5 Considerations to Communicate Better
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
Recently, I talked with a mentee about his new developmental goal, which aimed to improve some specific aspects of his communication skills as a leader. As we talked, I offered a few perspectives about communication, which started off by discussing the three strategies to help structure our messages. But as we explored those strategies, I found that I kept referring to a few key considerations to help shape our messages as leaders. These considerations applied to all types of communication, whether we are issuing guidance or helping others gain perspective and see the bigger picture, via verb ..read more
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3 Strategies to Communicate More Effectively and Be a Sense Maker for Others
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
You can’t lead if you can’t communicate. Do you craft strong correspondence through your emails? Are you able to successfully inform, influence, and inspire with your spoken words? Can you write in a clear and compelling way? A core leadership skill is communication. Moreover, leaders are sense makers for their organizations, which requires artful communication. Leaders communicate perspective, guiding people to understand who they are as an organization, what they do, and why they do it. Leaders communicate context to help others understand their current situation, the broader environment, a ..read more
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A Message to Junior Leaders: 12 Things I Wish I Knew 12 Years Ago
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
I often use my morning runs to consume podcasts, especially one of my favorites, The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk. He always interviews the most impressive people and, without fail, every conversation is engaging and compelling. (This is not a plug for the podcast, I promise). But in every episode, Ryan asks the guest an interesting final question: What is one piece of life advice you would give to the young 20-somethings listening who are about to finish college or enter the working world? And during my run today (when writing this), I found myself wondering, “How would I answer that ..read more
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Why Team Rituals Matter (and Four Ways to Build Them for Your Own Team)
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
Lunch typically remains an individual activity in my team, as I think it does for many others. You have the freedom to work through lunch, to go home to be with family, to go out with colleagues, or use that time to engage with important stakeholders. That is, except for the first Wednesday of the month. That Wednesday is reserved for our “Best of the Bulldogs” lunch, where we all gather for family style lunch in a secluded room at our dining facility. The team breaks bread together, and we host our monthly “best of the Bulldogs” recognition ceremony, where teammates can publicly recognize on ..read more
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The Importance of Leader Transitions
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
Fulfilling the responsibilities of “leader” is in fact not one singular role with a set, unchanging job description.  Instead, it is a complex web of many roles that we fill over time – even within the short span of a day. Leaders must be many things, to many different people, at many different times. Often, we must serve in multiple roles, sometimes simultaneously. Think of an executive leader, a senior manager, or even a mid-level manager and all the scenarios they find themselves in within a single day: Our manager may start the day overseeing a meeting where a project team is not del ..read more
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Mentoring Through Storytelling
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
When your mentee asks you for your thoughts or advice, how do you respond? Imagine you two are meeting at your regular spot, maybe your office during lunch, a coffee shop over the weekend, or (for those long-distance relationships) over the phone. Your mentee goes on describing a recent challenge they are facing and expresses that they are not sure what to do about it. Or maybe they describe a recently discovered leadership or skill gap and are trying to set a goal to address it. In either case, they end by asking for your advice. How do you respond? For one, you can simply give advice. That ..read more
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From “I’m Not Important” to “I’m Contributing to Something Important”
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
I recently finished Adam Grant’s newest book, Think Again, which argued for developing a willingness to and skills for questioning our assumptions, knowledge, and approaches to how we work with others. I found it a compelling and intriguing read. But there is one statement he makes in the book that keeps coming back to me over and over. In a section regarding happiness, work, and professional pursuits, Grant mentions self-esteem in saying: “When my students talk about the evolution of self-esteem in their careers, the progression often goes something like this: Phase 1: I’m not important Pha ..read more
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My Two Essential Questions When Onboarding a New Hire
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
I was hired into an organization a few years ago that espoused a culture of leadership excellence and prioritization of leader development. I was thrilled to join this new team. When I attended my first meeting as a new hire, though, I was quickly and significantly let down. No one introduced themselves to me, shook my hand, asked me my name, or even talked to me after the meeting. There was no formal welcome or orientation process. I was frustrated. What was going on? Is this real? What have I gotten myself into? That was the start of an extremely disappointing onboarding process, which set ..read more
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Dispelling Six Myths About Feedback That Are Cutting Your Development Short
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
It all comes back to feedback. I’ve written these words numerous times. Maybe even a few too many times. So much so, in fact, that when I departed my previous job two years ago, several direct reports on my team gifted me a going away plaque that captured many of my “infamous” leader quotes and themes. Top center of that plaque: “It all comes back to feedback.” At least it stuck! But I keep coming back to this statement because I completely believe in it. Looking to improve your own self-awareness or performance? No development plan is complete without the inclusion of seeking and leveraging ..read more
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Essential Strategies to Unlock the Power of Mentoring – for Mentors, Mentees, and Everyone In Between
3×5 Leadership
by jbowen100
1y ago
Mentoring is one of the most powerful developmental activities and relationships we can engage in. It has certainly become so for me in my own growth over the last few years. However, it is also one of the hardest to tap into, and for many reasons. For one, the time commitment needed to invest in meaningful mentoring relationships is often at odds with our busyness and the overwhelming demands at work. Thus, mentoring tends to be placed on the backburner…and remain there because work never becomes less busy. Second, I believe many of us have a too-narrow view of mentoring and what it could lo ..read more
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