The meeting ground to a halt as soon as Sean spoke. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” This all too familiar phrase had killed many great ideas within Sean’s team. But, Sean’s people had hope. A recent restructuring placed a new leader between the team and Sean. Maybe the new guy could get things done.
Carole wanted a stress free team. Her first boss was tough. Being on his team was stressful. Whenever she asked him for permission to do something, he would pepper her with questions. At meetings, he would often let people argue. This made Carole uncomfortable. Nothing on his team seemed to happen without debate. But, now […]
Brad decided to write a book about effective management techniques. The title: How to Win, described his leadership philosophy. Just win baby! That was his motto and it had served him well.
The Oxymoronic Leader is not one person. He is all of us. I have been him and so have you. Merriam-Webster defines an oxymoron as: “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness); broadly : something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements” Am I leading if the […]
Today, I was thinking about what I dislike about meetings. It was a huge chunk of my morning. I obviously dislike meetings a lot! The scary thing is, I thrive working in a group environment. I figured out that it was not being in a meeting I disliked. It was how people run them.
The tragedy of what happened at Penn State has been well covered in the news. There are so many lessons that can be derived from what we know about that situation. But, perhaps the biggest lesson we can all learn is how character trumps competence. No level of past or present competence will make up […]
In my time in leadership in a big Fortune 50 company, I spent a lot of time practicing conflict resolution. Mainly, I was helping other people resolve their conflicts. I saw anger, distrust and pettiness prevent people from moving forward and getting things done. Some people may call me a Polly Anna. But, I truly […]
Public Tests- “Everyone is watching what I will do.” In a nutshell: My decisions in these moments often determine the culture of my team. I couldn’t believe she said it! I know locker room talk. I know the stories soldiers tell while on deployment. But this woman just made me blush! She also made all […]
The litmus test for good leadership is character. Rarely do I read history, watch the news or read the paper and learn about a leader who failed because of incompetence. The most common reason a leader fails is a shortfall in character. What happens in the months, days, or minutes that lead to a fatefully […]
When I use the phrase Low Maintenance Team, the most common response is, “I wish I had one of those.” The more I hear that phrase the more I realize Low Maintenance Teams (LMTs) are not common. There is a path I developed that allowed me to build my Low Maintenance Teams. I know I […]
