Leaders Give Second Chances

One of the toughest calls that a positive, needs-meeting leader must confront is when and how to give a second chance when someone goofs something up. And I choose that phrase “goof something up” deliberately; there are no second chances for clear firing offenses involving safety or the law. Still, there is so much in the … Read more

Leaders Ask These Four Simple Questions

Recently, when covering the Four Levels of Maturity, we were on a quest to find an essential question that a person would ask at each level. Recall, the first two levels are somtimes referred to as acting “‘below the line”, whereas levels three and four are sometimes referred to as acting “above the line”, which … Read more

Leaders Have a Place for Bad Influences

Here is a thought for those who serve youth, young adults, and people new to your organization: Resist the temptation to shield them from “bad influences.” We often work hard to be great role models, and expose those we serve to other great role models and mentors, so that they are only subject to “good … Read more

Leaders Continue to Improve

No matter how far you’ve come, a leader always asks: “What’s the next step?” True to my DiSC® style of a strongly inclined iD — I’m impatient. It’s been a lifelong tendency of mine to interrupt, or at least formulate my response before the other person is done talking. A college professor I had called … Read more

Leaders Pronounce Names Correctly

I was recently at a formal event where a few dozen individuals were honored with a “once-in-a-lifetime”, very selective, award. Presenting the awards were leaders from the various sponsors of the event. And, on several occasions, honorees’ names were pronounced wrong. Some were difficult, or confusing, but still it was clear that some presenters simply … Read more

Leaders apologize, and teach others how to do so

Matt shares the Quantum Apology Model with Alan; the AAMR method helps leaders – and anyone – apologize with sincerity and grace in order to improve positive relationships and move forward from conflict or misunderstanding. Related posts: What if someone rejects an apology? Apologies

How to deal with self-centered behavior…

In a sense, self-centered behavior is normal. If people tend to act in self-interest, how do WE deal with that, and get THEM to think beyond themselves? Take a couple minutes to hear Matt and Alan address this. Previous posts on this topic: Four levels of maturity Four-way stops Dealing with your own tendencies

Group Dynamic Primer Chapter Five: Modeling

It’s cliche to mock the “do as I say, not as I do” leadership failure. That’s because this failure is way too common. Leaders must consistently model the behavior they expect from others. If you expect your front-line folks to provide great customer service, then use the same standards of interaction when you talk to … Read more