One can find many definitions of leadership. At its most basic, leadership is the ability to influence others. Peter Drucker said, “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.” John Maxwell, in a similar way, says...
Read moreLeading by Listening – Part 2
Listening builds strong relationships. In the first part of this article, we focused on the importance of listening in team settings. Teams are more effective when the leader facilitates group discussions in which the entire team is working...
Read moreLeading by Listening – Part 1
Listening builds more effective teams. Listening is a key skill of leadership and the best leaders learn to listen well. Two of the presidents of the USA, that many consider the best, are great examples of leading by listening. George Washington...
Read moreDealing with a Toxic Boss
What do we mean when we speak about a toxic boss? A toxic boss is a person who believes that the way to get team members to perform is through shouting, belittling, and bullying the people that they should be leading. According to an article...
Read moreLeaders Build
Leaders are forward-facing and driven to grow, improve, and achieve. They recognize the importance helping those around them to grow and achieve as well as being driven to grow and develop themselves. They even desire to improve and build the...
Read moreSeparation Should Not Be Surprising
Firing with respect and compassion Call it what you may – dismissal, discharge, layoffs, workforce reduction – firing a team member is not an easy task. This is the reason that it is often not done well. People want to sidestep the issue...
Read more“The Servant Leader” by James A. Autry
This book, “The Servant Leader: How to Build a Creative Team, Develop Great Morale, and Improve Bottom-line Performance,” by James A. Autry, is very much a how-to book, describing the way to implement servant leadership in many aspects of leading...
Read more“The Power of Vulnerability” by Kaplan and Manchester
Many organizations do not achieve their true potential because they leave much of their power on the table. Organizations often have a culture that prevents people from bringing their full potential to the organization. While an organization...
Read moreLeading from Behind
In recent years the phrase, leading from behind, has become popular. People often mention Nelson Mandela as a person who popularized this leadership concept. In his 1994 autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” Mandela described his model of...
Read moreValue People, Evaluate Performance
It is very easy to intermingle our view of people with our view of their actions, especially when we need to give corrective feedback. When we do so, the natural result is conflict as the other person feels personally attacked and most likely...
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