To date, we have reviewed three fundamentals:
1 – Work Hard (and Smart) and Perform
2 – Radiate Confidence and Optimism
3 – Enlist and Enroll vs. Command and Control
4 – Drive Change and Innovation

In this e-newsletter, the Harvesters present the 5th fundamental behavior that “Growing Forward Leaders” must model for their team during challenging times. It’s also a behavior that will help when things may not always be going the right way or perhaps as well as planned.

Growing Forward Leaders need to: Foster Cooperation and Collaboration

Growing Forward leaders recognize that they are better together than they are by themselves. They know that shared knowledge and experiences bring about great ideas and solutions. Challenging times are the best time to call upon your team to cooperate and collaborate.

Big problems require company wide solutions. Leaders need to tear down the walls and silos and start working across boundaries like: sales vs. operation, construction vs. maintenance, support/administration vs. operations.

Does this sound familiar within your organization? Do you often wonder why some companies call these divisions? In most cases they really are divided. Rather than being focused on the overall betterment of the company they are focused strictly on their “division.”

Now is the time for the business leader to get these teams working together.

Here’s How:

• Try assembling task forces with a blend of people from different departments
• Form some committees to bring about change or improvement i.e.,  Safety, Sales, Client Relations etc.
• Give some great assignments with measurable goals

Now Ask Yourself:

• How well do your people cooperate with each other especially from different “divisions”?
• What needs to be done to foster better collaboration?
• What key areas can be improved by tapping into the collective talent of your organization? How would you measure the improvements?
• Always remember that you and your organization have one heck of a lot of potential, especially if you the Growing Forward Leader can foster cooperation and collaboration.

Contact us at if you would like to learn more about becoming a Growing Forward Leader.

Suggested Reading:
“How To Be A Fierce Competitor” What Winning Companies and Great Managers Do in Tough Times by Jeffrey J. Fox

- Harvester Bill

The 10 Fundamentals for Growing Forward Leadership

A Leaders Guide for Thriving in Today’s Challenging Times

Today’s leaders are faced with business challenges as tough as any over the past 35 or more years. In order to provide the needed leadership for their organization’s success, leaders today need to demonstrate some fundamental leadership skills and behaviors.

To date, we have reviewed three fundamentals:

1 – Work Hard (and Smart) and Perform

2 – Radiate Confidence and Optimism

3 – Enlist and Enroll vs. Command and Control

Today, we will review the fourth fundamental behavior that Growing Forward Leaders must model for their team during challenging times; as well as for when things may not always be going as well as planned.

Growing Forward Leaders need to: Drive Change and Innovation

Tough times usually present the best opportunity to drive change and innovation. Leaders need to champion change and enlist others to be change agents. A sense of urgency is needed to adapt, change and innovate. Change is hard and usually only happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than changing. Are you feeling enough pain yet?

Let’s look at the main reasons that keep ups keep us from changing.

1. Too Comfortable We are too familiar and comfortable with the way things are now. Or, we just don’t know any better or we have a fear of or a reluctance to change

2. Bad Soil and or Seed Our seeds (as in systems or processes) are sown in poor soil (lack of processes) so we have little infrastructure to support sustainable growth. So when there is stress put on the organization, as in a recession, we tend to fall backward in revenue and profit due to a lack of solid systems and processes being in place. Bad soil!

If we have no roots (solid systems or processes) there are no shoots (sustainable growth), and with no shoots there is little or no fruit (sustainable growth and profits)

3. Distractions We are distracted with day-to-day stuff that keeps our head down. (We are working in the business not on the business, sounding familiar?)

We lose focus on the important non-urgent areas like planning, people development and client relations. Instead, our daily tasks become fire fighting and reacting to problems.

OK, Growing Forward Leaders Ask Yourself:

What have you changed in the last year to become a better leader in these challenging times? If you haven’t changed recently what one change would help you to become a better leader? What are you doing about it?

What is the most innovative thing you have done to be a better leader?

To be a better organization?

So, please remember this all of you leaders out there:

“Change or Be Changed, Changed Out”

Harvester Bill

If you are not changing and innovating you will be passed up on the path to success. Please feel free to contact us on helping you with ways that will change the way you think, act and behave to become a Growing Forward Leader.

Suggested Reading: “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter