Being a Person Worth Following
The Problem with Perception
I’ve never known anyone who was what he or she seemed; or at least, was only what he or she seemed. People carry worlds within them. I love the quote above by Neil Gaiman. I probably use it too much, but it’s become a mantra of sorts for me. It helps me approach each person…
Read MoreLooking Back and Forward—A New Year Ahead
It’s that time of year again. The start of a new year, right on the heels of the closing of last year. I once heard someone say that looking back is a good thing, but probably only in the same ratio that the rear view mirror takes up in your field of vision when driving.…
Read MoreAn Unfair Advantage, Part 2
(This post was first published here on May 29, 2017.) Last week I shared some observations I’ve noticed over many years of studying leaders regarding what gives some of them an unfair advantage over others. Here’s a reminder of what I shared:
Read MoreAn Unfair Advantage, Part 1
(This post was first published here on May 22, 2017.) Over my twenty-five years of studying great leaders, I’ve come to believe that some leaders, maybe only ten to twenty percent, have an unfair advantage when they compete against other leaders. This unfair advantage isn’t really unfair because any leader can do the things that I’m…
Read MoreBeliefs, Culture, and Grit
(This post was first published here on November 7, 2016.) I am reading a good book right now called Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. In a nutshell, this book is about the various psychological studies done over many years around what makes people successful.
Read MoreThe Great Eight: Grace
(This post was first published here on September 19, 2016.) Grace is a unique aspect of great teams. It’s also something that is seldom talked about by experts in team performance. Do you remember what we meant we used the term “grace” at our offsite where we explored the eight characteristics of great teams? The definition we used…
Read MoreThe Care and Feeding of Leadership
Take your time. It is the fastest way to achieve your goal. At the end of LEAD 365, many of you were given a bonsai tree. We gave you the tree to remind you that leadership takes ongoing care in order to flourish, much like the tree. But there are even more parallels to great…
Read MoreLeaning Into Healthy Conflict: A Refresher
This post was first published on the Leading by DESIGN blog on June 27, 2016. In this post I will answer some questions that have come up from time to time about the model we use for engaging conflict. Do you remember the model? It’s six simple-to-understand-but-hard-to-do steps: Share your perspective—hopefully in thirty seconds or less Seek to understand…
Read MoreRepurposing the 5 Whys
The 5 Whys I think all of you LEAD 365 alumni know that I like antiques. There is an expression in the world of antiques called repurposing—when you take something old and use if for a different purpose than originally intended. (Think of an old manufacturing cart turned into a coffee table, like in our…
Read MoreHow Flexible Are You?
Fellow Leaders, I’ve always enjoyed being active—running, hiking, biking, strength-training and sports have been routines for me since I was young. But something changed about 10 years ago. I started to get plagued with injuries. I hurt my back, my neck, my calves, and several muscles and ligaments. Though I didn’t like it, I figured…
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