Answering the Call of Leadership
When the call of leadership comes, what will you do? Often what makes leaders stand out are not the great deeds but the small acts. Many of these actions may even go unnoticed by most. But cumulatively they demonstrate where the leader’s heart lies, and they build the kind of loyalty that makes teams strong […]
Leading Volunteers: How to Keep Them Coming Back
How do you lead people who aren’t on your payroll? Since moving to Minnesota, I’ve wanted to get engaged locally as a volunteer. Last month I signed up to help at a local agency, and it was a great experience. The way they worked with the volunteers made it fun, productive and has had me […]
Leading Virtual Teams: 12 Powerful Ways to Lead a Team You Can’t See
How do you lead a team that’s not there? It’s hard enough to be a good leader when your teammates are in the same room. But what about when they aren’t even in the same time zone? When you can’t look someone directly in the eye, things get much more challenging. Yet leading virtual teams […]
Visionary Leadership: When Social Proof Fails
What is visionary leadership? In 1921, an explorer and naturalist named William Beebe was trekking through the jungle in Guyana. He came across a large colony of ants marching along a path that they had made. Curious, he followed the little ant highway to see where they were going. After a quarter mile of climbing […]
6 Powerful Ways Leaders Reflect, and how Reflection Makes Your Team Great
What is reflection for leaders? Reflection sounds like a passive exercise you do by yourself. It seems to involve sitting in a chair in a darkened room and journaling about the meaning of things. Maybe that’s part of it, but I think for leaders there is much more to it than that. Leaders reflect actively, […]
Keeping Your LeaderShip Afloat: 4 Ways to Get Your Head Above Water
Does it sometimes feel like your attempts at leading are like, oh, I don’t know, paddling a half-submerged pumpkin down a river? Last weekend I had the privilege of watching people attempt to do exactly that. Join me for a video of what happened, and some thoughts about how to keep your LeaderShip afloat, even […]
Stop Social Loafing: 6 Ways to Get Everyone Working
How come 1+1+1 does not equal 3? You would think that the more people on a project, the greater the output. Sadly, that’s not always the case. A phenomenon called Social Loafing leads some team members to do the minimum possible. They drag down group productivity like a boat anchor. Today we’ll look at why […]
Secrets of Social Facilitation: Putting the Audience to Work
What happens to performance if someone is watching? The answer might surprise you. Performance isn’t just about the players, it’s also about the audience. Today we’ll unlock the power of social facilitation and show you how you can use the audience to get the best out of your team.
Listening Skills for Leaders: 8 Ways to be Sure You Get the Message
Have you ever been in a situation where you had something to say, but people didn’t seem to be listening? How did that make you feel? I’m guessing your response would not include words like “understood,” or “respected.” Listening skills are are often overlooked in leaders and yet are so essential to our ability to […]
Creating Unexpected Wins: Leadership Lessons from “Team Short People”
[Guest Post*] Everyone loves an underdog story, but much of the time, we only perceive the underdogs as such because we are overlooking the strengths that really matter. In the story of David and Goliath, the fact is, much of David’s unexpected win boils down to the fact that his sling was more powerful […]
The Secret to Growing Good Tomatoes (and People)
Of plants, tomatoes seemed the most human… – John Updike If what John Updike says of tomatoes is true, my neighbor is reminding me of an important lesson about working with people.
Building Bridges: How Leaders Grow Loyalty
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across. – Sun Tzu, Art of War How do you grow loyalty? Consider this story. A marketing specialist was given her first major assignment to test market a new product. She worked on the project diligently, giving it her best effort. But when the results came in, […]