When I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, I certainly wasn’t expecting a 30-year lesson in leadership. I had completed my first year of college, which hadn’t gone very well, I was anxious to be on my own and away from people telling me what to do. (I didn’t have… Read More »Digging for Dhub Dhubs: Leadership Lessons from 30 Years in the U.S. Air Force
Everyone has a boss. Even a Fortune 500 CEO has to answer to the board and shareholders. Fortunately, you probably don’t have that problem, but you do have a boss. Let’s be honest, sometimes that boss can seem a little clueless and you’d really like him or her to better… Read More »Help, My Boss is Clueless
Photo by Freepix A Story About Joe, Jane, and their Teams Joe and Jane both led divisions in a large company that were roughly equal in size and responsibility. The company had recently implemented some changes that were unpopular and disruptive to both divisions. Joe was having a lot of… Read More »How to Make Change a Little Easier
In the military the acronym GOBI means General Officer Bright Idea and is a usually disparaging term for directed change. Equate General Office to the most senior executives in your company. They usually have many years of experience that leads them to believe that a new direction is a good… Read More »Leadership in Change Management – Part 2
What is the role of leadership in change management? Joe and Jane both led divisions of roughly equal size and responsibility in a large company. The company had recently directed several unpopular changes that were disruptive to both divisions. Joe was having a lot of trouble getting his team to… Read More »Leadership in Change Management
Last month I explained that being a bad leader apparently requires at least some effort. In that vein, I provided some steps that would ensure you’re ineffective as a leader and, as a bonus, disliked and not respected by your team. Another leadership responsibility that can help you achieve status… Read More »How to be a Bad Leader – Part 2
I was speaking to a friend recently and the subject turned to innovation. He was working with a client who was concerned that there was no longer an innovative spirit in his company. It reminded me of a conversation I had recently had with a client who wasn’t sure how… Read More »Innovate or Die
Type leadership into Amazon’s search bar and you’ll be offered a list of more than 60,000 books on the topic. Books about what leadership is, what leadership isn’t, books about how to do leadership, books about great leaders (surprisingly very few books about poor leaders, which could probably double the… Read More »Common Sense Leadership
Have you noticed a member of your team who everyone seems to gravitate to. This is the man or woman who seems to be able to get others to do things and when there’s a big success, they are probably involved. This is your group’s informal leader. They don’t have… Read More »Your Ace in the Hole
Our leadership students come from many different companies. Most come from companies with great cultures that take an active interest in their employees and develop them into engaged individuals with a vested interest in organizational success. Others…not so much. I’ve had a number of students who, unfortunately, worked in environments… Read More »Stuck in a toxic work culture? Three thoughts on what to do.