Engagement is not a new concept; great leaders have been using it for years. But it is a concept whose time is now. Organizations need strong employee engagement. Picture an organization with its employees united in finding and implementing solutions to issues and opportunities. Engagement has not only the potential to create high quality decisions […]
The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” […]
Should A Leader Be Friends with Staff?
“People, people who need people are the luckiest people in the world” Barbara Streisand When I was being trained to be a military officer in the early 1970’s we were instructed never to be friends with the soldiers reporting to us. Fraternization and friendship were to be avoided at all costs. Both of these actions […]
Dancing On The Head Of A Pin: Implications Of The Leader-Manager Debate
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on June 24, 2014 Much discussion on LinkedIn is around whether or not managers are leaders. While there will never be a universally accepted answer to this issue (opinions are like noses, all of us have one!), confusion is caused if some clarity does not exist. So, just […]
Why Leaders Can’t Lead: Maybe The Problem Is Not Leadership
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on August 10, 2014 There are many challenges facing today’s leaders. Some of these challenges arise from societal trends that impact the workplace.For a number of years, I have researched societal forces that can change businesses and leadership. One of those trends is discussed here. While these societal […]
Flat, Self-Managed and Fun: Are We Positioning Organizations For Mediocrity?
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on June 30, 2014 More is expected from the workplace than ever before. Companies are asked to develop foundational skills (compensate for the school systems). They are expected to be a place employees can find fulfillment and meaning (compensate for the home and the churches). They are expected […]
The Bucket
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on June 30, 2014 There are a few instances in a person’s life that shapes his or her philosophy, behavior and direction. Fortunately for me, one of those instances came very early in my career. It was the day that I came to realize how very little I […]
Reflections on the Death of My Father
“Just think of stepping on shore and finding it heaven, Of touching a hand and finding it God’s, Of breathing new air and finding it celestial, Of waking up in glory and finding it home” My father died this weekend. He had been blessed with a long life (93 years) which was very active and […]
Teamwork Lessons From One Of Baseball’s Greats
Today I read Dan Schlossberg’s great article, “Gehrig’s image endures, 75 years after ‘luckiest man’, USA Today, July 4, 2014. While Schlossberg was not approaching the life of Lou Gehrig from a point of being a great teammate, the lessons jump off the page. Please read his moving tribute (quoted often below) to a great […]