What makes a good leader? There are countless books that claim to answer that question. In fact, by my rough estimate, if you laid all the leadership books end-to-end they would stretch for more than 35 miles. I’ve been fortunate to work for and with some very good leaders who… Read More »Steps to Being a Bad Leader
It seems that leadership and civility would be an easy discussion. Alas, it is not. Civility is a concept that seems to be lost in today’s society even though it is absolutely essential for good teams. A cultural shift has been happening and now it seems that being civil means… Read More »Leadership and Civility
Do you encourage a feeling of employee ownership in the company? Should you? I was speaking with a group of business owners a few years ago when the discussion swerved into how much they should tell their workers about company financials. The catalyst for this discussion was a complaint by… Read More »Is a Feeling of Employee Ownership Important?
As I scroll through LinkedIn I see lots of pictures of people being recognized for joining a team, some accomplishment, or just being them. Recognition is great and I hope you are recognizing the people on your teams. Recognition is an important part of creating the motivational environment that will… Read More »Recognition: A Picture is Not Enough
You have many challenges as a team leader. Is one of those challenges a boss who doesn’t seem to know what your team is doing? He or she appears to be more of a stumbling block than a helpful leader? Harsh? Perhaps, but let’s be honest, sometimes the boss can… Read More »Help! My Boss is Clueless
Leaders face many challenges; team members, bosses, local conditions, national and international activities. Here are two common challenges leaders face and suggested approaches you can take to deal with them.
Are you the smartest person on the team? I hope you said no. But, if you look at your whole team and say to yourself, “I really am smarter than all the rest of them,†then maybe you need to find another job.
“And hey, let’s be careful out there.” It was the daily safety message of Sgt Phil Esterhaus, played by Michael Conrad, on the 1980’s police drama Hill Street Blues. It was just a TV show but Conrad played the part so well that for a moment you were in that… Read More »What’s Required For A Truly Effective Safety Program
All leaders want stars on the team and there is plenty of advice available about how to hire the “right” people. That’s great. I’m all for building the best team possible, but is selecting team members the only way to do that? My military experience provides an interesting answer. Military… Read More »Why Can’t I Build a Team of Stars?
You’ve probably heard that 20% of what you do is producing 80% of the results. Or maybe someone told you that 80% of the issues you deal with come from only 20% of your people. They most likely called this the Pareto Principle. What is this Pareto Principle, where did… Read More »What is the 80/20 Rule and Why Should I Care?