Leader's Beacon

Ever notice? When you ask someone how they’re doing, they rarely say “fine.” No, just about everybody says “busy.” Yeah, we’re so busy that we have to work all those extra hours–come in early, or work through lunch, or stay late, or pull a Saturday and/or a Sunday…or all of the above. Now, I’m not [...]

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You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream. – C.S. Lewis What do Colonel Harland Sanders, Ray Kroc, William Amos, Laura Ingles Wilder, and Henry Ford all have in common? These successful people did not achieve the greatest levels of success in their respective lines of work until each [...]

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“It’s difficult to connect with people while pursuing your selfish agenda. By nature, connecting is a giving experience.” –John C. Maxwell Have you ever been a victim of a network drive-by? Or been personally violated by people claiming to be networking but are just out for themselves and what you can do for them? If [...]

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A manager I was coaching recently explained (away) the behavior of one of his supervisors: “He isn’t an angry person. He means well. It’s just that he’s often sharp with people. And sometimes they take it the wrong way. He’s really a good worker. I’ve told him that people can be intimidated by him, so [...]

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“There are lots of times we have to pinch ourselves and ask, Is this really happening?” – Jeremy Lin The headline from Sports Illustrated writer Pablo S. Torre sums up one of the most remarkable sports storylines in recent memory, “’From Couch to Clutch’, After being cut twice, Jeremy Lin emerged from the end of [...]

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I recently heard Marc Benioff say that working at Apple changed his career perspective. The great Steve Jobs turned the hot box programming room into an extended organizational culture. Finding “doors” in programming function became a quest for a new frontier. It was no longer about writing better code; it became a mission to change [...]

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At the core of The Leadership Circle (360 degree assessment) model are the Reactive tendencies and Creative competencies. If you look at the circle itself, you will see Reactive structure of mind represented by the lower half of the circle and Creative structure by the upper half. When leaders operate from the Reactive mind-set they [...]

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Front Line Leadership Tips for Supervisors, Team Leaders and Managers Sports coaching vs the Voodoo approach Historically, trainers and coaches rely on the trickle down method of impacting an organization: train or coach the boss and then everyone who reports to that person will change their behavior and the organization will benefit. Or sometimes the [...]

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Positive self-talk expands your power; negative self-talk restricts it. Your personal power dramatically shapes your professional, personal, and social destinies, all with multiplying impact. Take the situation of entering a large ballroom full of unfamiliar faces. Immediately, if fearful thoughts take hold, you can talk yourself right out of a positive experience and the potential [...]

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A good boss makes his men realize that they have more ability than they think they have so that they consistently do better work than they thought they could. -  Charles Erwin Wilson “Undercover Boss” has emerged as one of CBS’ top-rated shows on Sunday evenings. As CBS states, “Each week, the show follows a [...]

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I continue to be amazed by that fundamental truth about living: how we choose to see a situation dictates the choices we–and others–make about it. Take a look at this 2-minute clip that demonstrates it better than any more words I can write. You will be glad you did. How you choose to deliver feedback [...]

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No man, who continues to add something material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long without proper reward. – Booker T. Washington John Maxwell shares a story about a man who was enjoying an afternoon in a small boat on a peaceful lake. He fished as he munched [...]

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In his short, wonderful book, Helping, Edgar Schein presents us, whether we are a professional coach or a manager playing a coaching role, with three ways to respond to a request for coaching/mentoring help (or, for that matter, advice with a problem on the job). We can be: an expert resource who provides information or [...]

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I am always asked what makes a great leader. We are all different. Some people have exceptional product knowledge while others know how to fill in strategy gaps. There are those who inspire their team and others who keep their team honest. While every individual has their distinct areas of expertise, there is a method [...]

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