Here’s what I think. The foundation that authentic leadership is built upon is, you guessed it, humility, but here’s where I mess it up. I tend to lightly check the box on humility. Then, give-in to my biology or instinct and launch myself into building my next success when I should be descending… Descending? Yep, […]
After working with leaders for years, here’s what I know: few leaders are balanced. Why? In my experience, balance is hard to achieve because it’s unappealing to them. What’s appealing is a ‘beautiful life’… Picture this: a beautiful life is like a racing chariot barreling through time, reeling, but erect (G.K. Chesterton). Leading a beautiful […]
I’m glad this post’s title got your attention. I’m sure it has something to do with timing (November 2nd, 2020), but hey, I’ll take it. What’s a pressure point? A place on the body (an individual or organizational body or society for that matter) that can be pressed to stop tension, pain or bleeding. How […]
I’ve heard of the term ‘2nd nature’ all my life and never understood what is was or why it mattered until the last few years. Here’s what I think: First, instinct is how we’re hard-wired. An example would be breathing. Next, first nature is something we have to think about, practice, and fail at like […]
The phrase whack-a-mole denotes a repetitious and futile task: each time a task is finished or a problem is dealt with, yet another task/problem appears elsewhere. A classic example? Keeping others accountable. Many leaders struggle with establishing accountability because they lapse into ‘managing accountability as a thing’ instead of ‘forming accountable people’ through character building […]
How to Build Character (you’re not born with it) How do you react when something not only doesn’t go your way, it makes no sense or seems unjust or unbelievable to you? Several of my kids have experienced disappointments recently – one in college and one in boy scouts. As a parent I hurt for […]
I read an article on Linked-In claiming leadership classes DON’T WORK. Here’s my take – leadership tips and tricks learned through coaching, competency training, and experience DO WORK AFTER you work on the foundation of leadership – your character. Most feel they’re a leader based on their work product and they’re wrong – that’s quadrant […]
A goal that excites my school-age children is a dream season and winning a trophy. It soon fades, and they ask, what’s next? WHAT’S A GOAL AN ORGANIZATION COMMONLY CHOOSES? Since most organizations live in quadrant 3 or the lower right of the Business Excellence 2×2, it’s SOMETHING THAT MOVES THEM FROM LEFT TO RIGHT […]
High strategy (mind), low culture (heart) is where most organizations live – quadrant 3 or the lower right in the Business Leadership Excellence 2×2. What happens when you have high strategy and low culture? You have spiritless results… You make lots of money and culture is a non-factor. It doesn’t affect your team members’ […]
I worked with a successful healthcare client recently on using culture to enhance execution of strategy to optimize results. They had disagreement on 1. direction of the organization and 2. ownership – that had slowed the organization. What most leadership teams do is focus on thorny issues like these without first laying ground work to […]
