[November 14, 2013] Successful senior executive leaders are highly motivated and have the inner drive to be the best at what they do. For leaders, ambition1 is a major source of motivation, passion, and inspiration – there is no adequate substitute. The desire to grow as a leader, to improve, to increase knowledge and qualifications, and to have… Read More »
[November 13, 2013] A major theme in the philosophy of leadership is the concept that passion is an essential trait of leaders. For senior executive leaders, passion is fundamental to their ability to guide their organization and is a characteristic without peer. Passion is ultimately about winning and success – it is in our human nature to be… Read More »
[November 12, 2013] Senior executive leaders must be sufficiently competent in their professions to survive. High-quality leaders have the capability to perform the duties of their job with an acceptable level of quality – a combination of knowledge, judgment, and skills. Technical competence by itself will not assure a leader’s success since there are other traits that are… Read More »
[November 10, 2013] My previous famous leader profiles may have been biased toward world legendary people, all of which proved themselves over decades. The greatest leaders possess a long-term record of success. However, this profile of “Lady Gaga,” the stage name for a recently famous musician and philanthropist, shows that leaders can have millions of followers if you… Read More »
[November 09, 2013] Judgment is the essence of leadership. The ability of first-class leaders to make good judgments and the cumulative impact of those judgments will determine the quality, effectiveness, and success of the leaders’ organizations. The exercise of good judgment in the workplace is the special quality sought in leaders of all kinds. In particular, this is… Read More »
[November 08, 2013] Senior executive leaders develop big ideas. Big ideas are a framework, a way of making sense of something about the world we live in that solves a problem or makes something better. They help us “see,” to organize desperate facts and details into a picture that gives us insight. Charles Darwin wrote that his theory… Read More »
[November 07, 2013] Over the past few decades and recently in the past few weeks, there has been a lively discussion about the big lies told by politicians and the impact of those lies. Name any US President in the last 50 years and just about anyone can tell you about a “whopper” that had a highly visible… Read More »
[November 06, 2013] In many organizations there is a bit of a split persona – in particular, as it applies to those who are selected to advance to the more senior leadership positions. There are those people who are the exceptional and successful operators, who in the US Army we call the “warfighter.” These are those folks who… Read More »
[November 05, 2013] As we have seen repeated here, senior executive leadership exhibits itself and its successes in several ways. Today, I will use Korean Airlines to show senior leader values (see disclaimer below). Annually, I travel over 125,000 miles by plane. This level of use gives me an appreciation for good service and how international airline carriers… Read More »
[November 04, 2013] The best way to deal with a crisis is to simply be prepared. Planning, resourcing, rehearsing, organizing, and placing the right people on the job is key. The upside? Lives and property are saved and organizations survive. The downside? It detracts from other priorities and is expensive. It is difficult to replicate crises experiences but… Read More »