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
It was a Saturday morning and no other customers were at the pharmacy. My wife and I were at a large military hospital’s pharmacy to get a prescription filled. The gentleman at the counter looked at the prescription form I presented and said he could not fill it until eligibility… Read More »Are You Telling Your People to do Stupid Things?
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
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
“I’m not sure about that new guy. He doesn’t seem to be fitting in and doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. Why’d you hire him?†Ever have someone walk into your office and say something like this? Ever find yourself wondering why a new person on the team isn’t… Read More »Five Steps to Helping the New Hire Fit In
As we went around the table, each staff member introduced themselves with their name and a brief job description. When it was the custodian’s turn, instead of telling us she was the custodian, she proudly announced that she was the “Manager of First Impressions.” It was obvious that the rest… Read More »The First 4 Essential Steps to Achieve Team Engagement
“Sure, I know where we’re going, follow me.†As you set off for the restaurant with friends in tow, you are filled with confidence. But after a couple of wrong turns things aren’t looking familiar and it occurs to you that you really don’t know where you are going. Embarrassing?… Read More »â€œFollow me!†Are you ready to say this?
Many years ago, as an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, I was selected for a small, four-person team challenged to reassemble two F-111 aircraft which had not flown for some time; one for over two and a half years. It was a daunting challenge, made even more so by… Read More »The Power of Risk: A Team Challenge Story
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