8 Leadership Skills Essential for Success in the Future
I don't need a crystal ball to see what will be required of leaders in the future. All I need to do is look around. Most of the companies I work with these days are multi-national. They are expanding, becoming larger and more complex as they seek to establish a...
If Your Vision Is Only About Yourself, You Are Too Narrowly Focused
If your vision is only about yourself, you are too narrowly focused. If you take only from your environment and contribute nothing in return, you are harming that which supports you. In fact, that’s the definition of a parasite. And ultimately you are harming...
How to Avoid Team Decisions That Plop
When was the last time you were with a group of people that needed to make a decision, where people tossed out ideas and at least one suggestion was totally ignored? If you’re like most of us, it was probably within the last few weeks, whether in a business meeting or...
Why Should I Hire You?
In this guest post, Thabo Hermanus, owner of a recruitment firm in South Africa, offers sage advice that is helpful for people at all stages of their career, not just those actively seeking a new job. Your life is one big interview! People tend to think that the...
5 Important Leadership Lessons You Learned in Kindergarten
Leadership is about going somewhere. Whether you are facing challenges as a result of changes in the economy, new opportunities because of advances in technology, or already have a good idea you want to implement, these five lessons can make the difference between a...
Characteristics of an Effective Vision: Create a DRIVING Vision
In Full Steam Ahead! Unleash the Power of Vision, we provide this definition of vision: “Vision is knowing who you are, where you’re going, and what will guide the journey.” - Ken Blanchard and Jesse Lyn Stoner A much earlier definition I wrote is quoted by Zig Ziglar...
Are You a Team in Name Only? Questions to Help You Find Out
When I am asked to facilitate team building or team training, here are the first two questions I ask and why I ask them: 1. “What do you want to accomplish? What will be different as a result?” I ask to make sure that what they are requesting will get them where they...
Goal Setting for Goallessness
My friend Susan wrote, “Although I am ashamed to admit it….I don’t think I have any goals right now. At least there are none that have crystallized for me. I am a goal-setter, always have been, and have achieved almost all that I have set…. What I am trying to do is...
7 Things I Learned About Goal Setting in 1999
In 1999 I decided to re-prioritize my life. My children were five- and ten-years old, and my career was approaching a peak. I travelled two to three days a week and worked an additional 30 hours a week in my home office. I squeezed work into every crack - joining a...
Lessons from the Costa Concordia: A Case For Company Values
The events before, during and after the January 13 tragedy aboard the Costa Concordia point to a true failure of leadership at every level, from the captain who ran the luxury liner aground during a drive by “salute” off the island of Isola del Giglio to the chief...
What Team Members Can (and should) Do to Help Their Team Become High Performing
Team members make two common mistakes: Mistake #1: Thinking it’s the team leader’s responsibility to pull the team together and waiting passively for that to happen. Mistake #2: Accepting mediocrity because they assume there is nothing they can do. Ultimately a...
No More Boring Meetings, Please!
I spent my 50th birthday at the most boring meeting of my life. At one point I had to pinch myself under the table to keep from falling asleep. I’ve attended a lot of meetings that are a waste of time – it’s part of my job. (I help teams improve their performance and...