Practical business leadership skills are critical for business success and one of the most important things that I do when designing an immersive leadership development program is talk with participants about their leadership challenges and the inhibitors to their success.  This week, while working with a group of talented mid-level managers, I heard something that I’ve been hearing for many years if not decades; “my biggest challenge is leading without authority.”  In years past, and in a more traditional learning environment, I would have gently discussed all the recommended ways of getting around the obstacle of trying to lead without authority.  There is a portfolio of tools that are taught in leading business schools and corporate training programs that include topics such as situational leadership, understanding different styles, horizontal leadership, and skills of delegation. These are great skills and tools but aren’t the most important ones to have in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business world.

Summer is over, so snap back to reality, there goes strategic gravity.  With apologies to Eminem, it’s a new school year, football is back, and business leaders realize that there are just four months left in this year to hit our goals and objectives while starting the planning process for next year.

For many experienced and inexperienced leaders, it is easy to get sucked into the tsunami of work and not think strategically about how to execute and get the work done.  During the past few months of designing and developing robust leadership development business simulations and workshops, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best and not-so-best leaders as they prepare and dive into the storm.  I’ve summarized five key learnings into leadership tips that can be useful in times of tremendous stress and change at work.

We all get it now.  The entry ticket to the party of hiring today’s workforce must include open workspaces, meeting cabanas, unlimited coffee and Mountain Dew, Fiesta Friday’s and Pizza Wednesdays, unlimited salty and sweet snacks, bean bags, napping pods, the obligatory fooseball table, and the video game Fortnite running from morning to night.  In this competitive labor market, most potential employers know that these are the new tools of recruitment and talent retention.

As the summer draws to an end and the kids go back to school, this is a time of year to pause and reflect on what’s happened so far and what’s ahead.  Eight months are in the books which means the year is two thirds over.  In my role as a leader of leadership development solutions, I started thinking about some of the things I’ve learned and observed so far in 2018 related to leadership development so I could consolidate into a nice blog.  Here are 5 things that I think I’ve learned: