I did leadership all wrong for years. I held leadership positions without understanding effective leadership practices. My early education was in theology. Tragically, I had no training in leadership. My leadership journey includes powerful, sometimes painful, shifts in attitudes and practice. The first shift: Leaders hold spotlights rather than stand in them. I thought leaders
I was talking to a an executive who had given an important presentation and felt he had totally blown it. As we continued talking he explained all the significant changes and impact he had made up to that point. His perspective came from a place that suggested that all the good work he had done
In Order That Evil Shall Triumph Listen to this: “In order that Evil shall triumph, it is sufficient that Good Men do nothing.” I cannot remember who said this, but I am going to say it again, and think, this time, what it means.”In order that Evil shall triumph, it is sufficient that Good Men
Definition: understanding Synonyms: affinity, appreciation, being on same wavelength, being there for someone, communion, community of interests, compassion, comprehension, concord, insight, rapport, recognition, responsiveness, soul, sympathy, warmth Notes: empathy denotes a deep emotional understanding of another’s feelings or problems, while sympathy is more general and can apply to small annoyances or setbacks Beats the alternative!
I have seen quite a few appalling meeting behaviors in my time: Meeting leader starts to read the paper in the middle of a presentation – when confronted he said he had seen the material and that the presentation was for the benefit of the others. Board member regularly falls asleep during meetings – justification
No matter how well you plan, stuff comes up. Whether in the course of your day, or during your management meeting, unexpected stuff comes up: You need to speak with a customer An employee has an urgent issue A business priority needs your attention And yet, often we plan and schedule every last minute of
There is a line between owning the customer and taking them for granted. In fact, its not a fine line at all. Its a chasm, Too often I have seen customer focused enthusiasm turn into an acceptance of the business as time passes. We cannot ever be allowed to become comfortable with the business that
You are running your meeting. The agenda starts to slip a bit but you let the discussion go on – its an important discussion and you want to make sure the topic gets airtime and gets explored. Good decision, but selfish. Somebody’s agenda item will suffer. Someone will get shortchanged because you made that decision.
Ever notice how in the career aspirations of leaders, people spend their entire career looking to reach that management position where they finally have the authority to do what they need to do and drive change? And then when they get there, the good leaders realize that, all along it hasn’t been about authority. Authority