Communication and Commitment

CWhen it comes to communication as leaders and team members, we have six different ways of “communicating” about things we want to do or accomplish, but only one of these choices is a clear commitment that invokes personal integrity and accountability. This is also true when it comes to personal […]

Five Keys for Great Meetings, Part 3: Problem Solving

This week I’m continuing with the five-part series on creating more engaging, meaningful, effective and impactful meetings through these five keys: 1.   Start and Finish on Time 2.   Be Clear on the Question (or Agenda) 3.   Don’t Solve Problems (other than the problem that’s the focus of the meeting) 4.   Finish with “What Did […]

Three Shifts in Leadership

Yesterday, I spoke for a group of association leaders on the topic of snow globe leadership, and I want to share with you the core of this message. The most common question I get is why snow globes, and the answer is simple: snow globes are one of the most […]

Leaders Storyize

If you’re confused by the new word in the title (storyize), there’s a reason – I made it up. Actually, it turns out that others have used this word, but it popped into my mind during a recent training session when we were talking about the importance of stories in […]

Help Them See It

During several recent coaching sessions, I was talking with leaders about the importance and necessity of helping their team members seeissues, shortcomings and opportunities to improve. Through these discussions, it became clear that managers and leaders usually fit somewhere in a range of approaches – only one of which is […]

Most Powerful Words

During a recent personal retreat, I heard a speaker share several examples of powerful and empowering words – what he called the most powerful words– and over the past month I’ve added on to this list. Most important, I’ve started to realize that using these words with our team members […]

Lead Like a Parent

If you’re like many leaders, your first response to this title is this: “Exactly, I have to lead like a parent because my people act like children.” If that’s your response, think again … if your people are acting like children, then they’ve likely been made to feel like children […]

What’s Your Impact Awareness?

Previously, I’ve written about this leadership truth: Everything you do (or don’t do) and everything you say (or don’t say) has an impact, intended and unintended. Conscious and effective leaders constantly scan for and consider these impacts. The awareness and personal ownership of these impacts is a vital part of […]

The Unintentional Leader

I was recently meeting with a group of client team members, and upon entering the room one of the team members commented that I was not sitting at the end of the table, where most people sit when they’re leading a meeting. I told him that my choice of seat […]