Is It Because You’re a Great Leader?
When business is going well, is it because you’re a great leader? It can be tempting to think so, but you’d be wrong. Success isn’t about you. Leadership is about Vision and Strategic Direction. It’s also fundamentally about attracting and engaging the right people who will generate desired results, then providing them with the resources, […]
TwentySixPointTwo
It seems appropriate to spell it out, since the numerals 26.2 simply don’t adequately describe the enormity of a marathon. One very long, continuous word strikes me as a better descriptor. Then again, you need to see it to believe it and, I suppose, actually undertake running a marathon to fully understand it. Bring 30,000 […]
Leading: How do you sustain company momentum? Reward Results.
Once you’ve assembled your talented team, focused them in pursuit of a compelling purpose, dialed in the details, then figured out how to measure what matters, there should be massive energy and forward motion in your business. A great deal of deep thought and determined effort are required to get things moving the way you […]
Leading: How to Measure What Matters
It’s exciting to lead a talented and energized team, working together in an environment of mutual respect and trust. For the leader to get the most out of all that effort, however, requires a conscious effort to measure what matters. Without clarity regarding goals and what constitutes “success,” a team cannot sustain a high level […]
Brick by Brick
I attended a family wedding this past weekend. It was heartening to be surrounded by the overwhelming joy of friends and family celebrating with a happy couple setting out on a new life together. The priest delivered a very personal message that characterized their marriage metaphorically as a building, like the grand cathedral in which […]
Better Together
This year has brought fresh perspective on many important things. New people in new places, doing important work with and for others, have reinforced the power of teamwork. We are better together. Ideas are sometimes born in quiet thought, but they gain life when they are shared with others. Those with the greatest potential for […]
Potential
Sometimes you can see it when they’re brand new. Sometimes it takes time and patience before potential is revealed. That’s certainly true of finely bred show horses, but the reality also applies to new employees. Potential is the aptitude to produce something of value. What is done with that potential ultimately defines the outcome. If […]
Leading: Set the Tone
You’re being watched. No, not by the NSA, or some other clandestine agency. It’s your employees, and your customers, who have their eyes on you. They watch what you do and know it’s much more important than whatever you say. As a leader, you set the tone: Good, bad or indifferent. When you’re a leader […]
Leading: Look and Listen
You can’t lead from behind a desk—or over the telephone. If you want to be a leader, you need to personally look at the front-line reality in your business, where your employees meet your company’s customers. In the military, it’s what leaders would call learning the “ground truth,” which can be very different than what […]
Leading: Details, Always
The third crucial leadership skill is paying attention to the details, always. Once you’ve assembled the right team (People First) and galvanized them into a cohesive group focused on your shared vision (Purpose Second), the key to achieving success is embedded in paying attention to the daily details that add up to make a huge […]