{"id":38288,"date":"2022-02-11T01:46:11","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T09:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=38288"},"modified":"2022-02-10T15:53:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T23:53:39","slug":"leading-amid-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/02\/11\/leading-amid-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading amid change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michelle Ray\u2019s latest book is Leading in Real Time: How to Drive Success in a Radically Changing World. (photo from espeakers.com<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Michelle Ray was recently inducted into the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame, which is bestowed, in part, for excellence in \u201ceducating others to excel.\u201d Of course, it is awarded to exemplary speakers, but Ray also educates using the written word. Her articles have appeared in various publications and she is now the author of two books: Lead Yourself First! Indispensable Lessons in Business and in Life<\/em>, which was released in 2014, and Leading in Real Time: How to Drive Success in a Radically Changing World<\/em>, which just came out in the fall of 2021.<\/p>\n

Originally\u00a0from Australia, Ray started her career in media and advertising while living there. She established her own business \u2013 as a professional speaker, leadership educator and consultant \u2013 in 1995, after she settled in Vancouver. In the conclusion of her new book, she shares what she learned from her parents, who were Holocaust survivors and faced several other challenges in their lives. Though they passed away many years ago, Ray writes, \u201cthe enormity of their respective losses is still with me\u2026. They were truly my greatest mentors, and I believe there will never be another generation like theirs. As leaders, we have much to learn, appreciate and apply from their timeless legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three lessons Ray highlights in this chapter are to be prepared for unanticipated events, to be optimistic and resilient in the face of difficulties, and to control what you can: \u201cThe now is all we know. It\u2019s what we have. It\u2019s the sum total of present moments and what we choose to do with them that prepares us for the unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a>Ray started writing Real Time<\/em> in 2018, taking notes while traveling for speaking engagements and doing other work. Her schedule got so busy that the book project was set aside until January 2020. \u201cSeveral months into the process,\u201d she writes, as the pandemic hit, \u201cit occurred to me that my teachings about leaders remaining relevant, flexible and open to new ideas applied to me. Realizing that the world had forever changed, I found myself questioning not only what lay ahead, but my own identity as a leadership expert and whether or not I had the energy to persevere in the face of so much uncertainty. I developed a deeper affinity with the challenges and struggles my clients faced, wanting to explore them further. I became more intrigued by their passion, ongoing success and commitment to the well-being of their workforce during a very difficult period.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are eight traits of a \u201creal-time leader,\u201d according to Ray. A real-time leader is transformative, emotionally intelligent, open-minded, humble, exceptional at listening, optimistic, consistent and trustworthy, and authentic. She explains each of these characteristics in more depth and examines the ways in which the workplace, workers and the economy have changed, and continue to change. She offers takeaways at the end of every chapter, as well as some homework, or what she calls real-time action steps. She suggests ways in which leaders having trouble with any aspect of leadership can improve, including hiring a coach or working with a mentor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just a matter of personal growth. \u201cThere is a high cost to poor leadership choices,\u201d she writes. \u201cEspecially when rolling the dice on leaders who are unprepared or who are incapable of immediately assessing real-time situations, including ongoing volatility, pressure from key stakeholders, and shifts in employee expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet, according to Gallup research cited by Ray, \u201ccompanies in an array of industries put the wrong leaders into the wrong job over 80% of the time\u201d and \u201c65% of managers are not engaged or are actively disengaged. That\u2019s not the workforce,\u201d she writes. \u201cThat\u2019s the leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might sound obvious that disengagement compromises employee retention but Ray notes how often leaders do not move with the times, and hold on to outdated approaches. She recommends change management education so that leaders can model behaviour for their team regarding adapting to such things as technological innovation, as well as social advances, like women\u2019s equality. Accountability is key and Ray offers readers of her book many ways \u201cto recognize when they have a me problem rather than a we problem.\u201d For example, do you step in to help when needed, are you respectful of others, do you keep your promises?<\/p>\n

In the chapter on the human factors at play in running a business, Ray notes that \u201cintelligence and self-awareness are traits that do not always come hand in hand.\u201d But being self-aware and capable of learning \u2013 from experiences and from other people, including those working for you \u2013 is vital for someone wanting to be a capable leader.<\/p>\n

For more on Ray, her books and learning programs, visit michelleray.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Ray\u2019s latest book is Leading in Real Time: How to Drive Success in a Radically Changing World. (photo from espeakers.com) Michelle Ray was recently inducted into the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame, which is bestowed, in part, for excellence in \u201ceducating others to excel.\u201d Of course, it is awarded to exemplary speakers, but Ray […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[784],"tags":[3851,3076,5563,21247],"class_list":["post-38288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-business","tag-education","tag-leadership","tag-michelle-ray"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}