Vision

Leaders Anticipate and Defuse Excuses

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Aren’t excuses so predictable? You almost hold back from asking “Hey, Bill, have you got your TPS report ready?” because you know you’ll hear “I would, but I’m still waiting for Hillary to get the cover page ready.” If you know you’re going to hear an excuse about someone else not delivering, why not head it off at the … Read more

Political Leadership is not Organizational Leadership

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Sometimes (especially in election years), a participant in a leadership workshop asks the question, “How does this content relate to political leaders?” I used to try to find some correlation — to point out that my definition of leadership, “meet needs,” ought to generate the guiding question, “What is needed?” and then, act on it. … Read more

Leaders Decide: Stop, Start, or Continue?

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Leaders can get caught up in visionary strategic planning and lots of new initiatives. The result can be lots of overwhelming action plans or distractions from continuing “what works.” Sometimes, instead of an all-out SWOT, a simple “Start, Stop, Continue” is all you need to do. Do this: put up 3 pieces of chart paper, … Read more

Leaders Attend to Action Plans

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Have you ever been part of a strategic planning initiative that resulted in a long document, with a 3-year timeline, and several action plans? Many times, these action plans and initiatives involve projects that go above and beyond the day-to-day work of an organization. And, particularly if it’s a volunteer-driven group, it’s common that as much … Read more

Leaders Know – There is Value in Rubrics

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We all need a starting point for discussions about vision, direction, prioritization, and hiring. That’s precisely why leaders love rubrics. Simple rubrics are easy to implement, and help make things clear. Consider using a scale of 1 to 3, or 1 to 5, to keep it simple. Example 1 You’re considering candidates for a position, and they’re … Read more

Leaders Balance Perspective on Others

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If there’s one skill that leaders must master and habitually improve, it’s communication. I say “habitually improve”, because it’s impossible to communicate flawlessly ALL the time. But – we can sure try! Take a look at this story about a time when intent and impact did not match up: Stanley, upset about recent changes, talked … Read more

Leaders Write Effective Goals and Help Others

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You don’t have to look too far to find information on how to write SMART goals. But sometimes, that 5-step rubric can intimidate, or push us in the wrong direction. Another great way to write effective goals is to ensure that just two important elements are included: 1) Specific actions. 2) Timelines and/or deadlines. For … Read more

Strategic Thinking for Leaders – The Easy Visual Method

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There are a number of ways and software methods out there to help you get visual with strategic thinking. Personally, I’m a fan of posting up colored sticky notes on the wall and/or on scratch paper. I also recommend the sticky notes method if you have projects with multiple members of your team that are … Read more

The Group Dynamic SWOT Methodology

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One thing I do to help leaders is teach them how to facilitate a SWOT activity. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I’m going to assume that you already know the concepts behind SWOT (if not, we’ll make this clear during your workshop or session). I received a request to post about the … Read more