During my 30 plus year career working in leadership development, there have been a couple of admired characteristics which high percentages of people continually said they looked for in their leaders. They are Forward-Looking and Inspiring. It makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, leaders are people who step up to take us to places we [Read More]
A Most Common Daily Mistake
People will often share with me that they wish they had more time to think about the future and be a more intentional leader. I remember talking with one fellow about it and asked him what prevented him from finding the time. I really appreciated his answer. He did not say that his time was [Read More]
The Value of Belonging
Greetings Leaders, How connected are the people in your department feeling these days? With team structures such as remote, hybrid, and blended becoming more permanent in work, one’s sense of connection – and feelings of belonging – might not be as strong at the moment as they need to be. Survey results published by Deloitte [Read More]
Struggling With Trust
According to recent Gallup polls, trust is declining again, especially in some of the major institutions. It is probably not surprising that Congress, television news, and newspapers tend to fall at the bottom of the list of organizations most trusted. Trust and confidence in big business also remains low. On the other hand, small business [Read More]
Intentional Growth
For many, springtime is a time of becoming reinvigorated. Trees are blooming, flowers are blossoming and the dormant, brown yards turn green almost overnight. There is something about the reemergence of life after the dead of winter. New growth is an incredibly inspiring thing. Leaders, much of your role is about growth, ensuring that people [Read More]
What Do You Fear?
Once a year I am supposed to change the filters in my furnace. They get dirty and prevent proper airflow which can put unnecessary strain on the motor. The same is true with the air filter on my car – and likely with my lawnmower, vacuum cleaner, and every other motorized device I own. To [Read More]
A Much Different World
Picture a lemon in a vise. As the vise tightens, some juice starts to leak out from a few small cracks. From then on, it takes just a little more cranking until the lemon is squeezed so tight, it simply bursts. There are many leaders today who may feel like they are that lemon, and [Read More]
The Dilemma of Mandates
You might not be aware that the word manage comes from the Latin root manus, which means hand. Quick translation – managers handle things. On the other hand, the root of leadership means to go, guide, or travel. Leaders take people places. Quite a difference, even at the root level. Why do I mention this? [Read More]
Mandates For a Fulfilling Career
In our recent book, Ignite the Extraordinary, co-author Tom and I wrote about various phases people pass through during their careers. The first phase we titled Finding the Light and the second was Learning to Fly. We suggest you pay close attention to them in assessing your own career progress right now. And for those [Read More]
Don’t Cave in
Immediately following the Presidential inauguration, there was a lot of “breaking news,” coming from some of the medical professionals serving the previous Presidential administration during the 2020 COVID-19 challenge. Based on their own words, the research, advice, and counsel they offered were often times drastically ignored or worse, re-worded inaccurately. There is video of Dr. [Read More]