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
Engagement matters. Gallup quantified this issue by studying employee engagement for 40-plus years. Some of their recent findings include: 34% of employees report active engagement in their jobs. 50% of employees report a lack of engagement in their jobs. 16% of employees report active disengagement. In world-class organizations, the ratio of engaged employees to actively … Read more
Vision is the two-fold ability to:1) Accurately see the current reality of your organization/situation.2) Creatively see the possibilities for the future of your organization/situation. Try this simple activity to make the concept of vision more concrete, actionable, and enduring: Step One: Make 2 lists. Each list will have three items. List #1: List three words … 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: What is your most troubling current issue? What is one task on your list you keep putting off because you are unsure of how to proceed? What is one … 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