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
We’re changing our name! We will soon be known as The Daedalus Group. This summer we began an initiative to re-brand Academy Leaders. Our old name was closely aligned with Academy Leadership LLC, where we are certified affiliates. The similarity in names and internet domains between Academy Leaders and Academy… Read More »We’re changing our name!
Employee engagement is certainly a hot topic in companies these days, having a direct effect as it does on organizational success, employee retention and the bottom line. Unfortunately, I still see and hear too many instances of employees “checking out†and disengaging from work. The most common thread I see?… Read More »Employee Engagement? Start with Leadership Engagement
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