Are you inviting your future leaders to hear the conversation? The facilitator of the conference announced that it was time for a scheduled break so my boss and I quickly headed for the break area. Suffering from a little jet lag, we were both in need of a cup of coffee. Coffee in hand, we …
I was leaving my boss’s office and had almost reached the door when he said, “Bob, I like having you around here.” In that moment, and with just seven words, my boss had provided powerful feedback. In less than five seconds, he let me know that he appreciated what I was doing. Yet, it was more than …
Are you too focused on telling others what they need to improve? Read More »
Take a look around, the leaders that will get us through this crisis are emerging in every community across our nation. Some are in prominent leadership positions, but many are not, and some may not have ever led before. These leaders are members of our communities. They are family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, and they …
The last time I wrote, I said that my next article would be about processes and how leaders can leverage them to get things done. Just kidding–I guess that will be the next article. Since my last article, Sammi, a colleague of mine, emailed me and said that I should write about humility. My first …
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about priorities. Now, for the record: I love coffee, but I don’t wake up, grab my coffee, and get lost for hours thinking about priorities. So why now? Well, too frequently, I’ve heard some recurring themes among rising leaders: “If my boss would just tell me what my priorities …
Feedback continues to be a hot topic of discussion in leadership and management circles and it should be, since it’s a very powerful tool for improvement. If you’ve been following the feedback conversation, you’ll recognize some of the most important precepts regarding feedback: 1-Feedback is critically important for self-awareness and growth. 2-More frequent, informal feedback is far better …
I was prepared but nervous. I was in a meeting with our new commander and several other senior officers for the first time and it wasn’t going exactly as expected. Colonel Wiley was asking a lot of questions about our logistically complex plan for moving hundreds of army vehicles on busy highways and through many small …
“NOT GOOD.” I stared at these two words and they seemed to glare back, almost as if they were alive and taunting me. I was completely stunned, my stomach was in a knot and my inner voice was in a red-alert conversation with my emotions. NOT GOOD were the two simple words that my boss …
We stood on a hilltop overlooking the Kentucky countryside. It was hot and sticky, a typical Kentucky summer day, but it felt good to be outside for a couple of hours. We looked at our maps; we looked at the terrain around us and we talked. After a few minutes of looking at the panorama …