Trust (Again?)
You may be wondering, “Why are we talking about trust again?” The simple answer is that everything we do with others is built upon this one word. Think of the pain created when we absolutely don’t trust someone. Something has created question marks in our mind around...
Vulnerability and Courage
I’m no psychiatrist but I’ve always been intrigued by the things people do and why they do them. Out of this curiosity, and over many years of observations, I’ve come to my own theories, or even beliefs, about people’s make-up. It is from these observations and desire...
Effective Communication – A Real Challenge
Since your experience in LEAD 365 I’ve been doing more informal research and reflection on why we choose to offer a module on communication. As such, I’ve gained more clarity about why we explore it, what the challenges are and what can be done to be a more effective...
Putting It Out There
My fellow leaders, I’ve put it out there and I can’t take it back. Too many people know. Too many have heard. I’ve talked about it too many times. There is no turning back. And I do have some fears. What if we don’t make it? What if the current favorable conditions...
A Pause to Reflect
Happy 2018! A new year is a great opportunity to pause, reflect on the previous year, and plan for the year to come. We hope that you'll take some time this week to look back on your leadership learnings from 2017 and to think about how you might challenge yourself as...
Are You Like Most People?
Dear fellow listeners, Here is a fun quiz: the phrase "seek first to understand, then to be understood" comes from which of the following? The LEAD 365 segment on high impact listening. The LEAD 365 segment on leaning in to healthy conflict. Steven Covey’s book The 7...
Why Feedback Is Uncomfortable — and What To Do About It
Many people struggle with giving negative feedback because they don’t want to hurt the other person or strain the relationship. But plenty of people struggle with giving positive feedback to others.
A Great Leader and a Great Speech
Leaders, We have an unusual posting for you this week. Last week was "V Week" for those of us who enjoy college basketball. "V Week" is named for Jimmy V, also known as Jim Valvano. Valvano was a great college basketball coach who got terminal cancer and gave an...
Truth and Love
Today's post was originally published on February 8, 2016. Truth without love can be mean, and love without truth can be a lie. Today's post is a review of a skill that I think it is the most important skill needed in West Michigan leaders. It is the willingness and...
Top 10 Trust Walk Takeaways
All of you who have been on the two-day retreat as a part of building great teams have done the trust walk. My favorite part of that exercise is not the first part when there is no talking; it's not the second part where you can talk but the one person is still...