Career Development

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 13:33:06 -0400

Many people experience a stage in their careers in which they want to move in a new direction or on to the next level of leadership. But after years of performing the same tasks, it can feel overwhelming and sometimes downright impossible to make the leap into the unknown of changing careers or positions...

Applying A Generational Gearbox To Female Executive Development

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 11:23:05 -0400

The women of three generations-Baby Boomers, Generation X'ers, and Millennials-have experienced unique passages through their formative years (the first 18 to 23 years of life). Each day, they enter the workplace possessing unique generational core values, strengths, and weaknesses. As a result...

As More Leaders Embrace Diversity, Resistance Still An Issue

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 06:57:42 -0400

Evidence continues to show the value of corporate diversity and inclusion (D&I), and more and more companies are participating in D&I training. "D&I has taken on a new importance in the workplace," says Patricia Quiddington, founder and CEO of...

Understanding The Characteristics And Motivations Of Generation Z

Fri, 18 May 2018 05:38:41 -0400

AMA Quarterly spoke with Angie Read, co-author with Jeff Fromm of Marketing to Gen Z: The Rules for Reaching This Vast-and Very Different-Generation of Influencers (AMACOM, 2018). Read discussed some of the characteristics of Generation Z, the best ways to motivate Gen Z'ers, and lessons that can be applied to this generation, whose oldest members are entering the workforce...

Does Your Team Have A Sense Of Purpose?

Mon, 07 May 2018 05:49:32 -0400

For individuals and teams, having a clear purpose is key to success. But many employees lack this workplace essential. Two-thirds of people do not really understand what their job is and how it fits in with the organization, says Leah Weiss, PhD, a teacher, researcher, and meditation expert at Stanford University. In an AMA Edgewise podcast...

Creating An Employee Communication Plan To Support Engagement

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 11:13:02 -0400

We know that communicating regularly with employees improves engagement. According to a 2017 study by Employee Channel, a provider of mobile apps for employee engagement and communication, employees ranked "communicates frequently and effectively with employees" among the top behaviors that generate positive experiences in the workplace. Why? Because...

Chief Experience Officers: Guides To The Experience Staging Journey

Fri, 06 Apr 2018 11:18:37 -0400

In the two decades since we wrote The Experience Economy (Harvard Business School Press, 1999), interest has exploded in going beyond providing goods and services to staging experiences: memorable events that engage each individual in an inherently personal way. But...

How To Give Employee Feedback So It's Useful And Welcome

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 12:06:04 -0400

Research conducted by Jeanne Meister and Karie Willyerd, authors of The 2020 Workplace (HarperBusiness), revealed a contradiction concerning employee feedback: *Of eight managerial capabilities and strengths employees wanted most from their managers, "Will give me straight feedback" was ranked No. 1. *When HR professionals rated the managers in their organizations on the eight capabilities and strengths, the ability to give effective feedback was ranked last. The fact is...

6 Strategies To Develop Your Adaptive Agility Muscle

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 11:46:35 -0400

"Adaptive agility" is a must if you don't want to fall into the inability-to-adapt trap. To be successful, women must be savvy at handling the many changes they face in everyday life, says Christine Riordan, PhD, president of Adelphi University. Dealing with change...

Self-Leadership Savvy: A Necessary Capability In Today's Business World

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 12:16:38 -0400

When we think of leaders, people at the top of their game or industry come to mind. They are the movers and shakers-people like Arianna Huffington, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, Sheryl Sandberg, and Richard Branson. It is not uncommon to exclude everyday people from any designation of "leadership," especially if they are relatively new to management or team leadership or are currently seeking employment. The truth is...

Why Some Work Teams Collaborate Better Than Others

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 10:23:28 -0400

Why do some teams work well together while others don't? It seems like such a simple question, but the secret to building a high-performing team is not so obvious. While some people point to a charismatic leader or a skilled communicator as the source of team cohesion, the most common element in great teams is a shared vision. Collaboration is the art of working as a team. It involves a variety of processes, including...

Strategies For Handling Ageism In The Workplace

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 09:44:23 -0500

Ageism and age discrimination shouldn't happen in the workplace-but they are a fact of life for older workers. Many employees at traditional retirement age or older are fit, healthy, and perfectly capable of continuing to work. Many have years of expertise and knowledge. But persistent opinions and misconceptions about aging lead to discrimination by younger bosses or co-workers. Ageism can be annoying but benign, such as...

Diversity And Inclusion: Analyzing Your Company's Leadership Pipeline

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 07:11:00 -0500

The importance of diversity and inclusion in business has been proved many times over. Simply put: Data shows that companies with better diversity at both the individual contributor and the management and board levels perform better. There is also a war for talent at these companies, because...

How To Handle Unconscious Bias In The Workplace

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 04:56:53 -0500

More and more women are speaking up against sexual harassment in the wake of high-profile cases. In workplace environments that might not have taken complaints seriously in the past, more women are feeling secure enough to report them. But an unconscious bias against women, and subtle displays of sexism, are...

Transformational Growth And Disruptive Change: What Drives Leaders' Behavior?

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 05:14:45 -0500

Is there anyone out there enjoying business as usual? The macroeconomic environment is serving up breathtaking disruptions with greater speed and such ferocious frequency that yesterday's superstar leaders and global brands are quickly outpaced or overcome by more effective competitors. We're all feeling the overwhelming pressure of change at work, whether we signed up for it or not. In a global survey we conducted in 110 nations, we asked

Identifying And Leveraging Employees' Work Styles And Strengths

Mon, 27 Nov 2017 08:58:46 -0500

In today's workplace, most of us find ourselves doing things we love and at which we excel. We also do things that feel tedious and take significantly more time and effort. For managers, this spectrum raises questions about how best to leverage employees' strengths and work styles. Is "everyone doing everything" the most effective way to increase workplace productivity and the happiness quotient in your team or organization...

Building Your Persuasion Skills And Sphere Of Influence

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 08:40:39 -0500

We all know that persuasion in business is a vital career skill. It can get colleagues to hand over the resources you need and prompt vital contacts to return your phone calls. But what exactly is persuasion? AMA's seminar Expanding Your Influence defines persuasion as:...

Increasing Employee Motivation Through Intrinsic Rewards

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 09:29:00 -0500

On any work team, there are times when people need a pick-me-up or seem to have lost their steam. Employee motivation could be the secret that moves them toward achieving a goal. Employee motivation plays a big part in job satisfaction and engagement. It's one of the basic pillars of management because...