If you look closely enough, you can find lessons about leadership just about anywhere, including the Academy Awards. It is kind of like peeking in on the final stage of Hollywood’s performance management process. Supposedly, the top people in a number of categories are competing for the highest honor of “Best.” And the challenge – [Read More]
Beware of Biases
January 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Think back a couple of weeks and you likely remember the uproar about the students from a Catholic high school in KY and their faceoff with Nathan Phillips the fellow beating the drum on the Washington Mall. By living in the area near the school, I can tell you that the fallout from this incident [Read More]
Leading Through Resistance
December 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment
For this month’s blog, we are featuring a new article, written by guest contributor Amanda Nelson. The article offers some insightful thoughts on what it takes to lead during times of great resistance. One of the known certainties of leadership is that there will always be some kind of resistance. What separates the real leaders, [Read More]
To Or From
November 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Is it more inspiring to move toward something you want, or away from something you don’t? I am not sure there is a correct answer to this question, as one can make a case for both. If I am on a trail and a bear suddenly appears and starts chasing me, moving away – and [Read More]
A Lesson about Elections
October 31, 2018 by Leave a Comment
As I write this, we are about a week away from the 2018 midterm elections. Is it just me, or does it seem as if there is an extraordinary amount of craziness going on right now? One of the reasons many might join me in feeling this way is based on what is being reported [Read More]
Leadership as Dialogue
September 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Following are excerpts from a recent interview between Rodger Dean Duncan of Forbes and Jim Kouzes, co-author of The Leadership Challenge, highlighting the importance of open dialogue for leaders. Enjoy. _____________________ Rodger Dean Duncan: In your practice you often make the point that leadership is a dialogue, not a monologue. How does dialogue inspire a [Read More]
Ruining the Customer Experience
August 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
I recently had my annual (and what should be totally unnecessary) confrontation with my local technology provider. Everything was going along fine and then suddenly my bill almost doubled. My call to discover why was answered somewhere thousands of miles away, and I was told that the special promotions applied to my account had expired. [Read More]
The Difficulty of Re-wiring
August 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
I have heard many people living in older houses talk with great love about the charm or feel of their homes. Part of that love may come from the history associated with the age of the house, and the elegance of some of the workmanship. There is something about antiques that touch a number of [Read More]
Relying on the Wrong Skills
July 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
How well do you really know your job? Most of the people I have met seem to really know what they are doing. When they sit down with peers, they can talk for hours about “the job.” They can easily leave me in the dust, with the level of detail they bring out, and of [Read More]
The Importance of Being Forward Thinking
May 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
We are pleased to feature comments from noted author Jim Kouzes (The Leadership Challenge and others) about the importance of leaders being forward looking these days. This was originally posted in The May 2018 issue of The Leadership Challenge Newsletter. It is a critical topic for leaders and we hope you enjoy it. Read the [Read More]
