[June 27, 2014] A well-known characteristic of great senior leaders is a thick-skinned personality. This is only possible when the leader is one that possesses extensive, broadly-based, and relevant experiences. Yet, this does not necessarily mean the leader is arrogant or uncaring. In the best of leaders, being thick-skinned means also being humble and optimistic. Being thick skinned… Read More »
[June 26, 2014] We have discussed many leader traits here, most of them essential for the successful leader. Yet, rarely discussed in theLeaderMaker.com or in leadership literature is the fact that leaders must be tested in order to be at their best. This testing must be on-going, not necessarily every moment, but testing is frequent. Leaders are resilient.… Read More »
[June 25, 2014] The new IRS chief testified Monday night before the U.S. Congressional Oversight Committee. It was not pleasant for the new chief. From his testimony, there are a few important leadership lessons that can be learned for those wishing to dissect the exchange between him and the members of the committee. Regardless of the political biases… Read More »
[June 24, 2014] I was visiting military veterans this past weekend at the local Veterans Administration hospital. While there, all the staff could talk about was the World Soccer Cup. The vets were aware, but I could tell most were hardcore baseball fans like me. My insurance agent even got in on the act and was talking about… Read More »
[June 24, 2014] Inevitably the discussion turned to the question, “What is a warrior?” A small group of officers and sergeants were happily discussing this topic over a few near-beers the night before we were to fly into Baghdad, Iraq. For most of us, it would be the first time we would see combat. The “what is a… Read More »
[June 23, 2014] “Now, the rest of the story.” Those iconic words represent the essence of radio personality Paul Harvey. Certainly not a traditional great leader and not even in the minor leagues with the greats like General Eisenhower. Yet, Paul Harvey was one of the greatest communicators in America. Born Paul Harvey Aurandt (1919-2009), he was on… Read More »
[June 22, 2014] A long-developed theme here on the LeaderMaker.com has been the importance of learning from the failure of others. Learning from failure is a critical skill of leaders. It is so important that it ranks up there with the most important features of leadership. If we were to individually learn only from our mistakes, we would… Read More »
[June 22, 2014] “I learned it from the school of hard knocks.” In Part 1 of Building Initiative yesterday, I proposed two things. First, it is possible to improve initiative in workers through some very specific steps. Second, that it was the obligation of a leader to build initiative. Many believe that initiative is learned only through relevant… Read More »
[June 21, 2014] The story of building initiative is an old one. I frequently tell an account of a conversation I had in mid-2007 Fallujah, Iraq. A U.S. Marine and I were talking about what Army engineers would do to assist them in defense of the city. The Marine told me he didn’t mind combat but never wanted… Read More »
[June 20, 2014] Public confidence in the U.S. Congress is at an all-time low, according to a survey released yesterday by Gallup. Only seven percent of U.S. citizens said they have either a “great deal” (4%) or “quite a lot” (3%) of confidence in Congress. Of 17 institutions, Congress comes out last. In contrast, the U.S. military leads… Read More »