Sometimes, servant leadership calls for relinquishing power. Insecure leaders look for opportunities to take power, and we know this on some level. Here’s an opportunity to let others steer things. Ignore caller ID. Pretend it doesn’t exist. This means two things: 1) If you’re free to answer the phone when it rings, answer it. No … Read more
I ate in a London pub with a group once, and the server made a mistake when calculating the bill. Unfortunately, he didn’t believe us, and our argument kept escalating. I got a little, um, animated myself. He was in the wrong (I have witnesses), but now he had a service issue with an obviously … Read more
Happy Anniversary to the most important book on leadership on my shelf. Not only is it compelling, research-based, comprehensive, elegant, immediately applicable, and timeless; it changed my life. Research ought to be relevant, right? So, when it was time to pick a topic for my master’s thesis, it was easy. I was a band teacher … Read more
I’ve heard the word “wow” twice recently. 1) “Wow! Thanks for calling me back!” Someone called and left a voice mail; he wanted to meet for coffee to visit about the computing support services his company offered. I called him back an hour later, and I think he was surprised I called back at all. … Read more
Four-way stops are easy, right? Stop, then take your turn after everyone else has gone. Is it a tie? Person on the right goes first. Easy. No problem. Does everyone totally adhere to The Rules of the Four Way Stop? I bet they think they do. But you’ve seen these… -The “rolling stopper”…-The one on … Read more
In an earlier post, “Instead of…” was presented as an alternative to saying “Don’t.” “Instead of” forces you to come up with an alternative action, which is usually good. However, if time is critical, or it’s not all that consequential, or you can’t come up with an alternative, try this: “Resist the temptation to…”It works … Read more
The brilliant folks at Manager Tools–specifically, Mark–have recommended this book highly for years. I read much of it a while ago, and recently picked it up to re-read it. In 300 words, here’s why it’s worthy of attention; read at least chapters 1, 2, 16, and 20. (Those chapters recommended by Luther College professor Schweizer — … Read more
Frequently, people ask me that question. Those who ask are usually witnessing me in a professional situation; if they saw me after the alarm goes off, there’s no way they’d ask that! But it’s true- if we lead, we have an obligation to give those we serve our best, and that means maintaining optimal mental … Read more
Have you seen productivity dip while creating a positive atmosphere? There’s a likely reason, and a solution. So much of this blog’s content is devoted to positive, encouraging, servant leadership. Every once in a while, a leader comes along who is so committed to positivity that they wonder why productivity might be down, not up. … Read more
A few weeks back, I was at a presentation of Janyne Peek Emsick, and she reminded us of a great quote from Karl Lewin: To know,and not do,is to not yet know. Have you ever explained how to tie your shoes? Better yet, was there ever a time that you tried tying shoes simply based … Read more