Align4Profit Leadership Development Blog

Helanie ScottLeadership development may be the most important activity in any organization. In my quest to helping men and women become more and more effective leaders, I share weekly articles that are a quick read with a promise to give your leaders actionable tips they can implement immediately.

It’s my goal to share my experience together with candid and pragmatic advice founded on deep research.

Read and enjoy! To make sure you don’t miss any updates, let me send you a weekly article to your email.

June 29, 2018
raising emotional intelligence

How Can You Build Your Capacity for Empathy?

To retain the best and brightest, leaders and managers need to re-engage their employees consistently. Empathy is an Emotionally Intelligent (EI) behavior that can fast-track employee engagement and productivity by […]
June 27, 2018
raising emotional intelligence

Achievement Orientation Is an Emotionally Intelligent Behavior

In a previous blog post, Emotional Intelligence (EI) Is Not Only About Being Nice, I shared that managers with high levels of EI operate in the sweet spot. By that […]
June 25, 2018
raising emotional intelligence

Triggers and Adaptive Behaviors

We’ve all got triggers — those situations, people, or moods that trigger us into reacting less than appropriately to an issue. Our amygdala (part of our brain) triggers emotions faster […]
June 22, 2018
raising emotional intelligence

Emotional Intelligence Is Not Only About Being Nice

At the core of leadership today, your leaders need the skills to embrace ambiguity, be agile, yet stay focused, and pay close attention to the complexity of business. Leaders need […]
June 20, 2018
accountability

Drive High Levels of Accountability in Your Teams

We all want to work in an environment where all our teammates perform well and deliver on their commitments. So what can your managers do to foster accountability with employees? […]
June 17, 2018
accountability reflection

Moments of Silence Can Lead to More Accountability

Instead of taking accountability for a challenging situation at work, we often complain about our circumstances or vent our frustrations. That takes us away from self-reflection and we avoid self-examination. […]
June 15, 2018
accountability

Metacognition Can Raise Levels of Accountability

Accountability is a hot topic of discussion in most organizations. I’m sure your leaders work diligently toward promoting accountability, but my clients tell me that personal accountability is still not […]
June 13, 2018
accountability

Is Yours an Accountable Organizational Culture Where Actions Rise Above Excuses?

Your leaders are expected to have their fingers on the pulse, so that they can sharpen your organizational culture, on-going. Is yours an accountability culture? How do you know? One […]
June 11, 2018
leading change rampp

5 Practical Tips to Motivate Teams Towards Change

We all deal with change differently. Some of us embrace it quickly, others may get stuck in various phases of a change curve, but all of us can be motivated […]
June 8, 2018

Overcoming the Irrationality of Change

Rapid-fire changes are putting extreme pressure on business leaders to lead in ways not seen before. Change means movement, and to move as described in the dictionary is, “to go […]
June 6, 2018

We Are Hardwired to Resist Change

Every organization is facing persistent change. And every leader is charged with leading their people through the era of permanent adjustment. People follow their leaders, and the way leaders respond […]
June 4, 2018
leading change vuca

Are Your Leaders Aligned Around Your Changing Landscape?

The oncoming rush of change will encompass more than just technology. The world, its population and climate, the marketplace and its consumers will all demand new strategies, new leadership methods, […]
June 1, 2018
performance feedback

Establishing a Feedback-rich Culture Makes Any Company Better

Why then are so many companies struggling to foster a culture of feedback? We believe many managers still lack the skills, knowledge, or courage to provide people with direct, high-quality, […]
June 1, 2018
performance feedback

Providing Tough Feedback Doesn’t Need to Be Terrifying

Giving someone constructive criticism can be stressful especially when the feedback is challenging. At the same time providing redirecting feedback to employees can improve performance, enhance commitment, and show care […]
June 1, 2018
safety

A 4 step-process to create psychological safety during feedback.

In order to effectively influence others, it is essential to communicate in a way that ensures involvement and commitment. Barbara Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina has found that […]
May 27, 2013

How to add FORCE to your Positive Reinforcement

Everybody appreciates a genuine, sincerely delivered pat on the back. But that truism can get a leader into trouble. Sincere as it might be, genuine positive reinforcement can actually work […]
May 20, 2013

Call and Response Coaching: A better way to lead the way

If I say, “Shave and a haircut…” you say, “Two bits.” When we do that, we engage in a social interaction known as Call and Response. We find this kind […]
May 13, 2013

You Are Because We Are

In the South African language Nguni, Ubuntu means “humanness.” Similar concepts appear in Botswana, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. In Western culture, a version appears as early as 1770 from the French […]
May 6, 2013

How to Create an Effective Leadership Learning Plan

We hear from the legendary Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, outfielder, and manager Yogi Berra in witty phrases people use every day. Like, “It ain’t over till it’s over” and […]
April 8, 2013

Get that Monkey Off Your Back!

You’ve heard the expression “monkey on my back.” The idiom refers to an annoying problem that stays with you, continues to nag you, one that you just can’t seem to […]
March 25, 2013

Should You Coach Your High Performers Too?

The short answer, Yes! They not only must be coached, your top performers will welcome coaching, but not just any kind of coaching. Sports offers plenty of examples of high […]