Leadership

Leadership is influence. Influence is felt by others in our behaviors. These behaviors provide evidence of our intentions. Be aware: It's our intentions we betray first followed by our behavior. When tolerated, these bad behaviors have devastating effects on those we spend the most time with; our professional colleagues. There are many studies that chronicle the impact of poor leadership, the resulting toxic environment it creates, and the negative effects on our health. Just guessing it's...

"No! Don't touch the hot stove." "No! Don't text and drive." In these examples, "no" is actually positive to alert us from burning ourselves and not driving while distracted. In other situations, primarily in our professional lives, we perceive saying "no" will be viewed as negative. This leads to saying "yes" to much more than we can accomplish and the mistaken idea that if we're busy it means we're valued more. Does always being busy with more equal accomplishing more? Here's a scenario...

Phil Jackson, the Hall-of-Fame NBA coach (Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers) was once asked about one of his players. He was asked if he minded what hair color Dennis Rodman had. Coach Jackson replied that it was Dennis' preference what hair color he chose but it was a requirement he plays defense and rebound. It might not be what hair color Coach Jackson would choose but he honored his player's preferences. The requirements are not negotiable so he focused on coaching his players to be...

We can't change the past. What happened to us and who we used to be cannot be altered. When we run from it and wish things turned out differently we keep ourselves trapped in the past. It all happened. It will not ever have not happened. Some things happened to us while others happened because of us. Fill those two buckets and accept them. Learn from them. Grow into a better person from them. Your mindset is the key. Are you getting through or getting better? Each day has micro opportunities...

When you feel the surge, resist the urge. There are times in our lives when we feel threatened. Some are real. Some aren't. Our bodies process these situations exactly the same. When threats aren't real often we let our fight/flight response take over. In these moments we react as if in real danger. The actual danger here is not having the self-awareness to realize the "threat" is perceived and be able to calm ourselves down. If we succumb to the survival hormones flooding our bodies we...

Have you ever tried to change something about someone else? Of course, you have. We ALL have! The point is we can't motivate anyone else. Like us, they show up for what they believe in. And like us, they always find time for what's important to them. We can engage , inspire , and support . In short, we can show up for them in an authentic way because we care about them. We don't have to be better or smarter, we just have to courageously care about them. Connect first with your intention. If...

Each of us strives to fulfill basic needs as humans otherwise we're surviving instead of thriving. When we perceive a situation isn't safe our fight/flight/freeze mode kicks in automatically so we can live through it. It's a great adaptation humans have developed over the millennia. We wouldn't be here without it. The problem comes when we live in this mode more than we feel safe. Cortisol and adrenaline flood our system even when we aren't actually in danger. Prolonged exposure to these...

A = Attitude One of 2 things within your control; attitude and effort! Attitude is everything, pick a good one. B = Brave When you believe strongly in something or perhaps it scares you a bit, let your courage shine through. Be brave enough to go first and model the way. C = Character This is your behavior when nobody is watching. You won't always have the training and education for the situations you find yourself in. Your strong character will get you through. D = Dependable You do what...

Oh, the things we tell ourselves. Sounds a bit like Dr. Seuss; sadly it's not. You have to wait until the end of the post for some of his wisdom! We're talking about how our personal narratives become aspects of things we believe about who we are. Here's one that's been in my arsenal forever: "I'm horrible at math." Big deal you say. Maybe you're not good at math. You have other things you're good at. What's the problem? Telling myself this has made an agreement that has limited my openness...

The practice of leadership has been going on as far back as we can observe. In a previous offering " 10 Leadership Theories " we looked at where we've come in the recent past regarding thinking and approach to leadership. In one post we can't possibly hit everything related to leadership, so it's a reality we left out a ton of stuff. We're going to continue this journey by looking at a few more influencers in the leadership area from centuries and millennia ago to today. Hang on! Lao Tzu -...

"One can either work or meet. One cannot do both at the same time." -Peter Drucker Darn it! He's right again. Despite our best efforts we can only do one of these (effectively) at a time. Through this, he also reminds us of the multitasking myth. What we actually do is task switch. It takes 40% longer to accomplish two things we're switching on and longer when we add a third or fourth task. One thing we can do to help with effectiveness is to have better meetings. Most HR professionals will...

You've worked hard to come up with a great plan that will make things easier, remove frustrations, and even save time for everyone. You're proud of it. It's thorough. It's researched. You've consulted people with more experience in this area. You've taken criticism. You've been vulnerable. Now it's time for the big meeting to unveil it. You're excited. Even a bit nervous. It's your turn on the agenda and... Your excitement is met with a mild, lukewarm reception from the team. What happened?