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One Year Anniversary!
I posted Aspire’s?first leadership blog?on September 9th, 2012. One year later, I am as passionate?about leadership as ever! Will you allow me into your email or RSS feed for another year? Thank You There are a few people I would like to publicly thank. Without them, this blog may not have started?or still be going! […]
As Leaders, How Is History Relevant to Us Today?
I hated History in school. I did not see its relevance. Remembering names, dates, and obscure events was intellectually annoying to my young mind. Fast forward 20 years? Now I love history! Not only for the pleasure and intrigue of discovering great stories, battles, and tragedies, but for the chance to unpack valuable lessons from […]
What Are Your Melting and Boiling Points?
If you recall from your high school or college chemistry class, each substance has three states:? solid, liquid, and gas. As temperature is increased, each substance reaches its own melting point and subsequently its own boiling point. melting point: the temperature at which a substance changes from a solid to a liquid boiling point: the […]
You Fail When You Don’t Fail
Last week I watched an inspiring interview?on CNN?s GPS with Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, a highly successful undergarment company. In 2012 at the age of 41, Sara Blakely was named the world?s youngest, self-made female billionaire by Forbes magazine. During the course of the interview she recounted how as a fax machine sales […]
How to be More Productive as a Leader
When I see a leader fixated?focused in like a laser beam on his work?I know he is not the most productive and effective he can be as a leader, even though he may believe he is arduously doing the work of a leader. For hours he is sitting at his desk, looking into his computer, […]
How Do You Know If You Are a Good Leader?
How do you know if you are a good leader? Do you think bad bosses think of themselves as ?bad leaders?? ?Or are they just unaware of their current state? If you answered ?unaware,? I agree with you.? But then that begs the question, ?What if that was me?? ?What if I am that bad […]
Leadership Lessons From RAGBRAI – Part III
I would like to conclude this series on leadership lessons from RAGBRAI with an image I’ll never forget. ?This one truly touched my heart… Help push someone else uphill. The most touching scene of the race was of a father and daughter early in the ride.?? The entire race had a handful of young cyclists.? […]
Leadership Lessons From RAGBRAI – Part II
I gleaned so many leadership lessons from my experience at RAGBRAI in Iowa last month. ?If you missed Part I, you can click the link to read it here. ?In this post, I will share two more observations from my bicycling adventure! Traverse leadership in teams. We are amateur cyclists. ?In fact all four of […]
Leadership Lessons From RAGBRAI ? Part I
For those of you who followed me on Facebook last week, you may have seen some of the photos of me, my two brothers, and our friend Nick participating in RAGBRAI: ?a 7-day (50 to 80 mile per day) bike ride across Iowa from the west to east state lines. ?I learned a lot about […]
When Your People Don?t Respect You ? Part III
Almost all people respond to gentle, respectful, clear, and candid communication – communication that values them and respects their journey. ? In Part I and Part II of this series, we talked about the right approach to take in order to gain someone’s respect. ?We talked about avoiding the temptation to be forceful. ?Today, I’d […]
When Your People Don’t Respect You – Part II
What do you do when your people don?t respect you?? Being “assertive” may temporarily cause people to leap into action. ?But it will not foster trust or respect for yourself as a leader. ?After all, would you respect this guy… Never give an order that you don?t know will be obeyed.? Of course, I don?t […]
When Your People Don’t Respect You – Part I
Recently I was coaching a young leader who had just taken on a new leadership position.? I asked her what current challenge she would like to overcome in her new leadership role. ?She thought about it for a few seconds and said, ?I need to be more assertive.? As we talked more, I recognized this […]