Why Your Vision Statement Puts People to Sleep And Why Theirs Doesn’t
If your vision statement is like most, you don't think about it much, and its best use is for bedtime reading as a cure for insomnia. 7 Reasons Your Vision Statement Puts People to Sleep 1. It sounds like “God, Mother, and Apple-Pie.” 2. It is too vague to provide...
Without integrity, your other values don’t matter.
Thursday Thoughts: Do what you say. Say what you mean. Without integrity, your other values don't matter. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In addition to my regular leadership blog, I...
Be a Leader People Choose to Follow
People follow leaders by choice. You can get compliance through imposing your authority, by coercion or manipulation, but you won’t be trusted and respected. And when your followers do have a choice, there is no guarantee they will continue to follow you. Or if you...
When you let go of your expectations . . .
A story is told about a young boy who was traveling with his grandmother to a nearby village. The boy, very excited about the adventure, ran back and forth along the path, impatient with his grandmother’s slowness. He snacked on the berries they had brought as he...
Visioning is an ongoing journey . . .
Consider your vision at each step along your path. "Vision and action" are a continuous process, and neither should occur without the other. Thursday Thoughts: Visioning is an ongoing journey, not a one-time activity. * * * * * *...
Are You Unconsciously Perpetuating an Outdated View of Leadership?
Although my blog post The 40 Best Leadership Quotes has had almost 20,000 views, over 1600 social shares, and many comments, no one seems to have noticed that 85% of the quotes are by women. Since most of the "best leadership quotes" lists include less than 10% women,...
You can’t control what happens to you, but . . .
Next time something happens that makes you angry . . . or you get bad news . . . or someone hurts your feelings . . . go ahead and feel angry or sad or experience whatever feeling arises, BUT ... don't react instinctively. Before you say or do anything, pause . . ....
What Is Collaboration and Where Does It Begin?
What is collaboration? In Let's Stop Confusing Cooperation and Teamwork with Collaboration, I define collaboration as “two or more people working together to create something new in support of their shared vision.” Collaboration is different from cooperation or...
Focus on your vision AND your current reality
Some people focus only on current realities and what’s needed to solve today’s problems. They are primarily concerned about their next steps, looking down at where to place their feet. They move from solving one problem to solving the next, eventually becoming bogged...
How to Show Leaders They Need to Delegate
How do you help leaders understand they need to delegate? I often hear this question, and it was the focus of this recent letter:Hello Jesse: What have you found are the most effective ways to engage business owners in the need to delegate? Are there particular pain...
A real vision is lived not framed.
Do you want to know if an organization has a real vision? Take a look at what's happening – what is being accomplished? how is it being accomplished? are people collaborating toward a common goal? how do they feel about each other, the leaders and the company? What...
Are Your Millennial Employees Turning You Into a Helicopter Manager?
Have you noticed that you’re supervising more closely, giving more direction, or spending more time with your millennial employees? It may be that in your efforts to support them, you are providing too much. You may be unconsciously continuing the kind of environment...