The One Thing that Will Win the Battle
Focus. Those who make it big have an ability to focus on one key aspect of their work. Many authors and leaders have written about this ability—the capability to identify and make oneself lasered-focused on one thing—including Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan, authors of The One Thing. As a strategist, I have always found […]
What to Do When You Are Criticized
When you are criticized, guard your heart from defensiveness, frustration, and dismissiveness. This is how these feelings may sound inside our minds: Defensive: No, I did not do that, and if I did, I had a good reason. I am a good person, doing my best. Don’t you see all the amazing things I do? […]
Why Leaders Should Have an Entrepreneurial Spirit
How to Create Habits as a Reader
Raising the Lid as a Leader
A few years ago I heard the statement that if we are to grow, we must learn, relearn, and unlearn. Learn, I know. Relearn? As a leader, could there be a lesson you learned, but you have to learn it again? Yes. I thought of several examples. But unlearn? I had trouble with that one. […]
Breaking Through Your Growth Lid
How does one improve in areas that are important to them? Here is a practical overview. Decide what you want to improve. Begin by writing down three to five areas. Then, recognize that there are two critical ingredients without which you will not get better. They are time and intention. Time. Without daily or near […]
Being Reactive Does Not Indicate You Are Passionate
One of the hardest lessons of leadership is to learn not to be reactive. Dare I say, never to be reactive. Anytime I see a leader react, allowing their emotions to take control, even momentarily, and even if they apologize and change course, they appear less trustworthy and capable. Why do I say this is […]
Three Thoughts to Improve Time Management
If I were to choose a universal problem that all leaders wrestle with, it would be time management. Some say we cannot manage time, we can only manage what we do with it. Regardless of how we communicate it, time and how we spend it is usually of top concern, and I believe it should […]
Leadership Works Through Imperfect People
I was recently talking to a leader friend of mine, and we were discussing how team members sometimes are not able to perform to the level we need. Then we both agreed that leadership is about accomplishing the mission through imperfect people. Our people are imperfect. We are imperfect. Yet, dedicated leaders forge forward and […]
4 Areas Leaders Must Keep Healthy
As leaders we must remain healthy in tens of areas, from managing our calendar to being clear about our priorities between work and family. And while there may be tens of areas to keep finely tuned, four undergird them all. Four areas must be tended to daily—or even multiple times a day. To do this […]