Posts with the ‘Communication’ tag
Twenty-five years ago, I thought I had it all figured out. I believed I understood leadership, and I understood marriage. Boy was I naive! I look back now and see how many leadership lessons marriage has taught me.
“People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” -Samuel Johnson Is the problem with the forgetful followers or with their leaders? Samuel Johnson is saying that as a leader, we need to be the Chief Reminder Officer. If something is important it is worth repeating. If we find people forgetting what […]
So Plan A didn’t work! What are you going to do? Failure is not the end of the road. It is just a pit stop on the way to success. But, what should you do on that pit stop?
It was classic Sea Gull Leadership. The boss swoops in. Dumps on everyone. And swoops out. Nobody liked it when the “old man” showed up at their team meetings. When the boss came in the room, everyone knew they were going to walk out of the meeting with bad news, something to fix, and a […]
“If you don’t know where you are going, how do you expect to get there.” is one of my favorite quotes of all time. We all want to lead or be part of an elite team. But what does good look like? What do elite teams have in common? How can a leader develop an […]
If a team does not engage in productive conflict, I guarantee you they are not coming up with the best solutions. I sharpen a knife with friction. As I drag a knife across a wet stone, I must maintain the proper angle in order to sharpen the knife’s edge. If I do not keep the […]
“Listen until it hurts!” – Steve Wiley, Lincoln Leadership Institute I have to work at listening well. I know I can look someone in the eye, nod with conviction, and be thinking about something else. At other times, I hear the first sentence and spend the rest of my time formulating my rebuttal. Listening is […]
We all know “that guy” we want to run from at cocktail parties. The one who dominates every conversation. The one who talks about himself, his accomplishments, his week, his children, his work, his boss, his whatever. The one who always seems to have a story to top yours. When you break it all down, […]
Is this scene familiar to you? The boss walks through the office and says “Good morning” to people before closing his door until lunch. He walks back through the office after lunch saying “Good afternoon” to people before closing his door until he leaves the building at the end of the day. “See you tomorrow!”, […]
“If you ever find yourself trying to read me, stop it. I am not intentionally being vague. I am just being a bad communicator at that moment.” This statement became part of my introduction to people joining my team. Most people reacted to that statement in two ways. Some seemed relieved. Some were confused. Whether […]
