Dave Anderson | Leadership Training and Consultation
The Dad’s Against Not Keeping Score Society of Iowa Board of Directors met monthly. Since the local chapter of the DANKS started, little progress had been made. There had been a lot of meetings held but not a lot of decisions made.
The Chairman of the Board was Dan Slakovski. He ran one of the largest bread companies in the state of Iowa. It had been in the family for generations. Continue Reading…
The meeting ground to a halt as soon as Sean spoke. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
This all too familiar phrase had killed many great ideas within Sean’s team. But, Sean’s people had hope. A recent restructuring placed a new leader between the team and Sean. Maybe the new guy could get things done. Continue Reading…
Carole wanted a stress free team. Her first boss was tough. Being on his team was stressful. Whenever she asked him for permission to do something, he would pepper her with questions.
At meetings, he would often let people argue. This made Carole uncomfortable. Nothing on his team seemed to happen without debate. But, now it was Carole’s turn to lead. Continue Reading…
Brad decided to write a book about effective management techniques. The title: How to Win, described his leadership philosophy. Just win baby! That was his motto and it had served him well. Continue Reading…
The Oxymoronic Leader is not one person. He is all of us. I have been him and so have you.
Merriam-Webster defines an oxymoron as:
“a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness); broadly : something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements”
Am I leading if the adjective used to describe me is contradictory or incongruous to what a leader really is? No! Continue Reading…
Today, I was thinking about what I dislike about meetings. It was a huge chunk of my morning. I obviously dislike meetings a lot! The scary thing is, I thrive working in a group environment. I figured out that it was not being in a meeting I disliked. It was how people run them. Continue Reading…
The tragedy of what happened at Penn State has been well covered in the news. There are so many lessons that can be derived from what we know about that situation.
But, perhaps the biggest lesson we can all learn is how character trumps competence. No level of past or present competence will make up for a failure in character. Continue Reading…
In my time in leadership in a big Fortune 50 company, I spent a lot of time practicing conflict resolution. Mainly, I was helping other people resolve their conflicts. I saw anger, distrust and pettiness prevent people from moving forward and getting things done.
Some people may call me a Polly Anna. But, I truly believe most of the people I work with have good intentions. They are not trying to hurt, belittle or take advantage of someone else.
As I look back on the conflicts I have been involved with, there is one common denominator in them all–poor communication. Continue Reading…
In a nutshell: My decisions in these moments often determine the culture of my team.
I couldn’t believe she said it! I know locker room talk. I know the stories soldiers tell while on deployment. But this woman just made me blush! She also made all the other males at the table laugh. This was a leadership test I wasn’t prepared for. Continue Reading…
The litmus test for good leadership is character. Rarely do I read history, watch the news or read the paper and learn about a leader who failed because of incompetence. The most common reason a leader fails is a shortfall in character.
What happens in the months, days, or minutes that lead to a fatefully bad decision by a leader? What happens when he willfully decides to compromise his character? What happens when a leader ignores his moral compass and takes a path marked by dishonesty, fear, or selfishness?
This is the first post in a series of five on character tests. Continue Reading…