It is traditional at this time of year to reflect on the events and actions of the previous twelve months. As this year comes to a close, what I find most striking is the unbelievable vitriol that has infected interpersonal relationships. It seems to have become impossible to discuss even… Read More »How Dare You Disagree
Photo by Freepik 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… Read More »Don’t Raise Mushrooms
Many leaders I’ve worked with lead remote teams. Although remote teams became the norm during the covid years, even before then it was becoming very common for teams to be geographically separated across the country and around the world. And even with today’s advanced technology, communicating with remote teams still… Read More »How to Collaborate Effectively if Your Team is Remote
When I talk about trust in leadership development workshops, there are always some participants, often many participants who have stories about leaders who they just didn’t trust. That is not surprising but it is a little baffling. How can there be so much distrust in today’s oh-so-enlightened world? It doesn’t… Read More »Does Your Team Trust You?
It was 3 years after the end of open hostilities of the first Gulf War. The atmosphere was somewhat more relaxed but there was still tension. I was the maintenance officer for a deployed rescue squadron. Coalition aircraft were flying combat missions to enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq and… Read More »Do You Need Ice Cream?
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?
One of the most effective communication skills a leader can have is to stay on message. I was assigned to lead an organization that had various different and largely disparate responsibilities, none of which seemed to have much in common. We were a collection of small groups, but definitely not… Read More »Effective Communication Skills: Stay on Message
Leadership communication training is a critical aspect of your leadership development and effective communication is one of the most important skills for a leader to master. Learning how to communicate is vital, but it’s just as important to be aware of what you communicate. You are always communicating so it’s vitally important… Read More »What Are You Communicating as a Leader?
Leadership communication is one of the leading impediments to high functioning teams. Here are six steps to improve your leadership communication. 1. Recognize that your perspective is likely different from your team members. You’re approaching the topic from a different point of view and probably have information they don’t. You know… Read More »6 Steps to Better Leadership Communication