Does effective leadership mean popularity? It seemed that Jerry was the example of effective leadership. He never interfered with his subordinate leader’s areas or responsibility, he was well liked by everyone, and the organization was running smoothly. Then one day a crisis struck and investigation revealed that Jerry was not… Read More »Does Effective Leadership Mean Popularity?
I was thinking back to my very first duty station in the Air Force and dredged up some old memories of my first operational supervisor. Unfortunately, the memories are not fond ones and never fail to raise my blood pressure at least a few points. To put it succinctly, the… Read More »Frontline leaders make a difference – Help them be successful
In 1970, Robert Greenleaf wrote an essay titled, “The Servant-Leader Within.” A few years later he revised his essay and since then the concept of servant leadership has become one of the buzz phrases of the management – leadership lexicon. What strikes me about Greenleaf’s writing is not that he… Read More »What is Servant Leadership?
There is no shortage of articles on the internet sharing various expert opinions about leadership. One thing I’ve learned as I spend time coaching individuals from our leadership courses is that there are plenty of smart people out there in the trenches who’ve learned a thing or two about leadership… Read More »Everyday Leaders, Extraordinary Insights
This week we welcome guest blogger Rob Cannon. Rob is Captain of Engine 7 for the NoDa Charlotte Fire Department. “Failure is not an option!†In the movie Apollo 13 these are the words NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz uses to rally his team of rocket scientists as they worked… Read More »“Failure is NOT an option.” Um. Well, actually…
I may not be writing these articles much longer. You see, I’ve apparently hit the financial trifecta and am about to become extremely wealthy. On the same day last week I was informed that I had won the European lottery, a Nigerian prince was giving me several tens of millions… Read More »A Good Method for Building Trust
This week we welcome guest blogger Jay Pullins from Catapult Leadership Solutions. The first priority of great leaders is making more leaders. But it doesn’t just happen. Making leaders requires selflessness, confidence and intentionality (see last week’s blog). And making more leaders doesn’t happen without a plan. That’s why many… Read More »Great Leaders Create Culture
I was preparing to board an airplane not long ago and glanced at my boarding pass to see that I was in Group 1 for boarding. “Cool,†I thought, “I won’t have to fight for overhead bin space.†But then I heard the announcements begin for Executive Platinum Priority members,… Read More »This is my highest priority. THIS is my highest priority…and this…and this…
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