By guest blogger Sadako Red [see disclaimer] [April 30, 2015] Fundamentally, leadership means being able to help take care of those who follow you. That is why leadership is so important for the advancement of human beings and why choosing the right leader is imperative. The elected mayor of the City of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, is also aware… Read More »
[April 29, 2015] Growing up in rural Louisiana, my grandmother often told me to “put your brain in gear” … and she was one smart woman, as grandmothers are known to be. What she was trying to do was to get me to think and to be engaged in what was happening around me; I call it intellectual… Read More »
[April 28, 2015] Some of the more encouraging stories coming out of Nepal are the many ordinary folks working feverishly to rescue those trapped by the damage of the recent Nepal earthquake. Death and destruction are extensive, danger of aftershocks and more threats to life are very real, but people are stepping up to help. Those brave folks… Read More »
[April 27, 2015] Failure to recognize possible unintended consequences from decisions anticipated otherwise, is a failure of leadership. On this date in 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act; designed as an advantage to both the British Empire and the American Colonies. Unexpectedly, the American revolutionary leadership convinced other colonists that the Tea Act was another example… Read More »
[April 26, 2015] When we think of heroes from World War II, we immediately think of the Allied military men who risked their lives and endured great hardships to do something spectacular. Virginia Hall was a civilian working for both the British and American clandestine services; she was known to the Nazi Gestapo as “the woman with a… Read More »
[April 25, 2015] Five of us first-grade boys were chewing gum in class against the teacher’s rules. Our punishment was simple, public humiliation by wearing the gum on our nose (all day) and extra laps around the playground. Did we learn not to chew gum in class? … Yes we did. Fast forward 15 years and I’m wearing… Read More »
[April 24, 2015] One of the greater insights into management concepts over the past century was that rules cannot be created to cover everything in the workplace. The study of human psychology says that we all live and act according to values we hold most cherished. It follows logically that if we can clearly identify those the most… Read More »
[April 23, 2014] As leaders we often find it difficult to clearly communicate what tasks need to get done and with as few mistakes as possible. Surprised? Of course not. Leaders normally give good orders but fail to communicate plainly their intent and also fail to put it into the proper context so that an employee can carry… Read More »
[April 22, 2015] I’ve often been asked a basic question on leadership, “What is the most important leadership characteristic?” Of course there is no easy answer for the simple reason that no single characteristic can encompass all the necessary traits to make a great and successful leader. Regrettably, I was never able to give a response that I… Read More »
[April 21, 2015] The advantage all senior leaders should exploit for themselves is the reading of select books that expand their mind; exposing them to ideas that they neither agreed with nor heard of before. Currently, while the weather is producing a wonderful string of beautiful spring days, I have stumbled upon several good books in this category.… Read More »