When problems or challenges arise, the natural tendency of a leader is to step in and manage or handle them. But it truly can be better for your team and entire organization if you don’t come to the rescue or intervene in every situation. Differences are inevitable when passionate people work together. This is what leads to many challenges. Teams come to realize that working together to accomplish a common goal is tough work. What is expected of them as a team and the reality

Why some people fail and others succeed can be baffling. Sometimes it may even seem unfair. It’s even a question as old as the Bible. King David and others ask it. We all know people who have a good education, work hard, have the right attitude and a sincere desire to make something of themselves. They are good, honest, and loyal. Yet they live year after year with little satisfaction. It seems life is giving them a raw deal. Yet despite their knowledge, feelings, and desire

In days past we used to only concern ourselves with physical health and safety on the job. Today, however, we have a new understanding that mental health is primary. Every other kind of health flows from that place. Leaders need to begin by taking care of their own mental health. Without good mental health, leaders are unable to show empathy . Empathy is the edge that makes good leaders great. When you genuinely care about your team and are able to understand their perspectiv

NBC recently reported that 79% of employees who quit their jobs claim that a lack of appreciation was a major reason for leaving. An under-recognized employee is twice as likely to say they plan to quit in the next year. Gallup reports that only one in three workers in the U.S. strongly agree that they received recognition in the past seven days. More than 35% of employees consider lack of recognition for their work the biggest hindrance to their productivity according to a

Leaders are charged with creating momentum. The leaders who do that successfully are not necessarily great speechmakers, but they have learned to communicate at three levels. The most basic level of communication is with WORDS, sharing information. Words on their own have limited power. Eloquent words do not guarantee influence. Some of the people who get high marks for communication have low-grade influence. The use of words to communicate is only the very beginning for lead

Covid-19 has presented quite a few upgrades in challenges in the realm of leadership. One of those is finding the right pace, a sustainable pace. We all know when the strings are so tight they can snap. But we never think it will be us. Most great leaders occasionally burn the midnight oil themselves, and they also run the risk of creating an unsustainable pace for their team. Carey Nieuwhof says, “Being a leader in regular times can be a challenge. Being a leader in a crisis

The people closest to you determine your level of success. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” (Jim Rohn). Those statements are easily proven, if you look honestly at your own life and the lives of people around you. Your inner circle is very, very important if you are interested in reaching your full potential. You will not stay sharp and growing and relevant throughout your life if the people around you are not. So what should determine who

Many of us probably have these questions cross our minds from time to time: "I thought I was capable of more. I’ve worked very hard. Why am I not as successful as I would like to be?” Bruce Lee might answer those questions this way: “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” Regardless of who we are, if we desire success in any area, that means there’s likely a gap between where we are and where we want to be, and most likely, that gap is also

Leadership is hard. From a distance, it seems “sexy,” as they say—all adventure and successful challenge. But if you’ve really had your hand in for a while, you know that leadership is hard. As Spiderman said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” That’s the inescapable weight of leadership. Leadership is hard because of the weight of responsibility. You are responsible and accountable for people, resources, and decisions. And you don’t always get it right. Leadershi

A common theme right now in the workplace is stress. “I am so stressed out” is frequently shared over coffee. Stress is a natural part of life, even helpful at times, but taken too far it can make you snap. Like a rubber band takes a certain amount of pressure to be useful, but it can break if stretched past its capacity. Stress can be helpful or it can be very detrimental, depending on the kind. You may feel positive stress when you have an opportunity to interview for a ne

Can you believe it’s August already? Kids are headed back to school, and the end of summer heads us into a new push in our work as well. Hopefully you’ve taken some time away for vacation. If not, why not? Really, the stress and constant demands of leadership make time off not optional if you are going to lead well. Truth is, some of us who have been on vacation are already feeling the need for another vacation right away. But as much as my vacations mean to me—I just had a g

I’ve been a public leader of one kind or another for more than four decades now, and one thing I can tell you for sure is that leaders always face pressures of time and stress. A second thing I can tell you for sure is that the more time-pressed we are and the more stress we experience, the more vital it is to make time for exercise. There are limited options for staying healthy and keeping your leadership healthy during times of stress. One is by reducing the stress. That is

John Maxwell, leadership guru I have been privileged to view as a mentor and friend since I was quite young, has said this: “I get asked all the time about my busy schedule, and how I find time to accomplish all the things that I do. When I answer that I delegate as much as I can, people nod in recognition. But I can tell that they’re not really satisfied with my answer. That’s because every leader ‘knows’ about delegation. But most have had one of two experiences with it. Th

Arguably, Jesus Christ was the greatest leader in actual leadership standards to ever grace the world. He started with nothing, stayed faithful and persevered through great trials, and equipped a small core of people to lead in His style. They started with 12 people, and now have had millions and millions of “franchises” on every continent for more than 2000 years. And He did it without technology! One of the many principles we can learn from Him is that questions are a power

Confident, Confidante, Confidant. Three similar words. What do they mean? Confident means to have a strong belief or assurance about oneself. Synonyms are certain, positive, sure, self-reliant, assured. Confidant is defined as a close friend or associate with whom secrets are shared, and private matters and problems are discussed. Confidante is the same thing except the addition of the “e” makes it feminine and specifically a woman. These words are similar because they all h

If you’re old enough you remember the days of writing personal thank you notes. It was the expected and normal thing that you painstakingly addressed envelopes and wrote words of gratitude for graduation gifts and wedding wishes. But for the most part, those are a thing of the past. Today’s world is distinguished by instant communication and social media. Handwritten notes have almost disappeared from our culture. Text messaging and social media messaging has numbed the excit

Many years ago, when the moon exploration was new, someone asked how many computers, personnel, and other technical items were necessary to monitor space travel. One of the men answered something like this: “More than you can imagine. There are thousands of things that impact the success or failure of this venture. You can’t imagine what could go wrong.” It’s like that in leadership. It seems there is no end to the ways we can derail our leadership. It is famously said that p

If you are a leader, like me you have dealt with a question and a frustration over and over again in the months of COVID-19. And even though we have made movements back toward normalcy, the basic issues we have are not going to quickly change, if ever. Experts are saying that many elements of business life we considered normal will never be the same again. How do you create a sense of urgency in the midst of COVID-19 and the ongoing ripple effects? Maybe you have a lack of em

Tim Kight, one of my favorite leaders whose insights mentor me, recently tweeted, “It is the leader’s responsibility to clarify the culture, communicate the culture, and coach the culture.” What does that mean and look like? Culture is basically “the way in which we do things around here.” It involves attitude, actions, and alignment. Creating and managing culture is central and crucial to your role as a leader. It directly influences your team’s motivations and morale. The

Leading by priorities or pressure; there is a big difference, not only for you but your team. You have to learn how to say yes and no to the right things. Most everyone on your team probably struggles with prioritization or working on the wrong things. One of the most important things a leader does is determine the priorities. Priorities management is the practice of focusing time and resources toward work, projects, and tasks that impact high-value projects, accounts, and l