Tag: HR Leadership | Page 5 | Mariposa Leadership

Ask Mariposa: What is Design Thinking?

Bethany asked:

Design thinking seems to be central to generating new ideas and creating a more innovative environment – but what exactly is it, and how can I apply it to my corporation?

Sue Bethanis, CEO responded:

The DT model is 1. customer empathy, 2. brainstorming, 3. prototyping, and 4. implementing. This can be applied to many problems in a corporation, but primarily we want to use it when we are solving problems related to internal or external customers. 1. Great product designers, for example, use keen observation skills to really understand customers in their environments. Similarly, any problem we are trying to solve, it’s important that we see like an anthropologist. 2. Brainstorming can be applied to any problem as well; great design thinkers generate scads of ideas to get to a couple of good ones, 3. Then, they prototype and test; and then iterate some more in designing a product, service or an experience. 4. Finally ideas are only as good as their application, so taking a prototype to implementation requires a good relationship with your users/customers, and getting feedback. Good luck!

Share your thoughts on this response in the comments section below, and ask us anything here: http://blog.mariposaleadership.com/ask-mariposa/

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September 4th, 2012|Categories: Ask Mariposa, Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, HR / Talent Management|Tags: ask mariposa, creativity, design thinking, HR Leadership, Mariposa Leadership, sue bethanis|

Ask Mariposa: How to Bridge the Generational Gap

Sean asked:

Our corporation is having internal issues relating to generational differences between our leadership and our creators/engineers/designers – how can we help bridge generational gaps within our company?

Anne Loehr, Senior Leadership Consultant responded:

Each generation was shaped by political, technological and societal events that occurred during the group’s formative years. As a result, each generation has its own language, values and way of doing business. This is important to remember because sometimes people take differences very personally, rather than just saying “Oh, she’s doing the Gen X thing.” So the best way to bridge the gap is to get to know the person you’re working with-ask them about themselves, learn what influenced their lifestyle and belief system. Then share about yourself and find common ground to work from. It’ll soon become “we” instead of “us vs them”.

Share your thoughts on this response in the comments section below, and ask us anything here: http://blog.mariposaleadership.com/ask-mariposa/

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August 23rd, 2012|Categories: Ask Mariposa, Coaching Skills, HR / Talent Management, Influencing Skills|Tags: ask mariposa, coaching, generational gap, HR Leadership, leadership, Mariposa Leadership|

August 21, 2012 / Articles We Like / HR / Talent Management

Great Leaders

Many people are leaders. Many hold the personality traits we attribute to someone who leads instead of follows, and yet, what makes a truly GREAT LEADER? This definition has grown and shifted immensely in the business world in the last ten years, and is continually changing in the face of a increasingly interconnected world.

As with all things, context is key, but these key questions can generally guide us in an exploration of what it means to be an excellent leader. Is is modesty and humbleness, like a study from the University of Buffalo suggested to us earlier this year? Or is it emotional resilience, ability to adapt, self-awareness, or confidence as The Telegraph stated in this article on leadership?

Is there one particularly strong trait that we see over and over again that no great leader lacks, or is it a combination of many?

Think back to a particularly influential “leader” in your life. What traits did they carry, how did they move, speak, act? Share with us some of your experiences and perceptions about leadership and what makes a leader GREAT, instead of average, or just good.

How can we change our behavior to either better support someone to greatness, or optimize our effectiveness as already functioning leaders?

Please, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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August 21st, 2012|Categories: Articles We Like, HR / Talent Management|Tags: coaching, discussion, effective leadership, executive coaching, HR Leadership, Mariposa Leadership, personality|

The Breakthrough! Model Explained

What wicked problem do you want to solve? An operational efficiency? A new iteration of an old product? A totally different offering that will hit home with your customers? How about a new revenues stream? These sometimes intractable problems need a breakthrough approach to be solved. Breakthrough! is a model and program designed by Mariposa Leadership’s own CEO, Sue Bethanis, to incorporate the latest most cutting-edge thinking.

Breakthrough! is a fresh model for fostering creativity, empathy, brainstorming, and problem solving in a corporate environment. The Breakthrough! model provides a specific method which can help leaders address customer needs and issues in a more efficient and creative way. Leaders will not only understand the customer more deeply, but will also have an arsenal of tools to use by which to expand upon that newfound understanding.

The key to applying the Breakthrough! model is to let go of the traditional incremental mindset that may stifle creativity. Through Breakthrough! (Empathy –> Brainstorm –> Prototype –> Test –> Implement), corporate leaders learn to balance and combine analytic thinking with intuitive, creative thinking so to maximize innovation and problem solving.

The aim of the Breakthrough! model is to provide the knowledge to create a starting point from which true innovation can grow and flourish to benefit any company in terms of problem solving, strategy, and idea generation.

Post your thoughts and questions in the comments section below!

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July 20th, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, HR / Talent Management, News|Tags: breakthrough!, business, creativity, design thinking, design thinking model, HR Leadership, innovation|

Follow Up Exchange: Why Women Still Can't Have It All

Read this exchange on Twitter between Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of the controversial article, Why Women Still Can’t Have It All, and Mariposa Leadership’s CEO and founder, Sue Bethanis, for a thought provoking discussion and article.

