I have a couple pet peeves. One of them involves name tags. I hate wearing name tags, but I’m in a lot of situations where people have to wear them: training sessions, week-long camps, trade shows. And I get it – it’s important for people to have an identifiable status, to connect, to be a temporary … Read more
Why do people get melodramatic? Is it an inability to rein in one’s emotions? Is it about getting attention by yelling or acting out? Could it be a search for validation? Drama in others is confusing – it seems immature, attention-seeking and unnecessary. Drama in ourselves? We don’t usually know it’s happening until we’re in … Read more
“You don’t know what you’re talking about – you’re not in the classroom anymore.” I was delivering some professional development to teachers, helping them find ways to incorporate servant leadership concepts in their classrooms. One point I was making: Sarcasm has no place in effective teaching. This point is easy to back up, but nearly … Read more
An (abridged) email from Bart, a client: “…and so we just wondered why you would include the TPS module in your proposal?” My early-in-the-career defensive response was similar to: “Why on earth wouldn’t we include the TPS module? Without it, the rest of it won’t make sense; the TLA segment would totally lack context!” And Bart … Read more
People who are initiating often anticipate opportunities and problems and call attention to them. If you’ve ever been a part of a Group Dynamic session, you’ve seen this shopping cart picture. We can spend an hour or more on what it symbolizes; we usually use it to introduce the Four Levels of Maturity. Today, it … Read more
People who explain their rationale tend to communicate the reasoning and facts behind an idea or decision. I did some work for a nationally known marching arts ensemble, the “Troubadours”. They were led by executive director “Steve” (names changed). Steve wanted me to lead the whole 120 member group in exercises to determine the most … Read more
***This is the first post in a series based on the Work of Leaders process (details way below). Throughout the series, I’ll be providing real-world negative examples from a variety of settings. For positive examples, however, we’ll look at one specific case study: The Small Business Saturday initiative from American Express. Small Business Saturday has … Read more
We love big stories about exciting, game-changing leadership moments. But when you’re asked about the best leader you ever worked with, you probably don’t respond with a story or example of their biggest project or resume-builder. Instead, you talk about the way they made you feel. Years from now, people will forget the little things you … Read more
I heard a great question from Des Moines business leader Nora Everett of Principal: “How would you put yourself out of business?” Whether you apply it to your entire business, or your team, you can come up with some great improvement ideas from exploring this question. I applied it to my own business and came up with … Read more
In earlier posts, we’ve looked at the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and we’ve looked at DiSC. Please look back for a refresher if you need one. Most teams struggle with the “Trust” and “Conflict” behaviors, and this series of short posts examines the ways each DiSC style can influence those areas. The Conscientiousness style can … Read more