Did he really just say that? I was sitting in my new boss’s office. I had just been moved to a new position which I was not very excited about and was in the office for the traditional “meet the boss” session. I had been snatched from a job I… Read More »It’s OK to be an Ignorant Leader
A common year-end tradition is lists of books experts recommend for the coming year. The lists I see invariably include a number of tomes on ways to be a successful business leader. There are plenty of those lists out there so I won’t bore you with yet another one. Instead,… Read More »How to Find Real Value in Leadership Books
When I was a brand new Air Force maintenance officer, my unit’s superintendent informed me that it was time for our annual breakfast. Each year the unit’s senior leaders cooked breakfast for the troops and he invited me to join in the cooking. It was a fun morning and I… Read More »Some Random Thoughts on Leadership
The door opened and the doctor rushed into the exam room with my chart in his hand. Without looking at me he quickly said, “I’m going to tell you what’s wrong and what we need to do, then I’ll take a look at your records and examine you.” He hurriedly… Read More »A Story of Two Doctors
I’m appalled, though unfortunately I guess I’m not really surprised. Amidst all the rhetoric about equality and fair treatment, it turns out there is a lot of inequality and unfair treatment going on. Specifically, ever day now the news brings us another story detailing the sordid details of some new… Read More »I’m Appalled – Enough Already
Command and control (the beast) is not a popular form of leadership these days. Most of the time the method is unnecessary and a sign of a weak and insecure leader who knows no other way to be effective. The most effective leaders find some version of servant leadership (beauty)… Read More »Beauty and the Beast: Servant Leadership vs. Command and Control
One thing is almost universally true about this time of year, people are busy. One student lamented to me last year that she had a long list of leadership priorities for her team but that she didn’t have the time to do any of it because her boss had come… Read More »Three Things Great Leaders Do When They Are “Too Busy to Leadâ€
This week the United States Air Force celebrated its 70th birthday. I first joined the Air Force in 1978 so I’ve been associated with the service for almost half its life. Here are a few things I learned from the experience. Take leadership development seriously. The success of our Air… Read More »What Thirty Years Taught Me About Leadership
A prerequisite for effective and high-performing teams is trust among its members. According to Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, trust is foundational to team effectiveness. Improving an absence of trust due to unfamiliarity, personality and cultural differences, or ambiguous roles and responsibilities is “relatively†straight forward… Read More »Toxic Behavior Destroys Team Trust
Are your team members engaged? Unfortunately, many business leaders complain that some of their team members are not reliable and will shirk their responsibilities whenever they can? Since much of my leadership experience comes from a long career in the military, I’m often asked why the military seems to have… Read More »The Three-Step Foundation for Employee Engagement any Leader Can Use