Last night during his State of the Union address, President Obama spoke about the special forces who worked as a team to "take out" Osama Bin Laden. His point was that every member of the team was singly focused on successfully completing their dangerous mission. They relied on each other for communication, air cover, and support. When one of the rescue helicopters crashed, they didn't stop and point fingers and blame each other. They covered for each other. They helped each other up the stairs and made sure that every one got out alive. Every member of the team operated with mutual trust.
Backbiting, Leadership Tangles, and the State of the Union
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Wed, Jan 25, 2012
When Leaders have Each Other’s Backs, Teams Have Less Tangles
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Thu, Mar 11, 2010
You Can’t Hurry Trust . . . You Just Have to Wait
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Thu, Feb 18, 2010
Leaders: Avatar, Differences, and Organizational TanglesTM
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Wed, Jan 20, 2010
How to Build a Culture of Fear in 3 Easy Steps
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Thu, Oct 15, 2009
What follows are the three surefire steps:
What Yoga Teachers Can Teach Leaders About Untangling
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Fri, Feb 27, 2009
More Crooked Tangles—Who Can We Trust?
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Sat, Dec 20, 2008
In the past week, I have been repulsed by news of one of the biggest scams of all time. Bernard Madoff, head of Bernard L. Madoff Securities, allegedly conned scores of wealthy investors, lulled by promises of higher than average yearly returns. Madoff was the CEO of a company with over 200 employees. We don't yet have all of the facts. However, what is remarkable to me is that so many, including Madoff employees, did not question consistent financial returns that defy explanation. How could so many allegedly smart people believe that there are special algorithms that are immune from market forces? And how could so many ignore the red flags of a leader who became gruff and angry when questioned about his strategies?
Building Trust during Merger Integrations
By Marcia Ruben, PhD, PCC on Sun, Dec 07, 2008
When times are tough, it is human nature to batten down the hatches. However, when business is reduced to just a set of metrics and numbers without consideration to the human side of business, growth and productivity are unintentionally squelched. Several years ago some colleagues and I were making a sales pitch to the CEO of a large chemical manufacturing company set to make major large-scale change. We argued that there was a need to manage the human side of the change in order to get the desired return on investment. The CEO remarked that his employees would just have to "get over it." Fortunately, we were able to persuade the CEO and CFO that they could not afford to be distracted by employees who were not on board and aligned with the desired changes.