Stewart D. Friedman: The more attention we can devote to helping devel...

Skilled leaders focus on "we," not "me."

Stewart D. Friedman

focus leader

At the individual level, you need to examine what you truly value, share this with key stakeholders in various life domains both to get feedback and support, and then to experiment with new ways of doing things so that - over the arc of a life - you can achieve harmony and have more of what it is that you uniquely want out of life.

Stewart D. Friedman

support keys way

"Leading" is about mobilizing people toward valued goals.

Stewart D. Friedman

goal people

We all want to have a rich and meaningful work life and a fulfilling life beyond work.

Stewart D. Friedman

rich want meaningful

People struggle most with seeing new ways of doing things and often need help in breaking through their tradition-bound mindsets.

Stewart D. Friedman

struggle people needs

Firms that fully embrace the needs and interests of the whole person will win today's competition for the best talent.

Stewart D. Friedman

competition winning needs

The worst thing you can do, despite the innumerable obstacles we confront, is to not try.

Stewart D. Friedman

obstacles worst trying

Boundaries are shifting between work and the rest of life for men and for women at different life stages. Work is becoming home and home is becoming work. The progressive CEOs who grasp this emergent reality and adjust to embrace it will be at a competitive advantage in the marketplace for talent.

Stewart D. Friedman

home men reality

I believe each life has value and that we're on this earth to leave it better than how we found it. I want people to take this to hear and to try as hard as they can to improve their capacity to do so.

Stewart D. Friedman

trying believe people

Knowing what matters most, what I call "being real," is the alpha and omega for leaders.

Stewart D. Friedman

what-matters knowing real

My purpose is to help people understand that leadership skills are useful and relevant for pursuing meaningful aspirations in all aspects of life, and that this is a choice, a decision, not a default.

Stewart D. Friedman

skills meaningful people

My research and practice indicates that people need to be doing work they love and to love the work they do. They need to feel that their efforts matter for the people and causes about which they really care. Further, they need to be doing work with people they respect and enjoy. Finally, they need to feel free to choose where, when and how it all gets done. It's not easy to put these conditions in place, but it is certainly possible to do so, as I have seen and shown in my work in organizations and communities using the Total Leadership approach.

Stewart D. Friedman

effort community people

Curiosity about the world and questioning of the status quo to open minds to alternative visions of the future are essential leadership skills. And they can be learned.

Stewart D. Friedman

visions-of-the-future curiosity skills

The principles that apply to engagement for employees are the same as those that apply to supervisors.

Stewart D. Friedman

supervisors engagement principles

People of all ages, but especially young people, require work that as meaning, or social value. Since they're not getting the kind of long-term guarantees of yore, they're willing to job hop to find the right fit.

Stewart D. Friedman

social-values jobs long

The really good news is that when you give people the tools and the support to pursue what I call "four-way wins" - that is, improved performance in all parts of life - they are actually much likely to achieve these wins and, through the process, develop further their leadership skills.

Stewart D. Friedman

winning giving people

When employers no longer offer secure full-time employment with benefits, then it's hard to expect employees to be loyal, engaged, and maximally productive.

Stewart D. Friedman

employment benefits loyal

Invest in helping people know what matters to them and who matters to them (and why), and encourage them to continually experiment with how they get things done in ways the serve their interests and yours as an employer.

Stewart D. Friedman

what-matters done people

Having a 9-to-5 workday in which work is left behind when one leaves the office is no longer the norm as employers expect employees to be available outside of work.

Stewart D. Friedman

employee employers office

People at all levels and in all roles in organizations are wrestling with the challenges of modern life, trying to find ways to create harmony among the different parts of their lives while aiming to achieve their goals and live with purpose.

Stewart D. Friedman

organization wrestling people

The more attention we can devote to helping developing leaders tune in to their core values - drawing on their real experience and their true aspirations in life - the more likely it is they'll make smart choices about how and where to invest their talents.