One of the most fulfilling things I’ve had the privilege of experiencing in professional career (and personal life, too) has come as a direct benefit of the power of paying forward the many lessons mentors have provided for me, specifically in seeing measurable growth with those that have latched on...
When we’re intentional about building each of those steps into sustaining the relationships we build with our mentors, the long-term return will compound - in our lives, in the organizations we’re part of, and in ways we likely won’t see for years to come. Terry, Rod, and Kevin have all actively men...
More than twenty years ago, I learned what’s proven to be one of the most impactful lessons I’ve ever heard around communication from a friend who was a practicing veterinarian. He explained that he could kill my dog and as long as he told me the right way, I’d bring every other dog I ever owned bac...
Strategic thinking is a vital skill for managers and supervisors, enabling them to shape the future with purpose and clarity. It’s about thinking ahead, designing a plan, and setting goals today to control tomorrow. For leaders, this means driving success by building a team of strategic navigators—c...
A lack of strategic growth and self-awareness can manifest as overconfidence in one's abilities and decision-making. A leader who is overly confident may underestimate risks, ignore warning signs, and fail to seek input from others, potentially leading to poor decision-making.
How does strategicall...
Leaders who are strategically growing are open to receiving feedback from others, recognizing it as a valuable source of insight. In contrast, a leader lacking growth may resist or dismiss feedback, perceiving it as criticism rather than an opportunity for improvement. As a young leader, this was me...
Self awareness is woven throughout many of our lessons because the better our self-awareness the more strategically we can grow. Self-awareness is a crucial component of emotional intelligence.
According to Positive Psychology.com, a leader lacking self-awareness may struggle to understand and man...
One area where most leaders need to increase their self-awareness is in their own development, which is just as important as their team's! If we are truly growing, we will identify areas where we can improve. When we create change within ourselves (growth) and become better in these areas, and conti...
Growing yourself is the best investment you can make in yourself as a leader. Whether you are leading a group, a team, your family, or an organization, John Maxwell reminds us that your capacity to grow will determine your capacity to lead. Growth matters!
If we are trying to lead based on what w...
If we want to have any hope of capturing even the slightest bit of the profit we’re currently throwing away by not developing the most authentic influence we possibly can with our teams and eliminating all that waste that’s so often tied to miscommunication, we need to have an extremely clear pictur...
There’s one important thing we’ll have to do if we want to have any hope of creating a succession plan where the right people are in the right seats on our bus… We’ve got to know our team; I mean really know them! We need to understand how we can communicate with them most effectively, we need to kn...
Every single time Cindy and I kick off one of our Emerging Leader Development courses, whether it’s tailored and delivered on-site for a specific organization or in a public session with folks from multiple different organizations, we open by setting the expectation that they identify the specific a...
