In my last few posts, I have been exploring the behavioral best practices of leaders who Craft a Vision and Champion Execution. 

As I mentioned in both of those posts, our personality styles impact how we lead. Sometimes our natural preferences help in a specific area of leadership. Other times those same natural tendencies hinder our leadership effectiveness. 

As I mentioned in my post last week, one of the interesting observations I've noticed in my leadership development programs here in Denver and Boulder, Colorado is that some leaders are naturally inclined to be more effective in different aspects of leadership. In other words, our personality styles can help or hinder us in various aspects of leadership. The post last week identified the behavioral best practices of leaders who excel at Championing Execution. 

One of the interesting observations I've noticed in my leadership development programs is that some leaders are naturally inclined to be more effective in different aspects of leadership. For example, in my last post, I pointed out some principles one executive uses to successfully execute on his vision. His natural tendencies enable him to get things done.  Other leaders might be more visionary or even better equipped at aligning their teams. 

I had an amazing visit with a senior executive last week to kick-off a 7-month leadership development program here in Denver, Colorado. Our conversation focused mostly on the concept of execution. 

When people speak of leadership, they often describe visionary and charismatic people. They rarely speak about the need for leaders to be involved in the execution of a vision. But without a focus on execution, a leader's vision often goes unrealized and organizational change efforts fail. Here are a few key principles that guide this executive. 

Have you ever noticed that people laugh louder when senior leaders make jokes? Or that their ideas and thoughts are taken more seriously? 

Look at you — you’re a rising star! You’re smart and successful. People are taking real notice of how good you are in your job as an engineer, financial analyst, customer-service representative or software developer.

Life is sweet, but something is about to rock your world.

You are about to get promoted.

So, you decided to work with an executive coach to help you develop as a leader. Congratulations! This is likely to be one of the most rewarding experiences in your career development.

The next question is…how can you receive the most benefit from your leadership coaching journey?

Here are a few tips we share with our local Denver and Colorado coaching clients.

I just kicked-off an 8-month leadership development program with a client in Denver, and one of our topics was about the "shifts" people need to make when they step into leadership roles. Reflect on the items below: 

The hype around Lance Armstrong's confession of using banned substances brings up two leadership issues for me.

Leadership Issue #1: Winning at All Costs

I recently read an article in the Harvard Business Review, Leadership is a Conversation, by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind. As of June 2012 Boris and Michael had spoken to over 150 people in 100 companies where research participants consistently mentioned their efforts of "having a conversation" or "advancing the conversation" in their organizations.

I agree that Leadership, in part, really is a conversation. And I have also found that leaders who struggle most fail to engage people through conversation. Often times they: