Happy 2020! As the New Year dawns, I am bidding hail and farewell to an old friend. After 42 years of virtually uninterrupted service, my old Kenmore clothes dryer finally let me know it was retiring. Yes, you read that correctly – 42 years for a frequently used appliance. Unheard of these days. Perhaps this [Read More]
The Power of Optimism
November 1, 2019 by Leave a Comment
I recently came across a senior manager who said something like this. “I don’t believe it is appropriate to put on a face of optimism, when everyone knows times are really tough. My people would pretty much know that I would be faking it, and I would look foolish.” Let me get this right: optimism [Read More]
Toxic Management
October 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This month’s post is from our good friend and fellow leadership development coach Patil Hunma, who has written an insightful look at the real impact of management behaviors which have become toxic. We invite you to reflect on his observations, and keep them in mind as you seek to more effectively lead within an organization. [Read More]
A Top Priority for Leaders
July 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Being a student of leadership for thirty plus years, I have come across list after list of what leaders do. I work in this field and I even have trouble keeping up. I imagine it is hard for you as well. After all the reading, studying, facilitating and thinking about leaders, there are three items [Read More]
Sign of the Times
May 31, 2019 by Leave a Comment
A close friend and colleague, who is a professor at a highly regarded, major university, recently sent me this brief reflection. You may be experiencing something behavior from people around you. *** It is the end of the semester and I have been imploring students to complete an anonymous course evaluation for my classes. In [Read More]
A Big Difference
April 30, 2019 by Leave a Comment
I recently heard a comment from a young woman who just completed a couple of days of leadership development work. When asked what she would take away from it she said something like this. She said she could no longer attempt to remain mostly invisible or under the radar, if she was going to be [Read More]
Lesson From The Oscars
March 1, 2019 by Leave a Comment
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]
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]
