Building the Team: Why You Don’t Need New Shoes
Think you need to make a change on your team? Not able to advance because someone is holding you back? It is easy to catch yourself thinking along these lines. But the other day I came to an interesting realization when I paused to think about my old running shoes. Here’s why your “racing” success is […]
Burning the Pancakes: 7 Steps to Empowerment
“I will let your son burn the pancakes.” This is what I tell visiting parents who are trying to decide if their boy should join our Scout Troop. What I’m really telling them is that we do our best to empower the boys, and that the process can be messy. Here’s my thinking on that […]
How to Get Kicked Out of Leadership School: The Spotlight Leader
Do you have what it takes to get through the Army’s toughest leadership school? Those who attend the U.S. Army’s Ranger School prepare months in advance in the attempt to pass this grueling leadership course. Even so, the failure rate is high – anywhere from 40-60% of this select group still don’t make the grade […]
A Different View of Leadership: Not What You Might Expect
What does leadership look like? It takes on many forms. But on this day, at a major training exercise in the desert, it took on what for me was a very unexpected shape. Here’s the short story about a very different view of leadership I got when I pulled back the tent flap, and saw […]
Leading With a Blind Eye: Why You Can’t Ignore the Thing You Didn’t Want to See
Why turning a “blind eye” is hazardous to the health of your team In 1801, Admiral Horatio Nelson was leading several warships in a desperate fight against the Danish in the Battle of Copenhagen. His ships were part of a larger fleet commanded by another Admiral. Back in those days, commanders communicated with their fleet […]
Cornerstone of Leadership: What’s Yours?
The location, orientation, and strength of a building are determined by its cornerstone. And just as a building needs that firm foundation to be strong, any organization also needs a basis of strength and purpose that orients and guides its actions. These things come from its leaders. These are its cornerstone. The question is, as […]
How to Get Inside their Heads: Understanding the Team Development Model
Effective team development requires us to understand the life cycle of teams; here are the stages and how to lead effectively every step of the way.
9 Leadership Mistakes to Avoid
In a recent online poll, about 1,000 U.S. workers were asked what their biggest complaints were about their leaders. Today we’ll talk about the top nine of these complaints, how they are connected, and what you can do to avoid being one of the leaders they are complaining about.
Do You Really Need Charisma to Lead?
Not everyone has the charismatic superhero personality that captivates a room, and attracts followers like metal filings to a magnet. For the many of us who may be a little short on vitamin C (charisma), are we doomed to permanent follower-ship while the outgoing back-slappers take over the world? I’d say don’t give up hope. […]
Be a Finisher, Not Just a Starter
Why is it not enough to be a self-starter? Getting started on something is great. There are lots of great inspirational quotes you can read about starting:
They Do This in Church, Too? 9 Ways Getting Constructive Feedback is a Game-Changer
Having lived in 19 places in my life (so far), I’ve been in my share of churches, but the one we go to now has always struck me as being a little more organized and better run than most. Recently I discovered one of the reasons why. We could all stand to take a page […]
Book Notes: Start With Why
How is it that that Toyota and Honda were able to expand into the luxury car market successfully, but Volkswagen was not? Why is Apple able to remain so innovative in so many different areas of the market for so long? We can answer these questions and many like them with a one-word question of […]