As we went around the table, each staff member introduced themselves with their name and a brief job description. When it was the custodian’s turn, instead of telling us she was the custodian, she proudly announced that she was the “Manager of First Impressions.” It was obvious that the rest… Read More »The First 4 Essential Steps to Achieve Team Engagement
Many years ago, as an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, I was selected for a small, four-person team challenged to reassemble two F-111 aircraft which had not flown for some time; one for over two and a half years. It was a daunting challenge, made even more so by… Read More »The Power of Risk: A Team Challenge Story
“I have an interview for a new position. I know they are going to ask me how I would view my role as a supervisor but I’ve never been a supervisor before. I don’t know what to tell them?” It’s all too common to move people into supervisory positions without… Read More »Wow Them With Your Leadership Philosophy
Accountability has been prominent in the news lately. Unfortunately, it’s more about people assigning accountability to others rather than accepting responsibility themselves. We watch as public figures frantically look to find someone; anyone to blame for their own actions. They seem unable to separate finding fault in others from accepting… Read More »The Buck Stops With You
Have you noticed a member of your team who everyone seems to gravitate to. This is the man or woman who seems to be able to get others to do things and when there’s a big success, they are probably involved. This is your group’s informal leader. They don’t have… Read More »Your Ace in the Hole
“Your people will decide if you are a leader.” Some version of this quote appears from time to time attributed to various people who would have us believe that leaders must please their team to be a real leader. They believe a leader is not really a true leader until… Read More »Are You Waiting for Your Team to Accept You?
The air around us was orange. That was pretty common after a dust storm as a fine powder of sand hung in the air. Through the orange haze, I could see the mechanics going through their morning inspections of the rescue helicopters that sat on alert, ready to rapidly respond… Read More »The Mission: That Others May Live
What energizes you? When you’re having one of those days when things aren’t going right and the boss isn’t happy, what do you do? Hopefully, your answer is not to find someone to yell at. Leaders seldom make everyone happy and can count on having bad days. How you handle… Read More »Stress Relief for Leaders
Leaders often ask what sort of leadership style is appropriate. Authoritarian or relaxed? Different style for different people or always treat everyone the same? Years ago, Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard published their Situational Leadership model, suggesting a leader should adopt a style that is appropriate to a follower’s ability… Read More »What’s the Best Leadership Style
Employee engagement is a concept that gets a lot of press these days. Leaders wring their hands about low levels of engagement and experts offer all kinds of actions and formulas that will fix the problem. All that angst isn’t really necessary, as engagement is a pretty simple concept. Few… Read More »I Want to be on That Team