Low self-image is the number one confidence killer.
It does not announce itself with drama. It shows up in the quiet ways leaders shrink, overcompensate, or quietly sabotage their own influence.
Two dangerous expressions appear most often.
The first is overconfidence — an inflated self-image that...
Self-accountability is not a personality trait. It is a repeatable system. These four pillars can also be found in my Leading at the Next Level lesson, Owning Your Results: Closing the Gap Between Plan and Performance.
Most leaders already know they should own their results. The gap is not awarenes...
Still far from being the most talented in the workforce, or even in my home department for that matter, I built some solid career momentum through 1998 and into 1999. My role as bouncer for my former coworker’s sister had turned into far more than that initial evening of her driving and me being a h...
Even at fifteen years old and riding a bicycle to the job sites each day, showing up on time consistently and giving it everything I was capable of - even when I wasn’t capable of all that much - helped me earn moderate respect from the men I was trying to keep up with. Carrying that same work ethic...
Knowing that I had so much untapped potential academically stung a bit, even if that was only subconsciously at the time. If I was doing anything back then to intentionally grow just the slightest seed, it was through my role in the workforce. I produced solid results and had some great opportunitie...
Self-development often stalls because of unclear starting points, inconsistent effort, or mindset barriers that surface when challenges arise.
The solution is simpler than you think. As John C. Maxwell says, "Leadership develops daily, not in a day." Real growth happens through small, intentional d...
Five miles or so from where Cindy and I have lived since we got married, there's a giant oak tree by a sharp turn on a gravel road that could have spelled my demise had I been two feet farther to the right. It was 1995 and I was on my way to meet some friends to engage in a variety of inappropriate ...
Imagine grabbing a pen right now and signing your name with your non-dominant hand. Go ahead—try it. The letters wobble, the grip feels foreign, and what once flowed effortlessly now demands intense focus. This simple exercise reveals a profound truth: unlearning old patterns and relearning new ones...
As we worked through steps for how developing others serves as a path to leadership, I shared how a reluctance to pass along knowledge, often out of a misplaced fear that it could diminish our own value, prevents us from providing a successor (or even a direct report) with all the guidance we possib...
The 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman once said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.” Putting that statement into practice is a key difference between the humble confidence and all out arrogance I referenced before. Let’s face it, we can...
As we looked at investing in mentorship for exponential returns, I shared how Kevin Arnold frequently taught me things that he had learned from his mentors. I can’t remember a single time where Kevin took credit for how much he knew about workplace safety or the results he achieved. He was always qu...
