As a leader, we wear many hats. After all the buck stops...well you know where. Recently, I had a conversation with a young man who just graduated from high school. He was inquiring about the leader's role. Not so much of the day-to-day functions, but "big picture" (his words) I went on to describe as best as I could the "big picture" for him. Leaders are people developers, change agents, decision makers, problem solvers, visionaries, culture protectors, strategy developers, coaches, communicators, talent recruiters, conflict managers, team builders...and well I'll stop there. He said to me,  "Wow, that is a ton of things you have to do!" The Leader has his/her plate full with responsibility. Yes the buck stops with us.  [...]

If someone were to ask you if your key people knew they were valued by you, how would you answer? I recently asked that question to a business owner and he unequivocally said, "Of course they feel valued." We took a deeper dive to determine how he was so certain. Through our discovery, he shamefully admitted he wasn’t connecting with his best like he used to. In fact, he said, “I think I was subconsciously taking them for granted.” He further pointed out he was doing more talking when they met, and probably not as much listening. Here is what I have learned to be true, embedded deep in our DNA as humans is the desire to feel connected and [...]

As a reminder to all of us who lead others -- your office may be your own trap!  Yes, we may have a private office, perhaps the “corner office," -- the office may be a reward for hard work, dedication and getting results. But the physical office itself can be a trap. Well that may be a slight exaggeration. However, just be aware. To really know what is going on with the peeps, we must invest the time to get out there and talk with them. Out there walking around and visiting them is one of the best ways to learn what people are thinking. I do realize this suggestion is time consuming. I can tell you by all accounts [...]