Leadership

Here is the reality, folks: your leadership is an inside job. Your leadership effectiveness begins with what is inside you. Who you are and who you are becoming charts the course of your influence –your leadership. It has been said that "the first person you lead is you." Albert Schweitzer spoke on the meaning of leadership; he said, “Example isn’t the main thing in leadership, it is the only thing.” Well, that may sound a little out there. I believe Schweitzer was saying that all your words as a leader mean nothing if your life doesn’t back it up. We must lead the pack if we expect our people to develop and grow. We must be the locomotive pulling the train [...]

George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." Wow! The nerve of him! I can’t speak for you, but I have learned that lesson the hard way. Just because you say something doesn’t mean they heard it, believe it or will do it. Here is the reality, gang: people aren’t thinking about you, people are thinking about themselves. It doesn’t matter if it is a group/team meeting or a one-to-one with you; they are preoccupied with their own stuff. When we communicate, we must never be me-centered, we must always be others-centered. Preparation is first and foremost in communicating. The more you know about the needs, the pain points, and [...]

Recently, I shared a little about being a leader coach. Here are some more truths with the hope you find these useful. A good coach is POSITIVE; our job isn't to find fault or assess blame. It starts with what is working, what is good and putting energy there. Remember, people grow the most where they know the most. A good coach is ENTHUSIASTIC. Your attitude speaks loudly. It is catchy; be careful of the gloom and doom projecting. A good coach is FOCUSED. To be effective, you must be specific, focused, and keep the discussion on the topic at hand. A good coach is OBSERVANT. Business author and consultant Tom Peters refers to this as "management by walking around [...]

As leaders, setbacks come with the territory. We wouldn't need leaders if everything ran smoothly—perhaps a strange way to look at job security. If you have been in leadership for any reasonable amount of time, you have come to accept setbacks, disappointments, conflicts, and just plain failure. You see, in the middle of the pain is where we find authentic leadership. It is the leader's mindset: A SETBACK IS NOTHING OTHER THAN A SET-UP FOR THE COMEBACK. We, as leaders, must wear this on our sleeves. Be an example of how to deal with failure, disappointment etc. My friend and author John Maxwell said it best, "EXPERIENCE IS NOT THE BEST TEACHER, ONLY EVALUATED EXPERIENCE IS." This is where the [...]