Breaking Tradition

We can certainly stick with the way it’s always been in our recruiting approach if we want, but I’ve only seen that kill more and more profitability over time. With such a drastic increase in minimum wage in a relatively short time, the “skilled trades shortage”...

Continue Reading...
A Leader’s First Customer

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...

Continue Reading...
Making It a Priority!

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...

Continue Reading...
Of Course You’re Busy, But It’s Not an Option!

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...

Continue Reading...
Proactive Leadership: Respond and Communicate

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...

Continue Reading...
A Response, Even if it’s not an Answer…

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...

Continue Reading...
A Leader’s Response…

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...

Continue Reading...
Just Be Patient!?

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...

Continue Reading...
I’ll Get Back to You on That…

Not so long ago, a gentleman who had recently joined a civic organization I’m a part of sent an email to several other members of the group inviting them to catch up over lunch or coffee individually with hopes of getting to know each of them better since he was relatively new to the area....

Continue Reading...