In Blanchard’s work with culture clients, a key part of a successful culture initiative is the transition of the senior leader from a self-serving leader to a servant leader. Self-serving leadership is, unfortunately, a very strongly modeled approach to influencing others in Western society. Servant leadership is gaining strength – and high-performance, values-aligned cultures … [Read more...]
SCAMPER (An Alternative to Brainstorming)
Advertising legend Alex Osborn not only founded one of the most successful ad agencies in the world, BBDO, he also coined the phrase “brainstorming” and is credited for inventing the technique. Later in his career, he invented another technique that is lesser-known, but one that is incredibly powerful: SCAMPER. This name is an acronym and stands … [Read more...]
Do You Check E-mail on Vacation?
Kevin Eikenberry published a blog post called "Secrets to a Real Vacation." In it, he offers several great questions to consider when taking time away. He also addresses the issue of how connected you can be and still have a vacation. Can you check email once a day and still feel refreshed when you return? Can you "stay closely connected" and take a vacation at the same … [Read more...]
What Do You Expect? Dare to Expect the Best
What we usually get from people is what we expect to get. If we expect greatness, we'll get greatness. If we expect mediocrity, we'll get mediocrity.Good leaders expect the BEST from themselves and their staff. Your expectations play a huge role in your own success and they also have a profound effect on the people around you.ATTITUDE - What you expect from your staff … [Read more...]
The Power of the Pen
The other day I received a hand-written note on a simple card from some one I met just briefly at a recent conference. Wow! I hadn’t seen one of those since my Grandmother wrote me a thank you note for my Christmas present to her last year. Here’s this person I’ve spent all of 15 minutes with who takes the time to compose and write a thoughtful message, put it in an envelope, … [Read more...]
Summer Reading
What's on your Kindle right now? What books are on your shelf? What are you reading? According to a recent list compiled by Amazon, people in Cambridge, MA buy the most books (print and Kindle) per capita. Check out the list. Does your hometown make the cut? Are you a reader? Leaders are readers. Kevin wrote a great post on Monday about the importance of reading … [Read more...]
Leadership Icons
I'm pretty new to the leadership development world, I'll admit it. I can't remember reading any business books at all (although I am sure I must have during college) until I started writing a leadership blog during the spring of 2009. Since that time, though, I have learned quickly: who's who, the classic books, the key players and influencers in this space. Last week, our team … [Read more...]
Teamwork: This is What We Can Be
Back in the day, I used to run track for my high school’s girls 440 relay team. Even all these years later, I can close my eyes and feel it: legs churning, heart pounding, as I round the curve, ready to pass the baton. I’m reaching my right hand out to place the baton in my team mate’s waiting, outstretched palm. Most days, the hand-off went smoothly, but once in awhile we … [Read more...]
Courage: What Makes the Difference?
I’m considering the roots of courage this morning.I listened to an NPR Morning Edition interview with Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who was one of the first two black students to attend the University of Georgia fifty years ago. The story is familiar and reflects the turmoil and bigotry of those times. At one point, Hunter-Gault talks matter-of-factly about bricks being thrown … [Read more...]
Ten Actions for Creating A Learning Organization
Jack Welch said, “An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the greatest competitive advantage.” Continuous learning and its respective implementation to generate desired business outcomes is at the core of successful organizations. Peter Senge defined a learning organization as the one “where people continually expand their … [Read more...]