Leadership

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 [...]

I first learned the use of the phrase, "hit by a bus," from reading Gallop Researcher Jim Collin’s book, Built to Last. Jim wrote that through his research and experience, all of the successful companies he had worked with passed the "hit by a bus" standard. Simply put, if you were to be hit by the proverbial bus tomorrow, would your team or organization go on without you? Would they continue to improve beyond where they are today? If your answer is yes, then you are a “clock builder” instead of a "time teller." The clock builder builds the clock, develops systems and process around what really matters. The result—people use the clock to tell time themselves. The time teller has [...]