Category: Fundamentals for Greatness
Go Light Your World, Part III: I Believe
To effectively lead, we must shine from the inside first. Adding the latest leadership traits to your skill set hardly ever works unless it fits with your true self, and well, you need to know your true self first to be an effective leader. Speaking of your true self, have you ever spent time thinking ...
Who’s Got Your Back?
Along with the cornerstone activity of setting goals and imagining them to be true from my last post, “The Slow Death of Idle,” another tried-and-true quality among leaders we respect and admire is having a long list of supporters. We all know despite technological advances in the workplace we still need meaningful face-to-face exchanges, particularly when ...
Answering One Question Could Change Your Life
In the context of being inspired, doing purposeful work and subsequently becoming an authentic leader, there is one question that is sure to give insight to anyone that answers it. Better, it could literally transform you, if you let it. It comes from a fantastic little book called, “Find Your Great Work,” by Michael Bungay Stanier, ...
100,000+ Books on Leadership, Why Aren’t There More Leaders?
A former colleague that I admire and respect proposed writing a leadership book together. One of the first things I did was scan what was already out there. To my surprise, a basic “leadership” search on Amazon.com resulted in over 100,000 titles. While I admit my blog post title is presumptive (maybe there are more ...
I Changed, Where is Everybody Else?
Some of the best advice I got from a senior leader during a Leadership Challenge 360 feedback process was, “You’re always three meetings ahead of everybody. Where you want to go is right for the organization, but you need to bring everybody along.” I struggled with that feedback, until I actually tried “bringing others along” and ...
There’s Something Missing from Most Leadership Advice
I’ve probably said this before, but do a search on “leadership” books on Amazon.com and you’ll find literally millions of titles. Frequently, themes focus on leadership “behaviors” such as integrity, humility, collaboration, listening to others, creating a vision, inspiring others, taking risks, modeling good behavior and so on. But what about being strategic? I admit, ...
What Great Leaders and Jerry Maguire Have in Common
One of my favorite movies is Jerry Maguire. There is much of your typical “integrity and character” fodder. But, what really resonated when I saw it 15 years ago and then recently was the loneliness that can sometimes accompany true leadership or pushing change. There are many things you probably inferred, or that supervisors and mentors ...
The Smallest Acts Have the Biggest Impact
Recently, a dear friend, former boss and mentor passed away. It was such a shock, and I spent days processing all these memories I hadn’t thought of for years: insightful perspectives she had, ways we worked together and observing her subtle, but universally respected, leadership style. I had just seen her. One particular memory stood ...
Leadership Isn’t About Winning and Losing
There is no end to leadership advice, including this blog. Common themes include humility, integrity, developing others, self-awareness, having a vision and modeling the way. However, what are those unstated traits that while not popular to teach, are nonetheless rewarded? One is competitiveness. The very nature of competition implies there are winners and losers. Every great leader ...
Knowing Yourself First, Part III and Final
Recall from Parts I & II, our intent is to develop the foundation of being a great leader, inspiring others and getting great results with customers: Modeling the Way. In order for you to Model the Way, I said you need to Know Yourself First through identifying your values and getting feedback from others. Knowledge ...
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