Posts with the ‘Trust’ tag
“Sorry. It’s policy.” This comment may be true, but it can also be a sign of a weak leader. Policies are not perfect – especially personnel policies. Leaders need to be willing to stand up and fight when needed. Most companies have personnel policies, and the larger the company the more rigid the policies usually […]
Business magazines publish article after article discussing a company’s culture. The articles often focus on perks, the color of the office walls, or the fact there is a ping pong table where the conference table used to be. Who cares! I don’t care that I get to play ping pong at work if I can’t […]
“Argue with me.” He said it, AND he meant it. As I watched this leader invite his team to tear down his idea, I was astonished, inspired and humbled. Astonished: Because I had never seen a leader so readily open to criticism from the people he led. Inspired: Because I watched his team argue passionately […]
Imagine a company that truly lived by its values. Imagine a company where Trust was a core value. What would it be like to work for a company that habitually operated like the values they espouse?
I know why you said what you said! I know why you did what you did! I am able to diagnose your motives. Because I believe I know your motives, I am sure you are the problem and not something else–like me! These are all lies. But, they are lies that we easily fall into. […]
I started my first team from scratch and it took us over two years to hit our stride. My second team had a mix of experienced and novice members on it. We took about a year to begin to fire on all cylindars. The next team was pieced together from other teams. The individuals were […]
Ready – Shoot – Aim! Unfortunately that can be my decision-making process. On the other end of the spectrum are leaders who tend to be Ready – Aim – Aim – Aim…. Both styles can be problematic. One causes a lot of starting and a lot of stopping to happen. The other causes nothing to […]
Trust in a relationship, whether it is at work or at home, is the foundation to the success of that relationship. Without trust between individuals or on a team, mediocrity and failure are the most likely results. I have worked for people who told me I had to earn their trust. I have worked in […]
Ownership or excuses. One is the mark of a leader. The other is a sign that I am bound for mediocrity and failure. In the long run, people who make excuses stall out. Making excuses is a habit. I wrote about how West Point deals with this habit in West Point: How Leaders Seize Accountability. […]
My team didn’t trust me. It was my first leadership role outside the Army. I had been in charge of this team of 10 sales representatives for almost 6 months. I believed I was trustworthy, but the truth was a hard pill to swallow. I thought just being a good guy would make my people […]
