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]
Does Inspiration Matter?
March 30, 2018 by 2 Comments
How important do you believe it is for people to be inspired about their work? Does inspiration really make a difference or is it a concept that is merely getting a lot of buzz these days? I am on the “makes a difference” side, and a recent episode reinforces why. I recently attended a talk [Read More]
The Off Year
February 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Shaun White is the Olympic halfpipe snowboarder who defies gravity, physics, and every other limitation known to mankind. His performances are nothing short of breathtaking. In 2006 and 2010 he won the gold medal. In 2014, he went home empty-handed. Nothing, Nada. Well, he obviously had peaked and was on his way down. Maybe he [Read More]
Connecting Voice and Touch
December 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment
As we begin a new year, I wanted to share a short, yet powerful story about one of the most important lessons of leadership. I hope you will often be mindful of its enduring and important message. Author Max Depree opened his book Leadership Jazz, with the story of his granddaughter Zoe, born prematurely and [Read More]
Independent Leaders?
November 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment
From over thirty years of research, We see that still today only 5% of respondents indicate that ”Independent” is an attribute they most look for in a leader. There is plenty of justification for that low rating. After all, people seem to want their leaders involved, engaged and connected, not acting aloof or going off [Read More]
The Struggle with Values
September 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment
My oh my, there sure are a lot of leadership issues in the news these days. As I write this, the NFL players/national anthem controversy is still in full swing. I could write about a number of things related to that! For example, the NFL seems to enforce a number of standards, from what can be [Read More]
The Power of Choice
August 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment
On one recent, rather untypical Monday afternoon, people across the country looked up at the sky and were mesmerized by that cosmic event called the solar eclipse. By all accounts, those who witnessed totality were totally awed by what they experienced. You just did not hear or see anyone using descriptions like OK or no [Read More]
Culture: First Things First
July 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The comments this month are generously provided by guest contributor Amanda Nelson. If you run in the same types of circles that I do, you can’t go an hour without thinking about, hearing about or being asked about culture. Everyone is talking about what programs they are implementing, how they are redesigning their organization structure, [Read More]
The Issue of Unnamed Sources
May 31, 2017 by 1 Comment
I cannot count the number of times I have heard people complain about the anonymity of the internet. It goes something like this: “People can write whatever they want, almost libeling people by spreading rumors or biased opinions, without any accountability. They do not have to sign their names, and so there is no way [Read More]
Live Your Values
May 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Unless you have been living in a galaxy far, far away, you no doubt heard about and formed an opinion of the recent United Airlines situation, where they hauled a seated passenger off the plane, and as a result, left both him and their company reputation injured. Everyone, including the financial markets had their say [Read More]
