Leaders' Newsletter - Leading From the Field: December 2015
What Makes a Great Manager, Quantum, 2016 Speaking Engagements and More!
 
Leaders' Newsletter December 2015
Welcome to this month's issue of "Leading from the Field."
Hi Greetings!,

Welcome to the December 2015 issue of "Leading from the Field." 

 
In this issue:
  • Leading from the Field - What Makes a Great Manager?
  • What I am Reading: Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar
  • Press Releases and Awards
  • Putting Strategy to Work - Executive Briefing for UT Dallas Corporate Education on January 21
  • 2016 First Quarter Speaking Engagements
  • Solutions to Your Most Challenging Issues
  • Author Page
Also, please check out my website and browse through my blog posts, and leave your comments and replies! 
 www.jalarson.net

Thank you,
Dr. Jean Ann Larson
Managing Partner
Jean Ann Larson & Associates
800-823-4330

Leadership from the field 

 What Makes a Great Manager?

 
The Right Assessment Tools Allow the Cream to Rise to the Top

What sets the great boss apart from the average one?

Beyond offering guidance and leadership, the best managers capitalize on their employees' uniqueness to make them well rounded and indispensable. Those are the shining star leaders. But some top performers aren't cut out for management, because what makes someone a great engineer, salesperson or marketer doesn't always mean they can lead.

In fact, Gallup has found that only 10 percent of the workforce possesses the talent to be a great manager. Companies that use outdated practices to promote employees based on past experience or that simply make non-data-based decisions may be overlooking talent both inside and outside their doors. Worse yet, gut hiring decisions can lead to intensifying a company's revolving door syndrome, and costs the U.S. economy an estimated $319 billion to $398 billion annually, according to Gallup.

So, what makes a great manager? Gallup found a unique combination of five natural qualities that makes someone revered:
  1. They have a unique ability to motivate employees
  2. They overcome obstacles by being assertive
  3. They cultivate an accountability culture
  4. They build relationships built on trust
  5. They make educated and unbiased decisions based on the company's best interests 
The good news is that these qualities can be quantified during hiring and employee development using the right tools, including the pairing of multiple assessments that evaluate a manager's behaviors, driving forces, acumen, competencies/soft skills and emotional intelligence (EQ), that leads to better decision-making. Conflict between employees and managers will no doubt pop up from time to time, but talented managers know how to develop and engage their employees. They know what makes their employees tick and how to best integrate the talents of their entire team for effortless balance, while developing leaders in the process.

When companies use the right assessment tools to identify the next great managers, they create winning teams through effective leaders.

Written by Zach Colick. Contact him at [email protected]

We would love to hear your comments. Contact us today!
 
Jean Ann Larson & Associates
800-823-4330
Email ~ Website
   
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love - Hamilton Wright Mabie

What I Am Reading 

Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar 

This seems to be a strange book to select for leaders.  However, it provides some interesting lessons and metaphors for us as we lead increasingly complex organizations. The Newtonian age of mechanics and cause and effect are out of favor in science since they only apply in the macro world. However, their models live on in organizations and how we lead and manage, thus limiting our abilities to tap into our potential and that of the organizations we lead.

Some of the lessons and ideas I gleaned from the book:
  • Our knowledge, understanding and capabilities get better when we challenge ourselves and each other
  • Not everything can easily be measured
  • Just because the majority buy into a theory doesn't make it right
  • Our models limit our ability to see things and bias our conclusions
  • Assumptions about reality can be misleading and even dangerous
  • We are inhabitants (prisoners maybe?) of our own culture and time in history
  • Even the most oppressive political regimes can slow down but not stop knowledge from spreading, e.g. in this case the Nazis
  • These contemporaries of Einstein's and giants of science and math I was introduced to in engineering school were incredible human beings, both brilliant and flawed. They are so much more than just names pasted on theorems I had to learn.
For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself.

In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird. In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it.

While "Quantum" sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centerpiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in "Quantum", Kumar brings Einstein back to the center of the quantum debate. "Quantum" is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.  (Thanks to Amazon for part of this review.)

 We would love to hear your comments. Please email us at [email protected].
News
Book of the Year
 
Dr. Larson is excited to announce that her book, Organizational and Process Reengineering Approaches to Health Care Transformation has been selected as the 2015 Healthcare and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS) Book of the Year.  The Book of the Year Award honors a book that offers outstanding practical guidance and strategic insight for healthcare information and management systems professionals
Criteria for selection of this book include:
  • Relevance to a broad range of industry professionals
  • Relevance of subject and content
  • Timeliness of content
This book provides a contribution to the field with content that is new, provocative and provides alternative thoughts and approaches to healthcare transformation.

Dr. Larson will receive her award and be recognized at the HIMSS Awards Gala on March 3, 2016 in Las Vegas.
Next Wave Connect Top 10 Influencer in Healthcare Collaboration

Dr. Larson was named as one of the Top 10 Influencers in Healthcare Collaboration for her contributions as a thought leader in healthcare social media.  She is an advisory council expert in the Management Engineering and Change Management Community in Next Wave Connect.  Per Joanna Woerner of Next Wave, "Jean Ann has been named a Top Influencer in Healthcare Collaboration! This is an honor we bestow on the community leaders in Next Wave Connect who drive conversations and promote the dissemination of knowledge."
Next Wave Connect is a social media platform allowing healthcare organizations and societies to share meaningful ideas and information amongst healthcare leaders.

