[February 08, 2014] Leader feedback on performance, attitude, and foresight is essential regardless of the maturity or position of a leader. This feedback should ideally be from their immediate supervisor, their peers, those that work for them, and other stakeholders. The US Army uses what they call MSAF360 (Multi-Source Assessment and Feedback). The system is good in providing… Read More »
[February 07, 2014] I wrote here a couple of times about the media reporting on a “culture of toxic leadership in the military.” The media, always unable to resist a fad, has expectedly published other articles. The latest is the Army Times (not an official publication of the US Army). We all respect the independence of the media,… Read More »
[February 06, 2014] “Just do something,” is a common catchphrase we hear frequently from leaders. I think a better quote would be, “Just do something, anything at all.” Some people believe that any action is seen as better than no action, irrespective of whether the action is beneficial or damaging. Frankly, this is not leadership. It’s a sign… Read More »
[February 04, 2014] A couple of days ago, I wrote about two Washington Post articles by reporter Craig Whitlock who claims the U.S. military has a “culture of toxic military leaders.” The focus of that blog post was that leadership demands that toxic leadership not be hidden and should be resolved without partiality. I also pointed out that… Read More »
[February 02, 2014] In a January 26 Washington Post article, several generals and admirals (flag officers) were identified as having involvement in allegedly unethical behavior. A follow-up article appeared two days later. The author rightly exposes what was hidden and is an example of bad leaders. But this is not the entire story. The military should be neither… Read More »
[January 31, 2014] Leadership means many things but ultimately it means getting people to accomplish a goal. Leaders come in a range of abilities and outcomes in performance – great, good, bad and yes evil. But there is one category, the evil leader, which deserves special mention. Several years ago I was presented with a DVD of recordings… Read More »
[January 30, 2014 – Thursday] I’m writing this from the Atlanta airport this morning, being delayed along with thousands of others since yesterday. For those who have been out of the last 48-hour news cycle, the city of Atlanta and much of the southeast was in gridlock after two inches of snow and ice hit mid-day Tuesday. Both… Read More »
[January 29, 2014] Leadership is neither linear, nor is it one-dimensional. It is not linear because critical skills of leaders are not gained at a consistent or predictable pace; if at all. And, leadership is not one-dimensional because it is complex, multifaceted, requires focused effort to learn, and those skills can be lost. We have all read books… Read More »
[January 26, 2014] Nearly everyone I know filling any leadership position will say that knowing one’s self is a requirement for a good leader. What they will not say is that many do not believe it. This may come as a shock to many but the vast majority of leaders do not truly know themselves or are actively… Read More »
[January 24, 2014] Leadership is difficult under any circumstance, but distance between humans makes it that much harder. It is well known that face-to-face social interaction brings us the best communications. Distance is a form of barrier or obstacle that acts to prevent understanding. The “tyranny of distance” means that we do not see others (figuratively) in an… Read More »