It's not a matter of if you're going to train your new leaders. It's a matter of when and how. Those are the questions I'm going to respond to in this video. https://youtu.be/QGk_YQlbCEY?rel=0&showinfo=0 Tweet it out: Being a new supervisor may be the biggest transition of a career. Make sure you are supporting their growth. @KevinEikenberry … [Read more...]
Change the Way You Think About Mistakes
Whether we are talking about an honest one, a little one, or a great big oh #$%^&@! one, we all have made mistakes. I’ve come to believe that the way we view and how we respond to them plays a huge role in our attitude, approach and results in life. How we view mistakes determines how (or whether) we use them to make our lives and results better ... or not. If we see … [Read more...]
Stop With the Excuses! You Can Be an Exceptional Leader
I often hear people say that they would work on their leadership skills if their organization supported them, if they had more time and resources, or any number of other similar (and flimsy) excuses. Well, I say, no more excuses! Here are six steps that anyone can take to become strong leaders - no ifs, ands or buts about it. Just keep learning. It sounds simple … [Read more...]
5 Really Good Reasons to Read More Biographies
In a recent post, I asked the question "What Are You Reading?" and offered tips on how you should read to improve your skills and knowledge. Today, I am going to explain further why I think you should be reading biographies. Mark Twain wrote “The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.” Walt Disney said “There is more treasure in books than … [Read more...]
Why New Leaders Can’t Avoid Learning
You can run, but you can’t hide. That's what people say. However, there are leaders everywhere who do hide, like ostriches burying their heads in the sand, when their teams are under-performing or when challenges arise. Leaders who want to blame others, the economy or the market for their team’s lack of success. Or “leaders” who have a title, but shouldn’t, because they … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Learn More From What You Read
Michael Hyatt builds a pretty compelling case for why leaders should be voracious readers in his post 5 Ways Reading Makes You a Better Leader, and he is not the only one touting the benefits. Many experts believe that reading is a major key to your success as a leader, and I agree. Reading improves your knowledge and skills, sharpens your mind, helps you to decompress and … [Read more...]
Is Your Attention Polluted? I Bet it Is
Earth Day is this week, April 22 to be exact, and all week schools, charity organizations, businesses and more are taking a closer look at what we can do to protect the environment, reduce our carbon footprint and prevent pollution. No doubt the havoc we're wreaking on our environment with pollution is a major problem, and we should all be doing a little more to protect … [Read more...]
The Power of Expectations
John Steinbeck, the great author, said it as well as it can be said: "It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him." The opposite is true too. That is perhaps the most important, yet most often overlooked, key to your success as a leader. If you want to achieve great results (and why would you want anything less?), you must expect great … [Read more...]
Change Your Behaviors to Become a More Inspiring Leader in 2016
Habits can be a trap for people in leadership positions, whether they are in business, politics or another field. As leaders, they should provide a compelling vision that inspires those around them. Instead, many of them lapse into automatic and mindless thinking. And that can affect every decision they make—and the actions of the people who report to them. “Too often, we … [Read more...]
Part 2: Maximize Optimism at Work
On Tuesday, we talked about six core symptoms of destructive management that crush workplace optimism. Today we're following up with more advice from Shawn Murphy, leadership consultant and author of The Optimistic Workplace: Creating an Environment that Energizes Everyone, on how to keep employee enthusiasm high. He says, “You can position employees to believe that work is … [Read more...]