Newly appointed CEO of Yahoo!, Marissa Mayer, acts as the focal point of the discussion to tackle the question of if women really can have it all.

Mayer named CEO, Y! & expecting 1st child in Oct. Grt example of an enlightened Board/fearless leader. @SlaughterAM: women can have it all!

— sue bethanis (@suebethanis) July 17, 2012

@suebethanis Some women can, absolutely. & I applaud her! but she makes my point. She's superhuman, rich, & in charge. Still need change!

— Anne-Marie Slaughter (@SlaughterAM) July 17, 2012

@slaughteram: am w u: more chg needed on work-life integration. Have written of need for co-workers being cool w dads taking kids 2 school..

— sue bethanis (@suebethanis) July 17, 2012

@SlaughterAM: w/ Mayer CEO appt, grt ex of mostly male Board making decision w/ what Mayer called "evolved thinking." http://t.co/juNozcDC

— sue bethanis (@suebethanis) July 17, 2012

Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below, and don’t forget to follow both @suebethanis, and @SlaughterAM.

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July 18th, 2012|Categories: Articles We Like, HR / Talent Management, News, Stress / Work-Life Integration|Tags: anne marie slaughter, discussion, HR Leadership, Mariposa Leadership, marissa mayer, twitter, why women still can't have it all|

Design Thinking for the Perceptive Corporation

You feel: a sense of constant nagging that your corporation has fallen behind, that product and services are somewhat out of sync, and that your team and general corporate environment are becoming a bit stagnant.

The lack of creativity and innovation within your company has become more and more apparent. The way you design is not consistent or constant, or it may be unclear to everyone. But, what is the best way to problem solve for optimal operations, products, or services?

Well, we can tell you what it is not – it is not to find one solution that will make these problems disappear, because in general that is neither sustainable nor productive in the long run.

A sustainable approach is finding a path that will lead to a well of many solutions (versus one big one) and many small failures. This will inspire new and fresh idea generation.

This path is called design thinking, which includes a deep understanding of (internal and external) customers, frenetic brainstorming, and rapid prototyping.

Stay tuned: our next blog post goes into applications of Breakthrough! — Mariposa’s design thinking model.

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July 12th, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, HR / Talent Management, News|Tags: business, business model, creativity, design thinking, HR, HR Leadership, innovation, leaders|

Why Women Still Can't Have It All

Perhaps you have already seen The Atlantic article by Anne-Marie Slaughter that has touched a nerve across the country. My take: It’s a much bigger issue than women/moms trying to have it all. This is a work-life integration issue that affects everyone; men/fathers need to have flexible scheduling, too, and until it is okay for a dad to say to his co-worker or boss, “I can’t be at the 8am meeting because I am taking my kid to school,” then things really aren’t going to change that much for women or men.

What is your take?

Read the article here: Why Women Still Can’t Have It All

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

– Sue Bethanis, CEO
@suebethanis

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June 29th, 2012|Categories: Articles We Like, HR / Talent Management, Stress / Work-Life Integration|Tags: anne marie slaughter, atlantic, business, family, HR Leadership, women, women in business, work life|

October 27, 2011 / Coaching Skills / HR / Talent Management / Mariposa Articles

ITM Coaching in Action: What, When, and How to Coach in Interrupt-Driven Organizations

How can you coach others in interrupt-driven environments? The ITM Coaching™ model is available to support learning and change. In this article, by Mariposa Leadership, Inc. CEO Susan Bethanis and COO Tawny Lees, the model is broken down into a simple three-step framework with numerous examples to illustrate the concepts in practice.

To download the full article, click here.

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October 27th, 2011|Categories: Coaching Skills, HR / Talent Management, Mariposa Articles|Tags: executive coaching, HR Leadership, ITM Coaching, Mariposa Leadership, sue bethanis, Tawny Lees|

August 29, 2011 / Coaching Skills / HR / Talent Management / Mariposa Articles

The Brain – Friendly Organization: What Leadership Needs to Know for Intelligence to Flourish

Advances in human neuroscience are giving us a window into why people behave as they do and how we can manage our environments and behaviors with others to maximize results. These new scientific findings challenge old assumptions of what it means to lead. While intelligence is our greatest strategic asset, our way of life has become profoundly out of sync with our neurology. We can fight biology or leverage it. As we understand more about human neuroscience, true leadership may become defined as the art of creating brain-friendly organizations.

Find out how advances in neuroscience and our understanding of the human brain are revolutionizing what it means to lead effectively by downloading the full article here.

About the Author:

Janet Crawford, M.A., has over 15 years of experience working with executives in Fortune 500 companies and high potential start-ups. As Principal of Cascadance, Janet primes leaders and organizations for productivity, innovation and collaboration in the 21^st Century. Her approach combines traditional leadership development and coaching with cutting-edge insights from neuroscience.

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August 29th, 2011|Categories: Coaching Skills, HR / Talent Management, Mariposa Articles|Tags: brain science, Cascadance, HR Leadership, human behavior, Janet Crawford, leadership, neuroscience|