The Mirage of Early Momentum

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...

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Earning Respect without a Title

Working from 3:30p to 1:40a, at least Monday through Thursday with frequent Fridays and Saturdays scheduled for mandatory overtime, for most of my first two years in manufacturing was clearly part of God’s plan; I certainly wasn’t doing much planning of my own and that point. Any planning I had a ha...

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Small Wins Through Consistency

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...

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It’s Your Turn - Let’s Get Started

To this point, I’ve shared intentionally basic high-level scenarios and I’ve purposefully shied away from anything remotely adverse. Not only am I sure you’ve experienced similar situations, I’d bet you’ve been through far worse - and I’ll bet you’ve found yourself back in that headspace as I allude...

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Sustaining a Learning Mindset

It’s one thing to be humble enough to seek help in the areas we struggle with but are still required to produce great results - or at least stay in compliance - but practicing that same approach in areas isn’t always as simple. We can’t overcome a knowledge gap we don’t know we have. We’ve all seen ...

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Relationships as a Learning Network

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to interview Mark Cole (CEO of Maxwell Leadership) for our Leading At The Next Level podcast and to promote him as the wrap up keynote speaker at our 2025 LeadershipLegacy Experience. Cindy and I have received some amazing mentorship from Mark over the last decade...

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Creating a Pendulum Between Purpose and Stress

Let’s face it, leaders have plenty of stress.  But it’s how we recover and how often that makes or breaks our effectiveness.  And us!

This is a two-way shift.

We have to go back and forth between stress and recovery. And they can both provide an essential opportunity for development and learning. ...

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The Costs of a Poor Promotion

An article from Forbes.com called Promoting Wrong People Hurts Employee Retention and Productivity opens by stating “Managers are key to employee retention and productivity. But many companies don’t promote into management the people who would do the best job as managers.” 

A separate article from ...

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Finding Opportunity in Defining Moments

The definition of opportunity from the Oxford dictionary goes like this:  a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. 

Going back to my (Cindy) message titled, Defining Moments, Pivotal Decisions, we are reminded our character and values will be revealed as we continue to meet d...

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