Stringing holiday lights around my house reminded me of a common misconception about leadership development. For some who have never done it, hanging lights may seem to be a walk in the park. Get out the lights, hang them up, and flip the switch. Presto, your home is magically transformed into something wonderfully different. Many [Read More]
A Must for Successful Change
October 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Frequently I get the opportunity to work with people going through enormous changes in their workplaces. Sometimes, the change is strategy or technology related. Other times it can be a major restructuring or even the process of marrying two merged, but quite different organizations. Regardless of the change which is occurring, I often see people [Read More]
The Wall
September 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I recently heard a Chief Medical Officer describe the deep hurt that is felt after an unsuccessful pediatric code, when a baby loses its fight for life in the emergency room. He made the comment that the attending doctor must be a wall – who must wall off grief, sadness anger or any other emotion. [Read More]
The Power of Validation
August 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I meet a number of people in my work, spending a few days with them in a leadership development process, usually in a setting away from and much different than the office. They arrive with skills, experiences, reputations, personality quirks, and everything else, which I know nothing about. Because of the circumstances we are in, [Read More]
Lessons from 2012 Forum
August 1, 2012 by 4 Comments
I just returned home from the 2012 Leadership Challenge Forum, celebrating the 25th anniversary of this extraordinary leadership model, along with the 5th edition of the book. Whether you were there or not, I thought you might appreciate a few personal reflections from the time with authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, and the community [Read More]
One In A Million
June 4, 2012 by 2 Comments
I once again had the privilege of attending the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee held the last week of May near Washington DC. 278 kids, from 6 to 14 years old, traveled to this championship venue to tackle words such as quinquennalia and mumpsimus. (Good luck even pronouncing them and no, they are not in the spell [Read More]
Another Poor Example
May 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The lengths companies will go to in order to mislead is baffling. My local phone company, Cincinnati Bell by name, is the latest culprit. Two years ago they heavily promoted a program to lock in your current rate for life. I thought this was an unusual offer, but I signed up. I was assured the [Read More]
Cornerstone of Trust
April 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
One of the key attributes of credibility is trustworthiness. Think about it – it is hard to find someone believable if you cannot trust them. And as authors Kouzes and Posner (The Leadership Challenge) have written, “credibility is the foundation of leadership. Trust can also be sliced down into a variety of attributes. After 25 [Read More]
Your Dent in the Universe
February 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I am currently reading the story about Steve Jobs of Apple. Interesting enough, much of the book is about what a first class jerk Jobs could be. At the same time even his critics would say he had a way of distorting reality to convince others to join him in what at the time could [Read More]
A Leadership Dilemma
February 8, 2012 by 5 Comments
I was recently conducting a series of leadership development sessions for people in the non-management ranks of one of our client companies. So that everyone would have a common experience, each session included similar content and exercises. During a hands- on learning activity, one of the participants offered some directive suggestions that allowed those in [Read More]
