Leadership & President’s Day
Since we’re headed into President’s Day weekend, I thought I’d re-post a piece that examines the leadership characteristics of the two Presidents for which the holiday is celebrated; George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. It's an astute person who studies history and then applies the lessons learned to their present-day life. In the text that follows I’ll look at the unimpeachable character of…
Leadership, Timing and Opportunity
What's more important - skill, luck, or timing? The message I want to deliver is this; opportunity and timing are inexorably linked. So much so, that if you don't think that timing is everything - think again. Even a cursory review of current events shows it doesn't really matter whether you're a politician, investment banker, CEO, or just an average citizen - when it comes to making a simple…
Attitude Reflects Leadership
My question for you today is a simple one: ”How’s Your Attitude?” Show me a CEO with a bad attitude and I’ll show you a poor leader- attitude reflects leadership and your overall impact. While this sounds simple enough at face value, I have consistently found one of the most often overlooked leadership attributes is having a consistently positive attitude. As an executive, how can you expect to…
The Disconnected Leader
Even though few would dispute the value of being an engaged leader, many still do not practice what they preach. The harsh reality is great numbers of leaders continue to operate in a vacuum by sequestering themselves away in the corner office and attempting to lead from afar. Trust me when I tell you that being out of touch is never a good position to find yourself in as the CEO. I rarely come…
Leadership Is About Leading
Leadership is about leading. Leadership is a 24-7-365 endeavor. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the best leaders view what they do as a calling and not just a job. If you're a leader, what you do in public or private, in silence or in word, and in thought or indeed will be observed, evaluated, and critiqued - count on it. There are simply no free passes for leaders. Don't believe me? Just look…
Leadership And Making Choices
Choice; it’s a simple, yet critical aspect of leadership. Academics and business theorists often gloss over the basics of leadership preferring to trivialize their importance. It’s far too easy for those with an elitist approach to leadership to dismiss simply as sophomoric, and obvious as irrelevant - nothing could be further from reality. Leadership has little to do with complex theory, but…
Leadership and White Space
In my most recent column on Forbes I briefly discussed the value of white space as it relates to "span of control" but felt the topic deserved a deeper dive. Here's something you might not want to hear, but you should definitely take to heart - If you're having difficulty ordering your world, it's nobody's fault but yours. I don't care how busy you are, but I do care about what you accomplish -…
No Excuses = Real Leadership
Leaders don’t offer, nor do they accept excuses. Real leadership demands the character to demonstrate personal responsibility for one’s actions, and the courage to hold others accountable for theirs. Excuses attempt to conceal personal or professional insecurities, laziness, and/or lack of ability. They accomplish nothing but to distract, dilute, and deceive. It was Benjamin Franklin who said,…
Big Data – Not All Metrics Are Created Equal
When it works, Big Data can be a beautiful thing - what organization wouldn't want more actionable information with which to feed better data driven decisions in the quest for a competitive advantage? But in the race to acquire Big Data, leaders can easily wander off course with devastating results. According to EMC (disclosure: client), only about 1/3 of companies are able to effectively use Big…
Leadership, Influence & Relationships
Have you ever wondered why some people have more influence than others? It's because they invest more "in" others. Those with leadership influence have built into others through some form of a consistent direct or indirect contribution to relationships. Those with the greatest amount of influence almost always have the strongest relationships. My hypothesis is a rather simple one: If true…
Why Your Leadership Is Overrated
How are your leadership skills? Likely not as good as you think. There’s no shortage of independent empirical data generated over the years supporting the fact most people tend to overrate their leadership ability. The best leaders the world has ever known had room for improvement – so do you. I've always said leaders need to get over themselves and get on to the practice of leadership. In…
Leadership Isn’t About Checking Boxes
Today’s post is a short rant, but one every leader should take to heart – STOP CHECKING BOXES. Leadership isn't about checking boxes, anyone who believes leadership can be reduced to task management is simply flawed in their thinking. Here’s the thing - you can manage to a list, but you certainly cannot lead to a list. A check the box approach to leadership accomplishes only one thing – it…
Change: Three Essentials For Every Leader
The sustainability of any organization hinges on leadership's ability to understand, embrace, and implement change. Whenever leaders are surveyed about what keeps them awake at night, “change” is usually at or near the top of the list. When change initiatives fail, so do leaders. When brands fall into decline, and organizations implode, it's often due to a company's inability to change. In…
Leadership and Conflict
Here's the thing - leadership and conflict go hand-in-hand. There's no getting around the fact leadership is a full-contact sport, and if you cannot address conflict in a healthy, productive fashion then you should not be in a leadership role. I would submit effectively dealing with conflict is one of the most valuable skills a leader can possess. From my perspective, the issues surrounding…
Leadership & Curiosity
Have you ever noticed how the best leaders also tend to be the most curious leaders? Great leaders simply aren't satisfied with what they know. They possess an insatiable curiosity for discovery and learning - they are in constant pursuit of what they don't know. Real leaders are not nearly as concerned with the status quo (stasis) as they are with betterment (change). Since the dawn of time, the…
Strategy, Capability & Really Bad Advice
Today’s post is a rather short rant, but one I felt compelled to put forth. I just finished reading an article where the author (a self-professed innovation guru) recommended strategy be aligned with capability, and that to allow ambition to exceed capability is nothing short of a recipe for disaster. If this sounds like rational thinking to you, I’d encourage you to read the text that follows…
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