So I’m an optimist. When I first started in leadership, I thought that every person had potential. If someone was negative, I thought they were just one step away from seeing the light and becoming positive. As a few negative…
While we’d all rather avoid it, negativity is a part of life. Even though it’s unavoidable, it can derail you – even stunt your progress – if you don’t know how to handle it. The first strategy for dealing with…
If you’re like me, you wince every time you get negative feedback. I’ve gotten better at it over the years, but there’s something inside me and probably inside you that makes your heart sink at least a little every time…
So you want people to listen when you speak? Who doesn’t? As I outlined in my last post, one of the reasons effective leaders get a response when they communicate is because they establish a sense of urgency. If there’s…
Next time you’re on a plane, watch what happens when the flight attendant reviews the emergency procedures and safety information. Answer? Not much. Most people are tuned out, dozing, reading or otherwise distracted. I’ve always felt for flight attendants. I’m…
College aged people and 20 something leaders have a bit of a bad rap. If you listen to leaders over 40, the complaints come quickly: They don’t work hard enough. They seem to want it all, now. They have a…
So you might be a little insecure as a leader, but how do you change that? If some of the signs of insecurity describe you, what do you do about it? As I’ve wrestled this issue down in my…
So…let’s just be honest. I’m a little insecure. My guess is you might be too. Most leaders I know struggle with some level of insecurity. In my next post, I’ll share some strategies that can really help getting past the…
Like almost everybody, I have to make constant corrections to how I manage my time. There always seem to be more opportunities than time available, more inbox than there are hours, and more people wanting ‘just ten minutes’ than there…
One of the chief enemies of your organization’s future is the status quo. Keep doing what you’re doing the way you’re doing it and eventually whatever you’re doing will run out of steam. There’s a reason they’re not still making…
In yesterday’s blog post, we looked at the difference between leaders who accept responsibility and leaders who instead blame other people and things for their mistakes. Today I want to focus on a critical mistake many leaders make: in the…
How do you gain and keep influence with people? Love them. It’s almost that simple, and it flow from this principle that’s true of almost all of us: We listen most to the people we love the most. This is…