This concept of urgent not always equating to important is something I readily admit to still struggling with. I was raised to try and help whenever I could and so when someone comes to me with something that they feel is urgent, I tend to react in kind. But the reality is that doing so... Continue Reading →
I was speaking with some HR professionals recently and the question of leadership came up… how do you define a leader, can anyone be a leader, why do we not spend more time developing leaders and so on. It was a fascinating discussion with no easy or pat answers but it was a deep and... Continue Reading →
A lack of enthusiasm led to the absolute hardest time I had filling a role on my team. It took nine months and we went through three full rounds of posting the position, screening candidates, going through first, second and third round interviews only to decide - twice - that our final candidates just weren't... Continue Reading →
Last week, I was meeting with a friend and colleague, Ken Cavellier. Ken's been a successful salesman and sales leader for most of his career and, as we were catching up, he turned to me and said, "You know the secret to leading a successful team? It's understanding that you work for them." Without using... Continue Reading →
Ken Blanchard (from the Blanchard Companies and a big proponent of servant leadership) gave a talk that I saw where he shared a lot of really interesting things. One concept in particular, however, really jumped out at me that I wanted to talk about here. Ken described his time as a college professor and how... Continue Reading →
Recently, I attended a talk given by a very accomplished and straight-talking career coach. She had retired after a full and successful career and then went into business for herself as a consultant a few years back. She clearly loves her work and her clients sing her praises. So when I had a chance to... Continue Reading →
There is so much power in the phrase "help me understand" and I've used it countless times as a manager to signal to someone on my team that we are about to engage in a deeper discussion. It is an invitation to work together to gain mutual understanding and - perhaps - make some necessary... Continue Reading →
What If... 