One of the toughest challenges for a leader today is finding sobriety in a world of workaholics. Hard charging executive leaders focus all of their energies on work. Ambitious corporate ladder climbers feel pressured to mimic the day-and-night work habits of their bosses. The instantaneous nature of today’s organizational communications, the ubiquity of company provided [...]
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No leader ever sets out to deliberately do a bad job. But sometimes a leader is given the task of having to fix someone else’s bad job. This can be a daunting task especially if the damage and toxicity caused by the previous leadership has become a core element in the team’s culture. That said, [...]
Is it better to jump or be pushed? Leadership is about tough decisions. And sometimes the toughest decision for a leader is coming to terms with whether its time to move on to new challenges. While I love writing and talking about leadership – I also practice leadership in the real world. It’s the practice [...]
Real leaders know that sometimes we have to roll up our collective sleeves to solve a problem. Whether we caused the problem or not. We pitch in, share accountability and deal with the issue. Seth Godin in his book Linchpin talks about Matt Dayton, a nordic skier in the 2002 Winter Olympics. According to Dayton, the winner [...]
The Christmas season is a perfect time to take stock about our work as leaders. A lot of us are spending time a few days with family and friends before heading back to work. And a lot of us are going to head back into what could be best described as overstressed organizations. Overstressed organizations [...]
A BLT makes a great sandwich – but it’s a lousy way to lead. BLT stands for Box Like Thinking and is characterized by the need for all things to follow a linear, predictable pattern. Plans are set, policies written and adhered to in an unerring and unwavering way. I see a lot of government [...]
I’ve been hearing a lot of references lately about the need to make “elevator pitches”. This refers to the opportunity to pitch the next great idea to your CEO while riding the elevator. From the time the doors close to when they open again, you’ve got a limited amount of time to make your case [...]
Leaders, by their nature, strive for success. They focus on the success of their organizations and, by default, enjoy a sense of personal achievement when things go well. And they also suffer the consequences -both professionally and personally- when things don’t go according to plan. Why is it that some skilled and successful leaders often [...]
Nobody said that leadership was simple. It can, in fact, be an extremely complex and challenging pursuit. Some people are naturally drawn to leadership while others grow into the roles. Some believe that there are born leaders while others suggest that leadership is a choice and that we are all capable of leadership. Leaders are [...]