Len Lagestee's Blog

Throughout our careers, it’s almost inevitable that an organization we are a part of undergoes a period of meaningful change. These changes vary in intensity – from small organizational design tweaks (a re-org perhaps) to large-scale modifications to the way an organization works (a cultural transformation).

Lately, it seems we are hearing of more and more companies undergoing a change also announce that people being let go. Sometimes the number of people impacted is quite large.

Wh...

In preparation for an upcoming post on designing organization without barriers, I would like to take a little detour to share a few thoughts on everyone’s favorite subjects…leadership and management. More specifically, what does the future hold for them?

Part 4, titled “Designing a Future-Proof Organization,” will begin to introduce a few concepts, themes, and principles for those who influence how work gets done in their organization. To prepare us for that dialog, we need to take a deep...

“I’m tired of change…when will this just go away?”

For those on the front lines of an organizational change I’m sure you’ve heard this a time or two. Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself. A typical response is, “It never ends. Look how fast the world is changing…it’s here to stay.”

This statement doesn’t make people feel much better.

I can see why people feel this way. Many have endured countless change mandates (as described in Change or Else! and Get on Board or Get Out). Others have ...

This is part two of a four-part series on Organizational Barriers. You can find part one here. Look for part three, “Designing Future-Proof Organizations” and part four, “In Practice, Removing Real-World Barriers” soon.

In part one of this series on organizational barriers, we discussed what siloed organizations feel like and how fractures form: seeded through poor personal behavior, incubated in our relationships, and reinforced in the design of how to work together. We also learned abou...

This is part two of a four-part series on Organizational Silos. You can find part one here. Look for part three, Designing Organizations Without Silos and part four, In Practice, Removing Real World Silos soon.

In part one of this series on organizational silos, we discussed what siloed organizations feel like and how fractures form: seeded through poor personal behavior, incubated in our relationships, and reinforced in the design of how to work together. We also learned about how...

This is part 1 of a 3 part series on Organizational Silos. Look for part 2, How To Remove Organizational Silos and part 3, In Practice, Removing Real World Silos soon.

They sneak up on us with a whisper but resonate loudly for decades. It can be hard to explain how they form and even harder to undo them once they have taken hold. We dont plan for them and we dont mean for them to happen. But they do.

Organizational silos.

After many years of coaching organizations of many shapes and sizes,...

This is part one of a four-part series on Organizational Barriers. Look for part two, “To Remove Organizational Barriers, Start Here,” part three, “Designing Future-Proof Organizations” and part four, “In Practice, Removing Real-World Barriers” soon.

They sneak up on us with a whisper but resonate loudly for decades. It can be hard to explain how they form and even harder to undo them once they have taken hold. We don’t plan for them and we don’t mean for them to happen. But they do.

Organ...

Throughout our coaching journey, scenarios are encountered when we will be called upon to have an uncomfortable conversation. It’s not if it will happen, but when it will happen. There’s a good chance it happened to you already today.

Someone is not allowing others to speak. Someone else is dominating the airspace of their team and restricting the flow of ideas. Someone has a blind spot or a capability gap that is impacting the health and productivity of their team. There is unresolved...

As coaches, we will be encountering and interacting with people all day long. At least I hope we are. And all of these people are on a journey of change just like ourselves. Some just starting out, some who have been on it for a while and some who don’t want anything to do with the journey.

The expectation is for you, the coach, to have an impact on each person by transferring hope, knowledge, and experience to them regardless of where they are or where they’ve been. Some will be eager to...

One of the things I am often asked about is how should we assess the performance of a coach. Some days I wonder this about myself…“Am I living into my full potential? What kind of impact am I really having?”

To answer this question, it’s important to first define the North Star of what a coach should aspire to. While you will have something different, here is what I use:

“A fellow human with the ability to create an environment of hope and possibility, the energy to inspire others to...