culture

Effective Leaders Stand Out (part one)

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In preparation for a breakout session at an upcoming conference, I developed a list of ten things a leader can do to stand out and get noticed.  Not in a “look at me!” kind of way, but in a way that will help the leader connect more to others, and to enable others to connect as well.

While all ten pointers are applicable to all potential leaders, there are four that newer, more fast-paced leaders, might relate to more than the experienced.  So, those four this week, the rest next week.  Here we go:

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Why “Tabatha” smokes “Boss”…

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As a guy obsessed with maxing out potential in groups and individuals – and one who believes the person at the top is the one most responsible for making it happen – I was pretty fired up about the concept of Undercover Boss.  In each episode, a CEO goes undercover, in disguise, to work next to front-line employees.

The format got tired quickly – boss leaves fancy home and doting family, stays in fleabag hotels, realizes he/she is totally inept at frontline tasks, discovers that employees are (gasp!) real people with real problems, cries (most episodes), promises to change, and gives lavish rewards to the episode’s featured employees.

What a great concept – and what a disappointment in a show.  

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Do you dig the little things?

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Dig the little things. The best leaders, businesses, organizations, churches, workers realize this.

My dentist has a cool aquarium in the waiting room, with fish that he periodically rotates from his collection. I only stay at the Savery Hotel once per year, but Ross in sales knows what room I like. I bet you have examples, too.

“Generational Differences” offer opportunities, not excuses…

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It all comes back to the basics of leadership: meet needs, build relationships, and provide meaning. No one, of any generation, really enjoys, say, “vacuuming to the corners.” But we can all be led to play a role in “comforting weary travelers by providing the cleanest hotel room they’ve ever seen.”

Smile. Merry Christmas!

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No original thoughts from me this week, as I’ve been ill and have focused my energies only on 1) family needs , 2) current clients, and 3) getting myself well [that is, sleeping a lot!]. Thanks for understanding; I’ll be committed to the weekly Wednesday updates in the new year, I assure you. In the past few weeks, … Read more

How DiSC changed my life…

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For the last two or three years of my career as a teacher, I was able to finally be somewhat effective with those students who were so very different than me.
This affirms two huge things:
One, effective communication and leadership are behaviors that can be learned and practiced behaviors.
Two, DiSC is powerful.
I have become an Inscape Publishing authorized distributor of DiSC products; not because it adds to my “bag of tricks” as a consultant, but because it can make a profound, immediate, actionable difference in the lives of the people who grow to understand it, even at the most rudimentary level; all I did was hear about it and learn a little bit about it and it made a powerful difference. It changed my life, and that is why I use it and recommend it to everyone.