The 2016 Olympics officially started on August 5, and much of the world is entrenched in the games. While some people watch for the pageantry, the human drama, the patriotism or the actual athletic competition, I believe there is another universal and more useful reason to tune in: to be inspired by others' achievement. The human interest stories give us the backdrop. The … [Read more...]
How Business Leaders Can Inspire Purpose in Their Employees
This is a guest post by Paul Ratoff, author and Certified Management Consultant. In a tight game's closing seconds, a coach will huddle his players and draw up a play designed to result in a winning play and victory. But, if just one teammate is disengaged, the play can go awry and the team will fall short of accomplishing its purpose. Businesses have something in common … [Read more...]
4 Lessons Leaders Can Learn From Camels
Let me start by saying I am not a camel expert. Some of what I know about camels, I have learned from reading throughout my life. Some I learned while talking with people who know more about them than I do. I, however, have become more interested in the animal since I actually rode one. As with everything I do in life, from that experience, I drew some powerful leadership … [Read more...]
Is Your Team Truly Prepared?
The quote to the right couldn't be more true. While it is spot on for everyone, it is especially true for leaders. Some (relatively small) percentage of the population is naturally inclined to plan, but most of us just aren’t. So people's (including yours and your employees') first inclination in the face of a new project or challenge is to jump right in and "get to … [Read more...]
The Power and Pitfalls of Competition
Admittedly, I am a competitive person in just about every facet of life. Ask those who’ve known me my whole life and you might even hear some stories of competitive board and card game play that I’d prefer not be repeated. While I was taught to be (and think I mostly am) a good sport, my focus was most always on winning. And looking back, I can point to both the power and the … [Read more...]
What Should you Optimize? Define Good Work
This is a guest post by Tom Cox, leadership consultant, author and speaker. One of the most common, and tragic, causes of poor work performance is that everybody assumes the definition of "good work" is obvious, so nobody ever seeks explicit agreement on what it is. When the boss (that's you) doesn’t define "good work," things can get bad. For example, I live in Oregon, … [Read more...]
5 Ways Leaders Can Declare Their Independence
Here in the states we're preparing to celebrate Independence Day. So if you are from the United States, I wish you a Happy Independence Day! However, even if you aren't from the USA, I want to encourage all of you to officially declare your independence as a leader (even if you are new to it)! What do I mean? After all, as leaders, aren’t we actually pretty dependent on our … [Read more...]
10 Roles Every Leader Must Fill
Most leaders aren't ready when they step into a leadership role, so if you are feeling out of sorts, don't worry just yet. Everything takes time. Instead of worrying that you will never get up to speed, focus your energy on improving. Here are the 1o roles every leader must fill (even the new ones) that are most important to the success of the team and organization as a … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Defeat Complacency
Complacency is all around us, but it (and the problems it brings) can be especially noticeable in the workplace. Think about it. How many employees fly under the radar doing just enough to meet the requirements of the job? How many long-time customers did you suddenly lose this year? How often do you see a dip or lull after a really successful period or outstanding … [Read more...]
5 Limits Leaders Must Challenge
We all have limits. Those boundaries beyond which we just don’t go. After all, it wouldn’t be safe. It wouldn’t be prudent. It wouldn’t be easy. We set limits for safety purposes or for logical purposes, but most often, we set them because we need an excuse. We are scared or lazy or we lack confidence in our own abilities, so we need a reason (an excuse) to not try … [Read more...]