The Rolling Stones shared a bit of wisdom with us years ago when they said, “You don’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need…” That may hold true in some cases but when it comes to leadership, you get what you are! Leaders truly do set the ton...
In many cases, the team members within an organization will indeed follow the leader because, at least for the most part, people do what people see… I’ve seen that hold true in companies with world class performance and I’ve seen it in places that were struggling to stay afloat. Even in the worst cu...
Expecting anyone to blindly Follow the Leader is more than a little naive, especially over extended periods of time or in performing difficult tasks, because our teams are much more apt to do what they see us doing when we’re in similar situations! But let’s be honest with ourselves here, telling ou...
Having just worked through the importance of responsiveness, especially when it comes to showing we value the teams we lead and maintain the influence we’ve worked to earn with the folks on those teams, I want to challenge you to really think into this question: Why is it important to lead by exampl...
I believe making responsiveness a priority is considerably easier when we understand just how much impact it has. Think about it, would you even consider not responding to a customer or client who represents tens of thousands in profit for your company? I’d guess most of us would put our spouse on h...
As I emphasized before, I’ve never met someone with any real level of leadership responsibility who didn’t have far more things on their to-do list than they had time for in a given day. That seems to be a given if we’re going to wear a leadership hat - or maybe it should be a cape… The secret sauce...
With a clear picture in your mind of someone you know who always says “I’ll get back to you on that” but rarely does, and a firm understanding for the importance of being responsive as a leader, let’s consider one of the biggest challenges I hear from folks with leadership responsibility when presse...
I’ll say it again, we don’t necessarily need to have every answer but we do need to respond! If we’re not willing to at least acknowledge the questions, issues, or even outreach of the folks on our teams, should we really expect them to consider us as their leaders? This is where I believe proactive...
One of the most valuable things Cindy and I have been able to do through our Emerging Leader Development program has been reading the immediate action steps that participants detail following each lesson. Seeing how individuals with varying levels of leadership responsibility absorb then apply what ...
It can be frustrating enough when we hear “I’ll get back to you on that” from a friend or family member who we know likely won’t follow through, but how much more frustrating is it when it happens with someone in a leadership role?
Let’s be honest, we hold the folks in leadership positions to a hig...
Since we can’t realistically expect others to just be patient indefinitely and maintain any level of leadership with them, or any respect for that matter, let’s look at what we can each do to make sure we’re sending the message we intend to - knowing that failing to reply completely often sends a lo...
If you’ve ever been in a session where Cindy and I teach on communication and behavioral styles, you’ve likely heard me share that my dad has told me for years that I’d get more patient as I got older. So far though, only one of those two things have happened. When I tell that story in person, I ask...
