Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - June 2006 Issue

June 2006

Learn, Grow, Lead ... Without Changing Your Job

Think you need to change jobs to gain new skills? CCL's Cynthia McCauley says there's another way to find challenges and develop as a leader - by taking on developmental assignments in your current role. In this issue of Leading Effectively, she shows you how.

The articles in this issue of Leading Effectively are adapted from Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences without Changing Jobs by Cynthia D. McCauley. Developmental Assignments is modeled after Eighty-Eight Assignments for Development in Place, one of CCL's most popular publications.

Articles

Developmental Assignments: How to Grow as a Leader
Many leaders learn the most when new opportunities come their way, but equally powerful learning experiences may be found in the context of your current job. Through developmental assignments, you can shape your work and life experiences in ways that will expand your leadership knowledge and skills. (more...)

Choose Your Challenge
Not every challenge is a prime opportunity to learn. Research shows that certain kinds of challenges stimulate learning more than others. To adapt and grow, leaders need to seek out new experiences and challenges that foster learning. (more...)

Practice and Learn: How to Grow Leader Competencies
To learn a new skill, you need the opportunity to practice it. With this guide from CCL, you'll identify experiences that will give you good practice and strengthen your leader competencies. (more...)

On Your Mind: Q&A with Cynthia McCauley
Doing the best thing for your career isn't always easy. Here, CCL's Cynthia McCauley, author of Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences without Changing Jobs, answers common questions about overcoming obstacles to on-the-job learning. (more...)

Monday Morning Tools: Start Your Plan
People learn on the job every day. But to be sure you're learning what you really need to learn, you need a developmental assignment plan. "Without a plan, on-the-job learning is haphazard," says CCL's Cynthia McCauley. So grab a notebook (paper or electronic!) and spend 30 minutes on your plan-today. (more...)

Results of the CCL Poll: The Leadership Pipeline
In our May 2006 Leading Effectively e-newsletter, readers were asked to reflect on their experiences with coaching colleagues and direct reports - a role that CCL refers to as the "leader coach." A total of 217 readers responded to the poll. CCL expert David Berke responds to the findings. (more...)

Interested in republishing articles or excerpts from a CCL newsletter or CCL Press publication? Fill out our "Request to Republish" form, found at www.ccl.org/republish.

Further Your Development With CCL's Upcoming Leading Effectively Webinars

Filling the Leadership Pipeline: The Discipline of Development
June 15, 2-3 p.m. ET
Price: $50
Many companies are experiencing a talent shortage, particularly when it comes to significant general management roles. As is true of any important strategic initiative, successful leadership pipelines are created when company leaders hold managers accountable for the execution of key short and longer-term goals.

Based on CCL's fieldbook, Filling the Leadership Pipeline, this Webinar focuses on ways to more intentionally identify the key issues that will enhance a company's ability to build and maintain the talent pool that will take them into the future.

Maximizing the Potential of Yourself and Your Organization: Strategic Leadership in Action
July 25, 1:00-2:00 ETbr /> Price: $50
Have you ever wanted to be more strategic? Do you need to develop strategic leadership in others? What if you could have strategic leadership embedded in the fabric of your organization? If these questions cross your mind, you are not alone: many of today's leaders are faced with the challenge of "being strategic" in the midst of a complex and sometimes chaotic world. How does one do this? This session is your guide.

This Webinar is based on years of experience in CCL's Developing the Strategic Leader program, and insights shared in the book, Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization's Enduring Success, focusing on specific and practical ways to become more engaged and effective at developing the strategy to guide your organization's future.