Posts in Becoming a Leader
My Biggest Leadership Lesson of 2020

So many workers feel their leaders talk at them, not with them or simply to them. That feeling was only magnified when Zoom calls and masks became routine during this pandemic. Leaders and employees feel stuck in a dysfunctional communication cycle of giving information and providing updates instead of really connecting. We all feel more disconnected than ever - and it’s very hard to find meaning in a video chat or email.

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Top 10 Lessons in Leading

I was coaching a CEO this week - and we were speaking about our "lessons learned" in leading. While the conversation was casual and friendly, I left the meeting feeling the need to document these important insights. Each came with a significant amount of pain and scar tissue (from learning the hard way). I hope you find these helpful.
Here’s a few lessons I’ve learned in leading businesses for the past 25 years.

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Some Lessons I Hope We Are Learning

Here are 5 lessons I hope we are learning through this COVID-19 pandemic. The only long-term failure is blaming others and failing to act. We are a Nation with brilliant scientists and researchers. We have the resources, skill and knowledge. We need leaders who care more about the common good than their individual stock portfolio. And we need those leaders to take action in crisis.

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Leading in Times of Crisis: COVID-19

These are unprecedented times. There is no playbook for what to do in such a crisis, yet leaders must step up now and guide our communities and businesses as we face some of life’s most demanding challenges. These challenges may include large quarantine areas, limited access to essential services, and medical shortages for those who fall ill to this virus. Any one of these can also create paralyzing fear.

As the leader, you cannot always control the environment you find yourself. But you can always control your response, your attitude, your behavior, your words and actions. You can always choose to be proactive rather than paralyzed.

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Thoughts on Courage

Not every situation we are bold enough to face can be changed.  But nothing can be changed until we are bold enough to face the situation. So find the courage to boldly face the injustice you see. Look into the eyes of someone you've wronged & make it right. Face your fears. Face your enemies. Face your shortcomings and failures, and learn from them.

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GRIT - The Essential Ingredient

In any business environment, an idea isn’t worth much - unless you do something with it. This “do something” is all about how we choose to put an idea into practice (how we execute). It involves the moving from the abstract to the real. It’s a difficult journey. It's filled with ambiguity and uncertainty. It requires an extraordinarily rare leadership trait - and it’s called GRIT. 

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Dare to Dream

Today, I am more certain of what really matters. I am more thoughtful of how I spend my time on a few dreams that might make a difference for someone. My encouragement to you is to never stop dreaming, no matter how old you are or what your circumstance may be. Within us are the dreams that can change lives.  Dare to keep dreaming.

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