Dave Anderson | Leadership Training and Consultation

“At Acme Inc. our core values are Integrity, Trust, Innovation and Community.”

That statement or something similar can be found on just about any organizational website. Most companies and individuals believe having values is important.

They say it. So it must be true…Right?

Just because a contestant on American Idol claims they can sing doesn’t mean they can. Whether in business, in ministry, or in our homes, claiming to have values does not mean I actually have values. Continue Reading…

Dad: “Did you do what your mom asked you to do?’

Son: (Without looking at his dad.) “Yep.”

Dad: (Eye brow raised) “Excuse me?”

Son: (Starting to walk away and dripping with annoyance) “Yes Dad. I did what mom asked me to do!”

Dad: (Firmly) “Hey bud! Look at me.”

The boy turns and looks at his dad.

Dad: “Your attitude is a choice. Make a different choice. Understand me.”

Son: “Yes sir.”

That was a scene that played out in my home with my dad sometime in the early 1980’s. Being the son of an Army Ranger who was a future general did not prevent me from having a bad attitude at times. It should have, but it didn’t. Continue Reading…

Any time a new ingredient is added to a cookie recipe, the flavor of that cookie changes and can’t be changed back. I cannot undo it. The cook can add chocolate chips or pecans-Dark chocolate or milk chocolate.

The recipe is usually an intentional combination of ingredients. However, once one ingredient changes, the flavor of that recipe will be altered and can’t be reversed. If I am a new leader, then I am that ingredient that will change the flavor of the team. Continue Reading…

I spend a lot of time in the bleachers at my kids sporting events. I love it. I am a gym rat who loves to watch both practice and games. It is one of my favorite things from my childhood that I did with my dad, The Master of The Sword at West Point.

Sometimes as I sit in the bleachers, I witness something that makes my blood boil. I witness a kid dismiss a coach’s advice. They give the coach that “whatever” look or in some cases even verbalize their bad attitude.

I want to jump out of the stands and shake them. I want to say, “Who are you to question someone who played the game you’re playing and has been teaching the game to hundred’s before you!”

What arrogance! What stupidity! It’s just dumb kids though right? Unfortunately, I have seen the same attitude in adults at work, in ministry, and in other areas of life.

I am one of those guys who does not always get to control the TV remote in my house. Because of this dynamic, my desire to watch Deadliest Catch or SportsCenter is put on hold so my wife can watch one of her cooking shows.

One thing I often hear on these shows is to always start with the best ingredients: really good vanilla, fresh vegetables or premium meats. I see this as an essential for Building A Low Maintenance Team (LMT) as well. To truly develop a LMT, I must start with great ingredients. In this case, that means hiring the right people.

I must hire people of character. That sounds logical but Hiring Character is not simple. Continue Reading…

Over the last 4 weeks I have been sharing my experiences taking over new teams and my insights based on times when I did it well and when I did it poorly. I learned new things each time and believe what I am sharing can help anyone stepping in to lead a new team. The 5 Steps for New Leaders on New Teams are:

Steps 1-3 are all building towards what I see to be the two most important attributes of successful teams: Trust and Culture. Continue Reading…

All leaders would love to have a low maintenance team (LMT). A LMT allows a leader to focus on the big things and avoid the day to day hassles that could and should be handled at lower levels. When a leader does that, the leader and the team are more engaged and burnout and turnover for both are lower.

But, while most leaders believe they want to lead a LMT, many are not ready to give up what they need to surrender in order to lead the team they desire.

If I want to be a leader of a LMT I must surrender SELF. I must:

Surrender my control
Surrender my fears
Surrender my time

Adversity builds character. I find that the people I admire have not always had things easy. Somewhere, at sometime in their past, these people overcame circumstances in their lives that changed them. They walk with a limp.

Through my 15 years of interviewing, hiring and training people I discovered that finding people who walk with a limp is often an indicator of their character.

In the business world, competency is the price of admission to any job or leadership position. Competency alone is not a differentiator when hiring today. This is a buyers market. There are competent people everywhere looking to fill open positions in good companies.

I write and speak often about character being an individual’s and an organization’s key to success. But character is difficult to determine in the hiring process. How can a leader determine if the person they are interviewing is of high moral character? Continue Reading…

When a new leader steps onto a new team, they have one chance to get it right. I got it right sometimes and other times I didn’t. The effort I put in up front always paid off later in better relationships and more productive teams.

Over the last two weeks I focused on what to a new leader taking over a new team needs to do in preparation for their first team meeting. I believe there are 5 Steps for New Leaders On New Teams:

Leaders when I say the words Low Maintenance Team a lot of you smile and think about a favorite team from your past.

Some of you are wishing you had a Low Maintenance Team right now.

I’ve had both low maintenance teams and high maintenance teams.

And I know, WE ALL WANT TO LEAD LOW MAINTENANCE TEAMS.

Most of my high maintenance teams occurred early in my 15 years of front line leadership. But as time went on, I adapted and developed systems and philosophies so my teams all became low maintenance teams.