Shortly after arriving in the new organization, I asked why we were doing certain tasks that didn’t seem to make sense. This was my first job as an airplane mechanic. I was very young, impressionable and quite curious. So I was disappointed when another mechanic told me not to bother… Read More »Don’t Raise Mushrooms
“Captain, are you sure you want us to x-ray this panel?” The phone call sent a chill down my spine. I had failed in leadership and open communication. While it is common to use an x-ray to detect cracks in aircraft parts, this panel had an explosive device attached which… Read More »Did I Really Say That? – Leadership and Open Communication
Is it that time of year again for you? Time to write a performance report! Everybody loves performance reports, whether you’re giving them or receiving them…ok, nobody really likes them. They’re kind of a pain. Often that’s because we make them more difficult than they need to be. Have you… Read More »That Annoying Performance Report
Did you know that the smallpox virus is a possible weapon in the fight against cancer? I didn’t. And what does that have to do with leadership anyway? A couple of years ago I was a volunteer judge for the speaking portion of the Health Occupations Student Organization’s contest. One… Read More »Leadership and Smallpox
How can a leader be effective in crisis management when a real, no-kidding, unanticipated disaster strikes? Some years ago I commanded a large Air Force squadron that was faced with a major crisis that threw us off our game for a while. Without going into details, I’ll say that the… Read More »10 Leadership Actions for Crisis Management
The room was always filled beyond capacity. Anyone in the organization the boss had even casually met was invited, and by invited he meant required to attend. There was an agenda, but it was meaningless since he didn’t follow it anyway. Any random thought could become the topic at hand,… Read More »6 Steps For Effective Meetings
Leadership development is an on-going process that starts well before a person becomes a supervisor or manager. People are always watching their leaders and when they become leaders themselves, they tend to emulate the behaviors they saw. So, as a leader, you’re always training new leaders. Every day. It seems… Read More »Random Thoughts about Leadership Development
As we reflect on the events of September 11, 2001, we remember the shock and horror of that day. But, we should also remember the days that followed. For a time, we put all our differences behind us and united as a single nation with common beliefs. The nation demonstrated effective… Read More »Leadership Development: A 9-11 Lesson for Team Leaders
No one’s perfect and when the average imperfect individual finds him or herself in a leadership position, there are suddenly many more opportunities to mess up. As the scope of responsibility grows the likelihood of making mistakes increases. That’s why your leadership skills training should include a look at mistakes… Read More »Leadership Skills Training – Mistakes to Avoid
Using a Collaborative Leadership Style Authority. The “I am in charge and you must do what I say…or else” approach is the fallback position for many leaders. It seems like the easiest way to get things done and resolve conflict. But, would a collaborative leadership style rather than overt authority… Read More »Leadership, Conflict, and Authority