April 25th was a red letter day for me, because I got to meet Brennen. Let me provide a little background before introducing you to him. As many of you know, we conduct The Leadership Challenge® Workshop at a unique outdoor education facility just outside of Cincinnati. It is called Camp Joy, and camp is [Read More]
True Servant Leaders
March 22, 2013 by 1 Comment
There is that expression, “like tennis, nothing happens in life, until someone steps up to serve.” Earlier this month, I was privileged to offer The Leadership Challenge Workshop to a number of leaders from various non-profit organizations in the greater Cincinnati area. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. They enjoyed and benefited [Read More]
Strengthening Confidence
February 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I have begun to detect a dip in the level of self-confidence people have. Two merging observations which have led me to this. First, I less frequently hear people describing their work as a slam dunk or similar term, indicating they will have no trouble with it. Work these days is a struggle, with plenty [Read More]
Another Reason for Caring
January 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A recent conversation with a friend and colleague led to an interesting convergence of thoughts. The first item we discussed related to a recurring and rather distressing item. Today, it is easy to find examples of people or companies engaged in deceit or fraud. Whether it is Lance Armstrong finally fessing up, investment companies using [Read More]
The Lamplighter
December 20, 2012 by 3 Comments
Throughout our years of leadership development work, we have been privileged to meet and get to know a lot of wonderful people. One of our many friends and fellow Leadership Challenge travelers, Roy Yarbrough, sent us the following, as he announced his retirement from his current position. My guess is he will never retire from [Read More]
More than a Flip of the Switch
November 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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]
