Another habit that healthy leaders adopt to demonstrate respect is one that is harder than it seems: listening effectively. Leaders who listen well make it a priority to listen first. They listen to understand rather than to respond. This allows them to truly discover what is important to the other person, which should in turn…
A business is not simply a collection of people doing individual tasks. The glue to any successful business is the way employees coordinate their work with others, communicate expectations and updates, collaborate on ideas to innovate, and share customer insights. Looking for the simplest way to perform job tasks to gain efficiency and maximize employee…
Seeing the human behind the employee starts with empathy and compassion. These are two fundamentally different but closely related concepts. Empathy is an awareness of others’ emotions and feelings. Compassion is an emotional response to empathy and creates a desire to help—it converts a feeling into action. A healthy leader taps into these two sides…
Healthy leaders choose to meet the needs of their teams first. When leading with love, the needs of others come before our own, and the team’s health and success are a healthy leader’s true measure of success. It reminds us of our son’s former high school football coach, Chris Cunningham, who preached this same leadership…
A few years ago I had my first skydiving experience. Yep, that's me in the photo free-falling at 14,000 feet. I don't like heights at all, and would not be disappointed if I never rode another tall roller coaster again. So, it was an adventure in overcoming my fears. The keys for me were feeling comfortable with…
Love is the source of most everything that is good and healthy . . . at home and at work. It is the most talked about, written about, and sung about topic in the world. You certainly always love your children even though you might not always like their actions or attitudes. The same is…
Healthy leadership addresses human needs—it’s personal. This new approach to leadership is comprised of three principles (mindsets) and three practices (skillsets) that are no longer just nice to do in today’s new world of work. Healthy leadership is like a cultural magnet that attracts people to your team and the cultural glue that makes them…
Sparky was our furry family member for 14 years. He was very smart, spunky, and snuggly. May he rest in peace. I vividly recall taking him for long walks after dinner. I'm not sure who needed the exercise more. Although it was a well-worn path for both of us, one particular walk taught me a…
Healthy leadership is more vital today than ever because peoples’ relationship to work has changed, and so has the nature of work itself. Expansive research by Gallup clearly shows that today’s worker is more purpose-driven, development-oriented, and focused on strengths. Purpose over paycheck. Your team members don’t just work for a paycheck—they want meaning. They…
In our increasingly fast, tech-driven world, it is especially important to establish respectful norms related to both the virtual workplace and our phone use. Screens exert a magnetic force on our attention, leading us to disengage from others in ways we never did before smartphones and constant notifications. How many times have you seen someone…
