Moving up the ladder of an organization can sometimes feel like you’re leaving others behind, especially if you’ve grown to become friends with your team members. If you are now in a leadership position over former equals, how do you remain objective? How do you avoid moving too far out on the “thin ice of … Read more
Critically discussing ideas and the way forward is vitally important to an organization. As a leader, it falls to you to shape conversations in a thoughtful, frank way, within a positive and encouraging environment. Discussing competing opinions, goals, and perspectives shouldn’t lead to anger, and you can maximize the benefits of creative conflict by setting … Read more
There’s an old adage about two guys out in the woods when they are attacked by a bear. One of them quickly thought, “Somehow I have to be faster than this bear.” The other one more wisely thought, “I don’t have to be faster than this bear – I just have to be faster than … Read more
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned as a leader is embodied in The Big Six® principle, “Trust and Empower.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to empower others; yet, I always seemed to drift back into being more controlling. And, throughout my career, I had to continuously step back and try to see myself … Read more
Here’s one entrepreneur’s view on opportunity: “I grew up in a very affluent town, but my parents divorced when I was young. My father wasn’t much involved in my life, and we were poor. Many kids I knew played Little League baseball and Pop Warner football, but I didn’t – by the time I was … Read more
Change is messy, hard, and difficult. According to the Harvard Business Review, 75% of corporate change initiatives fail. Business Week cites the fact that 88% of CEOs report change is their “biggest challenge.” In reality, though, business is change. Understanding change is half the battle. How do we begin with leading corporate change? In the … Read more
