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
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
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
With all of the new subscribers we’ve been picking up I thought it was a good time for a look back at a few of our most popular articles. Enjoy! Civilian or military, leadership rests on the same basics A good leader doesn’t have to bark orders to get good… Read More »Looking Back: Some of our most Popular Leadership Articles
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
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
Effective communication is one of the most important skills in leadership development. While a lot of time and effort is spent helping leaders learn how to communicate, it’s just as important to think about what you communicate as a leader. You are always communicating so it’s vitally important to make… Read More »Leadership Development: What Are You Communicating as a Leader?