The Nine Deadly Sins of Leadership
Now, before you think I’m going to get all religious on you, let me define the word “sin.” In the original Hebrew language, sin is defined as ‘missing the mark’, much the same as an archer may miss the mark when shooting for a bull’s-eye. In my opinion, leadership starts with deep reflection to be aware of any limiting blind spots. The following nine (9) deadly sins will help you reflect on how…
Bad Leaders Don’t Forgive
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” ~Mahatma Gandhi Today I’m writing about a topic that is rarely talked about in the leadership domain, especially amongst corporate leaders. Now, before you poo-poo the idea, please allow me to explain further. In my opinion, forgiveness can’t be ignored, because to do so is to defy a natural law like gravity. Forgiveness…
Being A Courageous Leader
The Red Badge of Courage is a novel by Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage," to counteract his cowardice. When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as standard-bearer. Seneca,…
Leadership Challenge – 11 Things To Evaluate
News Flash – better results are rarely achieved without implementing different thoughts and behaviors. For leaders seeking better results, it's important to understand you must challenge everything you know in order to stretch yourself and lead your organization to a better, healthier and more productive place. Innovation, growth, and development cannot occur by pretending we live in a world that…
Twisted Leadership
Never in the history of mankind has there been a greater need for leadership and yet there is a massive shortage. The reason is simple. Leadership is taught in universities and courses by intellectual ‘fu – k - wits’ who talk a good game but don’t play. Today’s model by and large teaches about leadership with fancy theories. What’s missing is the practical application of how to actually be a…
Leading Transformational Strategy – Next Practices
Not all business strategies require the same degree of change to be considered successful. Many are simply a continuation of an already established path and destination. Others identify the change in some areas of the business but those changes do not represent a significant departure from the status quo. Some strategies however require transformational change. These strategies are usually…
Strategy – Why It’s Broken and How To Fix It
Only 20%-30% of corporate and business unit strategies successfully deliver expected results. That is a bold statement. However, this statistic has been reported in many studies from reputable firms and publications and mirrors much of what I have observed and experienced during my career. Despite awareness of the problem, the statistic itself has not really changed much in the last 20 years.…
The Language of Leadership: 5 Actions To Transform Performance
Our organizational world is constituted and shaped by language. It is also accessed and made available to us through language. Language acts as the lens through which we can see and understand the challenges presented, and subsequently, make sense of and provide solutions for. In 1973, Salvador Allende, Chile's democratically elected president, died in a bloody coup. Fernando Flores, who was then…
Being A Great Leader: How Do You Balance Career Success and Happiness?
Being great, living an extraordinary life starts with waking up. Most people don't even know they are asleep. As the Jesuit spiritual leader, Anthony De Mello said, “They're born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. Yet all is well, and though everything is a mess in the world, all is very well.…
Flip Your Organization Chart
Do you know what everyone in your organization does? To find out, you might want to change your perspective. Years ago I learned to draw reading Betty Edwards’ book, “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.” The effort sharpened my perspective of just about everything. To draw, I learned to see differently and I walked away with a clearer, fuller appreciation of the things around me. This new…
The Five Obsessions of Winning Teams
March Madness resumes tonight and in a pressure-packed weekend of excitement, the Sweet Sixteen will shrink to the Final Four. Only the strongest teams will survive and while their defensive pressure, explosive running game, or deep shooting might define their style, their success rests on five obsessions. These obsessions are common to champions and may very well help your team in your…
Leaders Who Think More – Accomplish More
I’ve always been amazed at the number of tremendously gifted leaders who underutilize the one asset most responsible for their success – their brain. It’s not that leaders don’t think; it’s that they don’t think enough. And when they do find time to think, many leaders often think about the wrong things, in the wrong ways, at the wrong times. My message is simple, but not necessarily easy; to do…
On Being an Authentic Leader
Wolfgang Beltracchi is the most successful art forger in history. His fake paintings have sold for $46 million to museums and private collections all over the world. He says the experts hate him because he managed to fool them for decades - he eventually wound up in jail. Some say what he did was a crime against the art culture and others think it was acceptable because he didn’t hurt anyone.…
The Leadership Dance
Not everyone will respond to your leadership. No matter how good you are, there will be skeptics. Leadership is a human endeavor and humans have choices. Still, it’s your duty to find a way to lead them. It's the leadership dance. No matter how big your organization, your message, direction, and motivations flow through a handful of people and leadership is like dancing; it is accomplished one…
Reinventing Vermeer
Tim’s Vermeer is a riveting documentary about inventor Tim Jenison’s quest to understand the genius of Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer. The film chronicles Jenison’s discovery of a technique Vermeer may have used to create his photo-realistic paintings prior to the invention of photography. History offers few clues to Vermeer’s life. Most art experts have cited a genius of vision—the ability to…
The Leadership Lesson They Don’t Teach In Business School
I’ve always believed leadership exists to disrupt mediocrity, but I’m afraid in recent times many leaders are losing that battle. Somewhere along the way, they threw in the towel and settled for a weak-kneed, watered-down version of leadership – they have rationalized and justified themselves into an acceptance of mediocrity. The sad reality is that in many cases, the education, training, and…
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