Leadership & The Power of Listening
Great leaders are great listeners, and therefore my message today is a simple one - talk less and listen more. The best leaders are proactive, strategic, and intuitive listeners. They recognize knowledge and wisdom are not gained by talking, but by listening. Take a moment and reflect back on any great leader who comes to mind...you'll find they are very adept at reading between the lines. They…
Leadership – It’s About The People
If you think leadership is about you, your ego has led you astray. Leadership has little to do with you and everything to do with those you lead. If you think leadership is about the bottom line, think again; it's about the people. Without people, there is no bottom line. Closely examine the core characteristics of great leadership, and you'll find it’s not power, title, authority, or even…
The Myth of Potential
The Myth of Potential... Here’s the thing – we all have potential, maybe some more than others but we all have it. Potential is easy to recognize, but not so easy to realize. Most of us intrinsically recognize the gift of potential, but many simply choose to do nothing about it, and sadly, it’s the rare few who will maximize their potential. The problem with potential is society has deemed it to…
Understanding Self Awareness in Leadership
Leader Beware - ignorant bliss, no matter how enjoyable, is still ignorant. If you’re in a position of leadership and don’t feel you have any blind spots, you’re either very naïve or very arrogant. All leaders have blind spots – the question is what are they doing about them? The reality is most leaders invest so much time assessing the cultural and functional dynamics of their organizations they…
Creating a Leadership Movement
Every so often a time arrives where society reaches a crossroads - where the situation and/or circumstance so obviously demands change that a populist mandate - a "movement" takes place. I would submit we find ourselves at just such a crossroads today. We are in a crisis of leadership, and our world is suffering greatly at the hands of people who confuse their desire for an ego boost, their quest…
Leadership and Broken Trust
Over the years I've heard the following statement on more than a few occasions; "I don't have to trust him/her, I just have to work with them." My question is this; why would you want to work with someone you cannot trust? I never cease to be amazed at the great number of leaders who believe they can operate effectively in the absence of trust. Let me make this as clear as I can - you cannot…
Unleadership – A Crisis of Identity
The most popular piece I authored last year was a column I wrote for Forbes on the art and science of what I refer to as pursuitology. As of this writing it had been read more than 260,000 times, had more than 5,000 Facebook shares, and more than 3,000 ReTweets – it clearly struck a chord with the leadership community. As I thought about why this short article resonated so strongly with readers,…
Tone Deaf Leadership
You’ll rarely come across successful leaders who have a tin ear. The best leaders are tuned in to the emotional needs of those whom they serve. They engage, they listen, they empathize, and they acknowledge. They treat you as a colleague, not a subordinate. They seek to understand not direct. They are not tone deaf - they are relevant because they show they care. Are you guilty of having a…
Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?
Why should anyone be led by you? This is the seminal question for all leaders. People arrive at a position of leadership in many different ways - some individuals openly and aggressively seek out positions of leadership, while leadership is thrust upon others. Whether leaders are elected, appointed, anointed, or self-proclaimed, and regardless of whether it is by design or default, once in a…
Leadership: Blinded by Success?
Can leaders be blinded by their own success? You bet…While success is what all leaders strive for unless you’re prepared to handle it, success can quickly complicate your life. As strange as it may sound, success can oftentimes be the precursor to failure. So my question is this: Is your success serving as a springboard toward significance, or is it merely a temporary state, precariously…
Leadership and Time – 15 Time Wasters to Avoid
Time; it’s the only thing we all have in common, yet it’s how we choose to spend it that defines and differentiates us as individuals. Even though time is a key success metric, I am always amazed at how many leaders don’t manage it as such. Time is indeed a precious and finite commodity, and those executives who use it wisely are those who achieve the greatest results. Let me be very direct -…
Leadership and Resourcing
It's not what you have, but what you're able to make out of what you have that matters. Every great leader understands the importance of creating leverage via proper resource allocation. The best leaders possess an innate understanding of how to create resources where none exists - they know how to deploy and redeploy resources to maximize opportunities and to minimize risk. So my question to you…
20 Leadership Books You Might Not Have Read
If you know me or have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I believe all great leaders are also voracious readers. In fact, I would go so far as to say reading is simply a necessity if you're serious about leadership. I'm constantly asked for reading recommendations, and rather than provide you with the current bestseller list du jour (you can get that anywhere), I've compiled a…
Leadership & Discipline
The difference between good and great often comes down to discipline. So my question is this - how disciplined are you as a leader? Context, fluidity, and other nuanced behaviors are positive traits to embrace so long as they don't serve as an excuse for a lack of discipline. I'm not suggesting that leaders should be robotic or static in approach - quite to the contrary. Implementing a framework…
Leadership Myth: But My Business Is Different
"But my business is different!" Well actually, no it's not. That's an old leadership myth. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I've had a CEO tell me that certain immutable business principles just don't apply to his/her business because "this business is different." I don't dispute that all businesses have certain unique characteristics or contextual differences - I don't even…
Love and Leadership
In my last post, I took a bit of a contrarian look at passion as a leadership trait. Who knew people were so passionate about passion? The comments I received inspired me to publish this piece on love and leadership. While most people tend to view passion as a positive leadership trait, I have found many people view love as a negative leadership trait. Let me state right from the outset, you'll…
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