Artios Leadership

              When I first picked up  The Practice of Adaptive Leadership  (2009), my first thought was, “oh, great, another theoretical leadership book to read.” But as I got deeper into it, I really came to appreciate how it was structured, and the various tools and techniques it offered. I have been able to use these adaptive leadership skills and hopefully will be able to implement more in the future. This book speaks to my leadership journey over the past few years, very well. I normally do not like introductory sections of books; they often feel very superficial. But this book was different – and it gave me the pause to really consider what it was all about. When they began by saying that “answers cannot come from on high,” I really began to pay attention. This idea that we—those without power or position—could in fact orchestrate major change and exercise leadership was a brilliant, and daunting, concept. The introduction also gave a “how to” guide to using the book—a meta-lea

  In their book on adaptive leadership, the authors raise the concept of “orchestrating conflict” (Heifetz, et al., 2009, p. 149) and the implications of actually increasing the level of discord in an organization. The analogy of a symphony or orchestra—a metaphor being used more and more frequently in the literature—seems quite on point. But how do you ensure the creative conflict level is optimized to ensure good ideas, while not raising the temperature to a boiling point? How does a leader work to increase the collective idea-base (which almost always conflicts) and yet also ensure the psychological and physical safety of all? Establishing rules of engagement is a critical first step. These “ground rules” are essential to ensuring everyone is on the same page, as well as a mechanism to hold people accountable. The leader should not dictate them, but rather should be co-constructed among the group. The expectations or "group norms" should be mutually agreed upon going int

  Occasionally, I post articles that are directly related to fraud examination and investigation. This is one of those articles. Note that this does not constitute legal or accounting advice, but is for information only. Consult applicable laws and licensed counsel. The use of criminal statutes to enforce fraud or recover assets associated with criminal activity is a common avenue toward ensuring justice is served.  But, in reality, and for so many victims, as well as fraud examiners, there is a whole other realm that must be considered—the civil process.  There are a lot of similarities in working a criminal fraud case (since many fraud cases start out as a civil matter).   The investigation is nearly exactly the same as a criminal investigation (and you can never know when one will become the other).  But what is different for investigators to understand is that there are different tools available, and generally you have to work closely with an attorney to obtain the information nece

Over the last few months, I've had several students and colleagues ask about finding federal positions. I've put this short list of resources, tips, and ideas together. I hope it is helpful. 1.       Federal Resumes are just different —In the corporate world, brevity is key…but not for federal job hunting. The resume is structured differently, is often longer and more detailed, and includes much more than just work experience. Once you accept that, it will be a lot easier. 2.       Keep a master resume —A master resume is a running list of ALL the things you have done. This will better position you to “pick and choose” or highlight various aspects of your work, based on the job description and requirements in the announcement. 3.       Keep a running list of accomplishments —Time passes and we can forget, especially if a job announcement has a short deadline. Keeping a running list will help you recall what you did and what impact it had! This is also helpful for performanc

Early this year, a book was published by David Noble and Carol Kauffman called Real-Time Leadership: Find Your Winning Moves When the Stakes Are High (Harvard Business Press). David and Carol are both executive coaches and have an amazing storytelling ability in their book. I first heard Carol on the Coaching for Leaders Podcast and it was so intriguing that I purchased the book. After several delays, I was finally able to finish it this week.  Their book and cues for executive coaching are excellent and I appreciated their MOVE model for its ease and simplicity: M--Be Mindfully Alert O--Generate Options V--Validate Your Vantage Point E--Engage and Effect Change I especially appreciate their framework on the "Four Leans": Lean In  Lean Out Lean With Don't Lean I've created a summary here, but the book is an excellent and very insightful read. I highly recommend it. Note that I have not received anything for this, nor does the Amazon link below do anything for me finan

  The Center for Creative Leadership ( Leadership Development Results That Matter | CCL | Learn More ) published a short booklet in 2001 called “Setting Your Development Goals: Start with Your Values.” The authors, Bill Sternbergh and Sloan Weitzel, discuss the importance of setting value-based goals for your personal and professional growth. Starting with our values is a great first step in thinking through our leadership journey. It centers and grounds us—in ourselves. This is important because before we can lead others, we must first lead ourselves. We must model the behavior we expect from our peers, subordinates, and colleagues. The booklet includes a useful values exercise, which is something everyone should take. Google “values exercise” or “values leadership assessment” and you’ll find many ones that you can use. Once you are able to really identify your core values – which can be defined as those anchors or guides that inform our behavior at its most basic level – then you