The most common type of expectations leaders set are deadlines. This is only natural. We live in a world that trains us to meet deadlines, starting in grade school: your paper is due May 1; finish your community service hours by Aug. 1; taxes are due April 15; the budget is due Nov. 15; your…
As a leader, it’s powerful to involve your team to help define or refine the purpose. And you can bet, if your team is part of the process, they will be more engaged and committed. Work with them to answer these questions: Why do we exist as a team? Since people tend to respond with…
Just as winning in sports starts with practice, winning in business starts with understanding the performance process and expectations. If you wait until after the work is done, you are simply imposing consequences rather than inspiring performance. That’s why aligning with your teams on expectations is a good predictor of winning results. The large majority…
One of our clients, Cindy Lewis, is Executive Chairperson of AirBorn, a manufacturer of high-quality, custom electronics. She uses the “Rule of Six” when clarifying important information, such as the company’s vision. The idea is that you should not expect team members to fully understand or internalize any message until they hear it repeated at…
If you really want team values to take root, involve your team in the process of clarifying them. People are committed to what they help create, so let them interpret the values and define behaviors (within your acceptable boundaries). You can facilitate this process by asking questions like: What do our team values mean to…
Values like teamwork, service, integrity, and excellence are just concepts. You cannot measure and manage a concept. However, once you convert your values into actions and behaviors, then you can observe, measure, and manage them. That’s how you bring your values to life, by describing, communicating, and modeling behaviors that demonstrate each value. This clarity…
After hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of flights around the world were forced to land at airports that weren’t their intended destinations. A whopping thirty-eight of these rerouted planes touched down in the small…
Benjamin Franklin addressed values-based decisions more than two centuries ago when he said, “We stand at a crossroads, each minute, each hour, each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform. "Each choice is made in…
Many of today’s leadership practices are rooted in historical military testing, application, and refinement. But what can business leaders gain from current-day military leadership practices—specifically from the U.S. Navy—that have been honed for years? It turns out a lot! Thanks to his lifelong friend, retired Bob Ernst, U.S. Navy Commander, Lee had the privilege of…
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a world-famous tourist attraction, but unlike most architectural landmarks, it isn’t because of its breathtaking design. In fact, quite the opposite. Its architect never intended on it being a leaning bell tower. But something went very wrong during its 177 years of construction. Work on the ground floor of…
