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Author: Eric Douglas Blog

Eric Douglas is the senior partner and founder of Leading Resources Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on developing high-performing organizations. For more than 20 years, Eric has successfully helped a wide array of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporations achieve breakthroughs in performance. His new book The Leadership Equation helps leaders achieve strategic clarity, manage change effectively, and build a leadership culture.

Professional Development Best Practices

This tool compares the relative value of three different types of professional development. The table below looks at the relative impact of training, coaching, and on-the-job experience in developing an individual’s professional leadership and management skills. Based on research from the Center for Creative Leadership, on-the-job leadership has had a more dramatic impact on an …

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What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

I worked today with a new executive – let’s call him Gary – who skipped four levels to take over a senior-level leadership role at his company. Gary was now in the remarkable position of managing his old boss’s boss’s boss. He asked me what advice I would give him. I told him that the …

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Innovation

The Dynamics of Creative Flow (Part 2)

Creative flow happens when people aren’t feeling afraid – afraid of losing their jobs, scared of losing status, scared of being left out, afraid of being punished. The dynamics of fear can be asphyxiating to an organization. Who is responsible for eliminating fear? If you’re a leader or a manager, then it’s you, of course. …

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Innovation

The Dynamics of Creative Flow (Part 1)

Whether driving a tractor or making investment decisions, people like doing what they can do well. When I was 21, I was selected to be part of a team of fire fighters called “hot shots.” We were a rapid response team, flown in by helicopter to fight forest fires in California. We trained hard. The …

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Secrets of Being a Great Manager: Part Two

As I recounted last in my last blog, the executive director of a non-profit organization asked me recently to share with his management team the secrets of being a great manager. The first principle I laid out was “No skip management.” In this blog, I’m going to describe the second principle. As the managers convened …

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Secrets of Being a Great Manager: Part One

I serve on the Board of several non-profit organizations. One of them recently re-organized its management structure. The executive director asked, “We have a new management team. I wish you would tell them the secrets of being a great manager.” When the team convened, I wrote these words on a white board: “First principle: No …

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Managing Conflict

Part of managing decisions well is learning how to manage conflicts effectively. There are two types of conflict. One reflects differences in priorities, approaches, and ways of seeing things. This kind of conflict is natural, since it simply reflects different roles and different styles. Helping people figure out how to navigate these kinds of conflicts …

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Strategic Planning Model – The Six Rings Model

This strategic planning model defines the six elements of a strategic plan and shows their relationship and inter-dependence. This is a valuable tool to use in guiding the strategic planning process. Download PDF The Six Rings Strategic Planning Model Overview: The Six Rings Planning Model starts with defining purpose and core values. A vision then …

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Aligning Employees Around Organizational Core Values

Developing a high-performing company starts with defining its organizational core values – the actions and behaviors essential to the organization’s success. To do this successfully, you must engage your employees in a series of conversations about what it means to be a values-driven organization, what behaviors support the core values, and how important employees are …

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Team Building

The “Southwest Test”

Last week I met with an executive who’d called me in to help her with strategic planning and team building. I noticed right away her lack of eye contact and her brusque manner. What she told me was this: “I want to build a great team” and “I have an open door policy.” What I …

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