[November 29, 2014] You would think it obvious that leaders seek to better themselves. Yet I find in my work with leaders that this is often not the case. Over the Thanksgiving Day holiday period I reached out to a number of junior leaders worldwide (mostly military) to encourage them but also to find out what were their… Read More »
[November 28, 2014] A theme in the understanding of leadership is that there are so many variations on its style and quality, that it keeps academics in business simply studying the complexities of the subject. To those of us who want to learn directly from the successes of leaders, we take a more nuanced look at how current… Read More »
[November 25, 2014] When senior leaders talk about what they do and why they are so successful, one of their personal themes is that they’ve worked with other great people. “Who are these great people?” “What makes well-meaning people do such a good job that we should pay close attention to them?” The most successful leaders, throughout history,… Read More »
[November 24, 2014] Ask senior leaders about the people they lead and the conversation will eventually turn to the difficulties caused by a small group of well-meaning people. The question we should ask is, “Who are those well-meaning people and should leaders exercise caution with them?” Successful leaders who act with knowledge and wisdom in their dealings with… Read More »
[November 23, 2014] Over the past few months, we have witnessed leaders of several countries who failed decisively to unite their nation. Socialist leaders do a better job although they typically use brute force – or threat of force – to achieve that end. Political leaders in democratic nations generally have a more difficult environment to achieve that… Read More »
[November 22, 2014] Growing up I read many a tale written by Ancient Greek philosophers. While I will admit not fully understanding them as a child, those stories held wisdom that I would only later appreciate as a mature adult and leader. Æsop’s fables were popular and for some reason his story about The Four Oxen and the… Read More »
[November 21, 2014] One advantage humans possess – that makes us unique in the animal kingdom – is the ability to make judgments. In the absence of complete information, a human can draw conclusions and form opinions; making leaps of logic that other animals simply cannot do, and we can do it very fast. While this is a… Read More »
[November 20, 2014] Regular readers of theLeaderMaker.com know that when I see an example of leadership, I’ll let them know about it. Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet some great people in a group called Rivers of Recovery. It’s a non-profit organization that relies on ordinary folks like you and me to help arrange medically-proven outdoor recreational… Read More »
[November 19, 2014] One of the strongest tools in a leader’s toolbox are formal decision-making processes. The benefits to having a systematic tool that is proven helpful to leaders in making decisions or solving problems are enormous. Regardless of the specific process chosen, there are a number of guidelines that should be followed to maximize the likelihood of… Read More »
[November 18, 2014] Well known to leaders – used to living open lives – is the unremitting fact that people will see their weaknesses … and people will also comment on those weaknesses. While this may come as a surprise, the passion of the commentators is a twist that strikes leaders like a bolt from the blue. Leaders… Read More »