Marc’s MSLD Reflection Blog

For many people the word presentation evokes a wide range of emotions.  For some, the thought of having to stand up in front of an audience evokes panic and fear.  For others, the thought of attending a presentation is akin to enduring a root canal and causes symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome as memories of mediocre presentations flood the mind.  Let’s face it, most presentations are boring, few are enjoyable, and even less are memorable. Nancy Duarte (2011) suggested that presenters can make their speeches much more memorable and evoke a greater emotional response by borrowing the structure of great stories.  Many stories follow the structure of a hero’s journey. During a hero story an average character is called upon to perform a mission or undertake an adventure. However, the hero is unable to accomplish the mission alone; outside help is needed.  Help comes by way of a mentor who teaches the hero and makes it possible for him or her to ac...

One of the greatest challenges that organizational leaders are forced to confront is how to implement change.  However, a challenge that often outweighs the difficulty of implementing change is sustaining that change.  Bamford (2008) articulated the importance of change by declaring “Tell me a company that doesn't have to innovate, and I'll show you a company that will be crushed by its competition – or more likely by the competition it didn't see on the horizon.”  Leadership journals and experts are full of great advice about how to implement change and how to make it stick. For example, Harshak, Aguirre, and Brown (2010) indicated that one key to a successful change campaign is to “Ensure that the entire leadership team is a role model for the change” (para. 12).   Daryl Conner (as cited in replymc, 2010) suggested that a powerful way to implement change is through the use of a burning platform story.   The burning platform is a metaphor for the patt...

A person’s values are his or her fundamental beliefs about what is most important in life.  Values are a person’s guiding star, his or her true north. They define why people behave in certain ways, why they put high importance on certain things and ignore others.  Some people place high value on health and spend hours in the gym and eat a healthy, restrictive diet. Others place high value on enjoyment and find it more important to enjoy a tasty meal than to eat a healthy one.  What we value most is most important to us, and we make decisions and structure our lives in accordance with our values. Values are our internal beliefs that dictate how we live our lives. I recently took an assessment that helped me to identify my workplace values .  My workplace values are the characteristics that I find most important in my employment.  I discovered that the characteristics that I find most important in my work include: 1) an appropriate balance between wor...

Tom Peters (2009) quoted from a book by a Harvard Medical School doctor that indicated that most doctors listen to their patients for approximately 18 seconds before they interrupt to offer a diagnosis or other advice.  Peters (2009) further indicated that most managers and leaders are likely guilty of the same behavior. He estimated that seven or eight out of ten leaders are what he called “18 second managers.” Peters (2009) suggested that “The single most strategic strength that an organization can have is not a good strategic plan, but a commitment to strategic listening on the part of every member of the organization.”  Effective listening is one of the most important skills a leader can have. Leaders who hone and refine their listening skills will likely see benefits such as increased trust, greater productivity, an ability to defuse potential conflict, more confidence, better relationships, and fewer mistakes (Schwantes, 2016). In one of my leadership roles I a...