Oxymoronic Leader

Posts with the ‘Oxymoronic Leader’ tag

The Risk-Averse Leader – Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #6

ComfortZone Inc. was Ronnie’s new consulting firm.  His tagline:  “Avoid risk, stay put, and win with the status quo”, was not drawing in the clients he had imagined it would. Out of desperation, Ronnie decided to call Nathan, a childhood friend.  Nathan was all over Linkedin.  His consulting firm, Can Do LLC seemed to be […]

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The Self-Serving Leader- Another Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn

Sam spoke to both the VP’s he had targeted during the three day planning meeting in Orlando. He was able to tell them exactly what was happening in his department.  There was no doubt he had impressed them with his knowledge of the company, and how he handled his troops. When Sam got to the […]

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The Completed Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #12

“I’ve seen it all.  I’ve read it all.  I’ve sat through more leadership seminars than you can imagine.  Everything I see these days is just a repackaging of someone else’s work.” Kurt’s reaction to the company’s latest leadership initiative did not surprise Judy.  In her first six months as VP of the division, she quickly […]

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The Intractable Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #11

In 2001, the team sat in disbelief when they heard Mason was promoted into a leadership position.  Now eleven years later, the four remaining people from that old team sat at a table together after dinner at another national sales meeting. Paul looked up from his iPhone, “Contrary, insubordinate, incompliant, and rebellious.  According to Webster, […]

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The Distant Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #10

“Troy.  Believe it or not, I am glad we got snowed-in tonight in Buffalo.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you better.” “Me too, Rick.  When I called my wife and said I was trapped in Buffalo with the boss, I was only half kidding.  This has been great.  Now it’s going to be even […]

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The Deaf Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #9

Bill finally cut bait.  He was done coaching Travis.  The national sales meeting was the last straw.  Travis was astonished.  “Why now?  I thought the meeting was a huge success.” “Travis, for six months you have paid me for advice, and you have never once tried to follow any of my directions.  You nod your […]

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The Infallible Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #8

The story ended as they all seemed to end, Terry as the hero.  The sales team sat quietly and nodded their heads.  The story that Terry had meant to use to inspire greatness in his team, fell flat. On The Phone Once in her car, Sandi called Erin to vent.  “Has Terry ever made a […]

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Hint: Take Longer Vacations

Have you ever returned from vacation and not felt rested?  Is it the activities? The travel involved? The people you are vacationing with?  Or perhaps it is how many days you take off from vacation. That was my problem.  I discovered a way to ensure I got real rest on vacation.  Here is my thought […]

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The Indispensible Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #7

“We won!!!!”  The text message came through as Tim was laying out his guidance to the night shift supervisors.   He sent a quick smiley face to his daughter and kept talking. As he pulled into the garage, he knew his wife would not be happy that he was home again after 7:30 PM.  He missed […]

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The Indecisive Leader- Oxymoronic Leadership Yarn #5

The Dad’s Against Not Keeping Score Society of Iowa Board of Directors met monthly.  Since the local chapter of the DANKS started, little progress had been made.  There had been a lot of meetings held but not a lot of decisions made. The Chairman of the Board was Dan Slakovski.  He ran one of the […]

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