Seven years ago, I wrote about “the two kinds of naysayers” in a post titled: Leaders Know the Two Kinds of Naysayers. I wrote this because I was seeing a lot of leaders miss out on two things: 1) their power to make a difference, and 2) their responsibility to be a steward of their … Read more
You may have heard me talk in the past — or recently — about The Four Levels of Maturity model. I’ve been talking about it for a long time, because it holds up! In a nutshell: Level 4 is the generous level where problem solving takes place and self-awareness is the highest. Level 3, which … Read more
This week, I want to touch on a big role of leaders, which is the importance of getting to know their people. When I was getting my Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, one of the required classes was Career Counseling. I had worked at Group Dynamic for three years when I took this … Read more
Last week, I gave one of my couples “homework” to complete by their appointment this week. I handed them a piece of paper with a list of fifty or so open-ended questions, and I said, “Ask each other these questions this week and discuss your answers together.” I gave no other instructions. They came to … Read more
Some people push back when you ask them to take a positive approach in their leadership. They equate positivity with being nice, but being kind is deeper than empty hype like, “Good job” or “Nice work” or “Super!” You can’t be too kind. But, I agree you can be too soft. There’s a difference between … Read more
Star Wars nerds everywhere are scrolling to the bottom of this post to let me know I got the quote wrong. But, if you give me a few minutes, I will explain. Yes, the quote is wrong in the sense that Obi Wan actually said: However, I’d like to make a case that Obi Wan … Read more
You will need a piece of paper or a Post-It note for this blog. On that paper, write down an answer to one of these questions: Now, put the piece of paper aside and continue reading. Many of us drag our feet because of uncertainty. That’s normal. Because we’re leaders, we might fall into the … Read more
The essence of servant leadership is to meet the needs of your organization and your people. But arrogance creeps in when you assume you’ve got it figured out. Because you’re the leader. You ought to know. Peter Block calls this type of arrogance a paternalistic view of leadership. Block describes this dynamic as “taking care … Read more
Typically applied to human biology and exercise, the Adaptation Principle is the body’s way of adjusting to increased or decreased physical demands to remain in homeostasis. Applied to life circumstances and work, the Adaptation Principle says that when human beings get used to how they operate in the world around them, they stop noticing what … Read more
I used to espouse this as a general rule: Successful leaders avoid saying “I,” “me,” and “myself” when offering thoughts and assigning tasks. Using team-oriented “we” language keeps the focus on others instead of the leader. However… I’ve revised my general rule over time (see below) even though the original still has merit. Leaders have … Read more