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…
DetailsIn 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…
DetailsI 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…
DetailsOne of the most important keys to success in your personal and professional life will be determined by your ability to get along with others. Below is a quiz I provide to people at my workshops as well as to those I coach. Take the quiz and see how well you do. Also have your…
DetailsThe culture of your organization will either ensure your long term success or potentially leave your organization vulnerable to external threats. An effective culture leads to innovation, agility, great customer service, higher profit margins and high employee engagement. A weak culture creates and reinforces resistance to change, erratic financial performance, high employee absenteeism and turnover,…
DetailsBy prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination. – Christopher Columbus There is a story that I came across involving Yogi Berra, the well-known catcher for the New York Yankees, and Hank Aaron, who at the time was the chief power hitter for the Milwaukee Braves.…
DetailsIt being New Year’s time again, Bill George recently blogged about “Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders.” He talked about things you can do to develop yourself, beyond what you do in your direct job: such as finding a mentor, setting up a mastermind type group with other emerging and aspiring leaders,volunteering in the community in…
Detailsphi·los·o·phy [fi-los-uh-fee noun, plural -phies. -The rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. The setting is taken from the 2009 hit movie Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Freeman plays the role of South African President Nelson Mandela. Damon plays the role of Francois Pienaar, the captain of the…
DetailsIn my leadership workshops and keynote speeches I sometimes ask the group/audience to think of the best boss and worse boss they’ve ever had, what each did, and what effect it had on you. People come up with all kinds of descriptors and behaviors of both bosses. But one thing emerges about the best boss…
DetailsThe name and work of Carol Dweck keeps coming up in discussions among experts in cognitive development. I wrote a review of her important book, MindSet. In it she talks about two fundamental mindsets in people (and, therefore, of course, in employees): Fixed and Growth. Someone with a Fixed mindset believes they can’t get any…
DetailsBe not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. – William Shakespeare Tim Tebow earned my respect back in 2009 when he played his senior year at the University of Florida. When other college athletes with lesser talent opted to enter the NFL draft, Tebow…
DetailsA recent study reinforces the value of coaching by managers throughout the organization. Here are a few key points it makes: Business results were 21% higher in enterprises where senior leaders very frequently make an effort to coach others. This increased when organizations had a culture that supports coaching and makes managers accountable for engaging…
Details90% of the success of any presentation can be attributed to planning. As Mark Twain said, “It even takes three weeks to prepare a good ad lib speech.” The problem with most presenters is they don’t spend enough time researching, getting to know the audience and going over and over the presentation until it becomes…
DetailsWhen you hear the word conflict, it has negative associations with words like argument, war, battle, and disagreement. In reality, conflict should be embraced as being essential to a healthy organization. The majority of employees (and many supervisors and managers) avoid conflict because of the assumption that conflict is destructive. Conflict is expected and desired…
DetailsI ran across a recent posting from the Gallup Management Journal that made a point have I never thought about before: “Raised through a childhood in which each new year brought novel opportunities, playing at ever more difficult levels of sports, growing physically, educated in a system of cleanly delineated grades — freshman, sophomore, junior,…
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