TriMetrix HD Recertification

Dr. Larson recently received a certificate of achievement for successfully completing the recertification training for the TriMetrix HD� System.  She is now entitled to use the designation Certified Professional TriMetrix HD Analyst.  This is one of several certifications that Dr. Larson maintains through TTI Success Insights.  She notes that as an executive coach and executive development professional, it is important that she have a suite of tools that can help executive leaders develop their skills and abilities to work together.
TTI Success Insights is the world's leading source for research-based, validated assessment and coaching tools. Since 1984 they've developed their own patented solutions and products to support the discovery, engagement, advancement and performance of leaders, teams and individuals.

Jean Ann Larson & Associates
800-823-4330
Email ~ Website

Copyright protected worldwide.
Executive Briefing Scheduled - Putting Strategy to Work -
In Collaboration with UT-Dallas' Corporate Education Program
 
Organizations of all sizes strive to develop good strategies. Unfortunately many with good strategies are unable to execute on them because they are unable keep their employees focused upon or energized around the strategy.  Given that strategy is nothing short of planned change, how can you ensure that your organization is able to develop a winning strategy and then execute on that strategy? 

This session will walk you through the basics, the use of key strategic planning tools and help you utilize best practices and learn from others' mistakes.  We will also discuss best practices for operationalizing strategy. We'll begin to explore if you and your colleagues are strategic thinkers and how to improve your strategic thinking skills. 
  
UT Dallas Corporate Education invites you to join them for their next executive briefing featuring methods for strategic thinking and strategy execution. The guest speaker is Dr. Jean Ann Larson, a noted keynote speaker, author of four books and an adjunct faculty member for UT Dallas' Corporate Education team. She has 30 years of experience as an executive partnering with leaders, executive teams and organizations to help them become more effective while bringing results-oriented strategic change into their organizations. 

Date/Time:  Thursday, January 21, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM                                         
Location:      The University of Texas at Dallas
                       Naveen Jindal School of Management
                       First floor in the new School of Management building - Room 11.218
                       800 West Campbell Road
                       Richardson, TX 75080
 
Space is limited so please RSVP by Friday, January 15, 2016 to Veronica Blanco at 972-883-5916 or [email protected].

Parking information and directions will be provided to those who RSVP.

UT Dallas Corporate Education develops customized leadership development programs designed to enhance leaders' performance and corporations bottom-line results. Our programs provide leaders with the skills and tools required to maximize business performance.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,  and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful - Norman Vincent Peale
2016 Speaking Engagements
 
Let me know if you'd like more information about these topics or events - 800-823-4330.

Topic
Dates
Location
Putting Strategy to Work - See the announcement above for detailsJanuary 21, 2016UT-Dallas Corporate Education
Reducing Workplace Stress through Developing Emotional IntelligenceFebruary 17, 2016Houston, Texas at the   Annual Society for Health Systems Conference
Soft Skills for Leaders of Change in Healthcare with Chris FarnhamFebruary 19, 2016Houston, Texas at the annual Society for Health Systems Conference
Change Fatigue: Winning at the Game of Change with Julie RenneckerFebruary 19, 2016Houston, Texas at the annual Society for Health Systems Conference
Change Management: Increasing Your Odds for Success with Larry DuxMarch 4, 2016Las Vegas, Nevada at the annual HIMSS conference and exhibition
Leadership from the Field: Lessons Learned from the Best and the Brightest with Derk ProngerMarch 16 and 17, 2016Chicago, Illinois at the American College of Healthcare Executives annual Congress
Navigating the Changing Dynamics of the Intergenerational Workforce: Staffing Strategies for the Highly Productive Health Care Organization with Santosh MohanApril 29, 2016Chicago, Illinois for Becker's 2016 Annual Leadership Conference

Solutions for your Most Challenging Issues
  • Does your leadership team have a great unmet potential? Jean Ann Larson & Associates provide executive team development, executive coaching and leadership retreats.  Click here
  • Want to deal more effectively with your major change initiatives? Let us work with your team on a change readiness assessment refresh and boot camp to improve your effectiveness at leading change Click here
  • Need an inspiring keynote for a corporate event or professional association? Jean Ann Larson is an acclaimed keynote speaker and facilitator.  She also does customized programs and workshops for high potential leaders and other key people in your organization. 
 We would love to hear your comments. Please email us at [email protected].

 

Check out my Amazon.com author page

Organizational and Process Reengineering: Approaches for Health Care Transformation.

Now out!  Winner of the 2015 HIMSS Book of the Year Award
 
Get a 20% discount by following this link:
http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781482225143  

For bulk orders contact me for additional discounts 
Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,  and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time
- Laura Ingalls Wilder
Our Services
Click Here
About Us
Click Here
 

If you would like to continue the discussion, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ reply to this Newsletter or call me at 1-800-823-4330.

Please follow me on Like us on Facebook Facebook, Follow us on Twitter Twitter,  View our profile on LinkedIn LinkedIn and Find us on Google+ Google+. 

 

All the best!
Jean Ann

 

Copyright � 2015 Jean Ann Larson & associates. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.