Have you ever known someone who was very successful at their job, but was impossible to work with? Someone who would be fired if it wasn’t for their production? That person thinks they’re leading with their personal accomplishments, and those around them will just have to tolerate their behavior (and rationalize it as a cost
One of my children shared they made a disappointing grade on a recent exam. What’s the usual response of a parent? While at the airport last week, I sat next to a technology salesperson on their phone explaining to their boss they weren’t going to hit their sales goal. What’s the usual response of a CEO? The usual
Your virtue, which is how you are characterized (prudent, courageous, having self-control) is worth more than anything in the world. It is the greatest of treasures. It is WHO you are. It impacts HOW you do WHAT YOU DO. It impacts those around you. It is cumulative. It is the truest of artifacts you leave
Diligence – steady, earnest, and energetic effort: devoted and painstaking work and application to accomplish an undertaking: ex. Alexandre Havard sparked my diligent pursuit of learning to execute mission better. You have to do the (uncommon) diligence to get to the true value proposition of something or someone. The true core value of something like
How many times have you seen the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart playing the main character, George Bailey? Why does this movie endure? I believe that the film’s story serves as a wake-up call to excellence that impacts the audience on a deep level. A result of achieving excellence (which our
As Christmas draws near, it presents time for reflection. Let’s reflect on being “poor in spirit,” and decode what it really means. The reason I suggest this reflection is because to collaborate effectively, we must be poor in spirit! Decoded: we must exercise humility, which is the ability to empty oneself of pride, and focus
I have used this little gem of a collaborative conversation tool daily for 25 years. Conversation focused on the other person is the grist for collaborating effectively. It helps you keep the conversation meaningful (focused on the other person). You ask the other person about their family or their friends you may know, what they
TRANSCRIPT: HOST: We’ll talk a little bit about Bring Out the Greatness! which is being hosted by the Authentic Leadership Foundation. The goal of the evening is to raise funds to fund character-based leadership programs for youth and educators. It’s going to be on Thursday, December 1st at 7:30 pm and it’s going to be
Have you ever been on a project team and felt the ground rules included some of these phrases?I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business.I’m not
There are many books available on Leadership, but have you seen one on Follower-ship? You’ve heard the old saying “You have to learn to follow before you learn to lead.” But how do you practice following? Here are three suggested steps. Practice listening. Simply repeating back what someone else said to them is a way
Collaboration boils down to constant communication, resulting in greater trust. But this begs the question: what if your actual communication skills need improvement? Here’s a helpful metaphor – according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, ‘English as a second language is quickly becoming a professionalized industry. There was a time when simply
“Successful business people stand on ground that is crumbling beneath their feet” – Joseph SchumpeterI don’t know about you, but I’ve encountered this quote several times over the years and I don’t think I really ever understood what it meant. For some reason, I paused when I saw it recently and gave it some thought. What does