Check out this two-year-old boy dancing to Elvis, then read below for how it applies to leadership at home and at work. Video of 4wt824D1Bqg Do you think he just made all that up? Of course not. He watched his parents practice dancing. His ability to emulate what he saw is a clear illustration of the power…
Category: Blog
Colleen Barrett on The Best Leadership Advice
Colleen Barrett is President Emeritus at Southwest Airlines. While she served in her operating roles at Southwest, Colleen was a true champion of the company's culture. So, no better person to share the best leadership advice she has received and given. Here is an excerpt from a discussion I had with Colleen a few years…
Downturn Leadership
Here we go again! I frequently tell my clients that no trend goes on forever. My mom used to say, "This too shall pass." Both phrases keep us humble when we are at the peak and hopeful when we are in the valley. In December of 2008, I wrote a manifesto titled "Here We…
Speed of Success
Time flies. But if we use our time well, we can also accelerate our success. Please enjoy and share this Speed of Success video. The 7 success accelerators from the video are also found in 7 Moments... that Define Excellence Leaders. Applying these insights will help you elevate your leadership on the work front and on…
3 Keys to Quitting… to Ensure You Win
The classic quote goes, Winners never quit and quitters never win.... NOT! The truth is quite the opposite - winners always quit. Here's a personal story about quitting with business implications... Swoosh! The same sound I heard the last three shots as I catch the basketball after it glides through the net creating music to…
H.A.L.T.
The holiday season, year-end crunch, new year expectations – they place heavy demands on our minds and bodies. I have always remembered a simple acronym to help me prevent the negative effects of stressful times: HALT. Avoid getting too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired (excuse me while I grab a bite and vent to a…
How to Build a More Reliable Team
Accountability = Reliability. Reliable results and reliable relationships are the payoff for building an accountable team culture. At its core, accountability is really about specificity--specific expectations, specific consequences, specific language and specific coaching. When specificity increases, miscommunication, frustration and rework decrease. So, the gears of your accountability engine are expectations, consequences, language and coaching.…
How to Ignite Your Team’s Accountability Engine
Accountability means answering or accounting for your actions and results. It is something every leader wants more of from his team. Accountability is like rain -- everyone knows they need it, but no one wants to get wet. It's easy to talk about how "they" need to be more accountable, but it can be uncomfortable…
Simplifying Culture
Every organization has a culture by default, but few have a culture by design. Even when an organization has integrated its culture as part of its strategy, business growth naturally forces the culture to disintegrate. I describe growth-related changes in my post Growing Bigger and Better: Managing the Top 10 Risk Factors for Growing Companies.…
How to Grow a Winning Team of Employees
Winning leaders are those who coach good employees to become better people. These leaders equip their teams for success at work and at home. Occasionally, though, leaders can get so enamored with new approaches and cutting-edge technologies that they forget to do the basics. Coaching is one such example. Whatever the latest new…