Leaders overestimate their ability to develop others. We think charm, communication, and character can do it. They go a long way, of course, but people have to embrace the vision and values of the leader individually and collectively or there will be little or no development. I have been guilty of thinking I can lead anyone. I have thought I can develop anyone. It has caused pain in my own life as well as others for a number of reasons. One reason is that I care about people

We are all in a season where everything has changed, whether we want to admit it or not. Many are struggling because of their great desire to hang on. The temptation is to hang on to the familiar, thinking that where we are leading will eventually return to what we knew before. That’s not going to happen, my friend. We need to develop new strategies, skills, habits, and more. You may even need to change your team or roles on your team. This is big, and we will not do it witho

This is a day of enormous pressure, coming from every side and angle. People crave stability and answers. Things leaders cannot always give. This requires a leader to remain patient in spite of the noise, clamoring, and pressure. The leader must take a long view of things, realizing that having a purpose and sticking to it is essential for meaningful change. Perhaps you had a teacher as I did that repeatedly shared, “Patience is a virtue.” Underneath my breath I would mutter,

My dad was always eager and ready for us to participate in sports. He never pushed it—it was our choice. But when we chose, he was a tremendous supporter. It was his belief that team sports involvement prepares a person in a unique way for life. I thought of that when I read a recent interview with Urban Myer titled “Checking Under the Hood.” Myer is a retired American college football player and coach. Meyer served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons from 2001 to

With the many rippling effects of the global pandemic, psychologists and healthcare professionals have begun talking frequently about the need for solitude to stay mentally healthy. For some people, however, the word solitude is frightening. It conjures up images of isolation, loneliness, and depression. However, Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and writer who spent years alone, gives another perspective: ‘We cannot see things in perspective until we cease to hug them to our bo

If you’ve been a leader for very long, you’ve had this experience: You think that you have communicated things, but in reality you didn’t connect. If you don’t learn to truly connect, you will always be disappointed and fall short of what you hope to accomplish. Great leaders intuitively realize that what propels their organization or team forward is a feeling of connection. John Maxwell, one of the all-time great connecters, defines connecting as the ability to identify wit

We are living in a season that is defined by a battle for your mind, your mental health and emotional wellness. The psychology magazines are filled with articles and discussions about the effect the myriad of issues in 2020 have had on the health of our culture as a whole. Many are struggling with depression, discouragement, pessimism, fear. It affects not only the way in which we lead, but the way in which life as a whole is lived. The one who is going to excel or even just

Progress is generally created and sustained by motivation. The first fact is that it’s no one else’s responsibility to motivate you. It is your job to motivate yourself. Waiting for someone else to motivate you will significantly diminish the dreams and goals you cherish. The latest research has shown that the number one personal motivator for human beings is progress. Since progress is forward movement toward a destination, you clearly need to first have a destination. Many

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” If you believe that and act on it, you will empower yourself. As Eleanor says, the reason we feel inferior has everything to do with us and not others. It has to do with how we perceive ourselves. When we compare ourselves to others and feel we don’t match up, inferiority results. Feeling inferior can lead to crippling depression. It is critical, then, to discover how to work with your inferior

Conviction in a leader is an incredibly valuable yet increasingly rare trait. It's in short supply because our brains are wired to overreact to uncertainty with fear. In business, things change so quickly that there’s a great deal of uncertainty about what’s going to happen next month, let alone next year. And uncertainty takes up a lot of people's mental energy and makes them less effective at their jobs. Leaders with conviction create an environment of certainty for everyon

Managers make choices that can impact the business every day. The decision-making process can be a difficult one. But it’s one you should master if you want to have the leadership skills to run a company. There are a few key skills for effective decision-makers. These skills strengthen your decision-making abilities: Problem-solving: The ability to identify a problem and find solutions is crucial to decision-making. This will help you remain calm under pressure and identify

Some people think that persuasion is arguing or debating until someone agrees with you. To make your argument successfully, you pick out flaws in somebody else’s way of thinking to cordially show them that their perspective is off base. That’s not the case. You might succeed at getting others to concede a point temporarily, but they’ll often revert to their old ways of thinking as soon as whatever logic or enticement you’ve used to “win” them over to your views is no longer t

Jesse Sostrin says, “One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading . As a new manager you can get away with holding on to work. Peers and bosses may even admire your willingness to keep ‘rolling up your sleeves’ to execute tactical assignments. But as your responsibilities become more complex, the difference between an effective leader and a super-sized individual contributor with a leader’s title is painfully evident... While i

A leader is someone who should be able to inspire confidence with everyone in the organization consistently. A leader who is a flash in the pan, occasionally doing something incredible, leaves their team uncertain, experiencing emotional whiplash. When a leader is consistent, he or she is are able to inspire trust. It is frequently said that management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they

Leadership student and leader Kenneth Blanchard said, “Everyone knows that not all change is good or even necessary. But in a world that is constantly changing, it is to our advantage to learn how to adapt and enjoy something better.” That has never been truer than this very moment. We MUST be open to new ideas and innovations to survive, let alone thrive. By and large, there will be no going back to the way things were. In a sense it’s a new AD/BC line. So much will be defin

Last week we discussed how anger is normal and to be expected. It’s even more common in our workplaces in this time of unusual stress and multiple cultural issues. It affects all of us, and it can’t help but show up in the workplace too. We discussed that anger can move us forward, stall us out, or completely destroy momentum and purpose. The leader is responsible for the direction anger goes. Great leaders use their anger to become greater leaders. Far too often, leaders don

With all of the stress and pressure that leaders are feeling today in our season of multiplied crisis, it is easy for a leader to become angry or at least seem to be angry by those they are leading. This can turn into a whole new crisis of its own. Let’s take a look at anger and some things that may help us use understandable emotions better. We’ll look this week and next, seeing what to be aware of that can hurt us and our teams and what can help us. Everybody experiences an

Another recent book that is a great one for all of us to read is Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World , with authors Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall Here is a quick overview of the lies that the authors say people typically believe about work, and what they believe their research shows is truth. Check them out, and see what your experience tells you. Lie #1: People care which company they work for. Truth #1: People care which team they ar

We are living and leading in a season that is very taxing—those who come out on the other side will be the leaders and teams that are able to develop a mental toughness. Mental toughness is “the ability to resist, manage and overcome doubts, worries, concerns and circumstances that prevent you from succeeding, or excelling at a task or toward an objective or a performance outcome that you set out to achieve." Mental toughness is NOT about enduring uncomfortable times. It’s a

Whenever I meet with a leader, I like to ask them to share a nugget with me. “What is a practice that has enhanced your leadership and life?” is one of my favorites. A number of years ago I had the opportunity to spend some time with David Baker, the president and CEO of the Football Hall of Fame. His answer was clear and very helpful: “Dwight, spend no less than 30 minutes a day in solitude. When you run fast, when you are driven, without breaks from constant noise and input