[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 10, 2014] In the U.S. Army we are fond of saying the “maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters.” This is a play on words that harks to the effective killing range of a weapon system. I learned this the hard way when, on my first day as a platoon leader, several of my unit’s… Read More »
[March 29, 2015] Every newly promoted Brigadier General and Rear Admiral attends a Department of Defense leadership course.1 The objectives are many but most important is that the course helps them transition their understanding from operational/tactical to strategic issues. Important items in the leadership toolbox are leader courses that are a proven way to improve success in leaders.… Read More »
[March 25, 2015] Carl von Clausewitz published an influential book called On War in 1832. In this work, he introduced the concept of “friction” as a hindrance to the execution of strategy. We have discovered that one of the difficulties associated with senior leadership is being able to accurately identify and surmount strategic friction points. “The good general must… Read More »
[March 21, 2015] Attempting to predict the future is a flawed endeavor, at least in the minds of the lesser experienced leaders. Likewise, the required attributes of tomorrow’s leaders is a persistent question asked of our current leaders. What are those traits that will be most needed and which will be discarded? Is that leadership more involved with… Read More »
[March 19, 2015] It has always been of interest for leaders to discover those profound issues of the day by asking the question “what keeps leaders up at night?” – figuratively speaking. Our focus here at theLeaderMaker.com has always been to uncover what makes leaders tick and sometimes what frightens our most senior leaders. Our nation’s leaders in… Read More »
[March 18, 2015] In 2006 while serving in Iraq as a U.S. Army engineer, I encountered Joe S. (a pseudonym) an auditor with the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO). He was looking into whether U.S. dollars were spent appropriately on the Iraqi reconstruction effort. Following all laws and regulations of the United States is a requirement of the… Read More »
[March 12, 2015] The recent ruckus over Ms Hillary Clinton’s use of private email to conduct United States official business gives us an opportunity to provide a few senior leader thoughts on leader transparency. Ultimately the email controversy is about transparency; whether a leader is playing by the rules and being open, fair, and honest with the American… Read More »
[March 05, 2015] A few days ago it was discovered that the past U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a private email address to conduct official business. Many accused her of purposefully shielding her communications from review and avoiding public access laws. Email and texting are valuable leadership tools that if not used properly may cause serious… Read More »
[February 22, 2015] One of the challenges many organizations have is providing virtual leadership over long-distances, especially among its most senior personnel and staffs. Organizations often have personnel and equipment scattered geographically; sometime across the globe. Senior personnel don’t always have the leadership experience and are not adept at working in complex, changing, and geographically diverse environments. The… Read More »