Dave Anderson | Tag Archive | Character

Business crisis, family crisis, personal crisis – no matter who I am or how blessed a life I’ve led to this point, I will face a crisis sooner or later. How I respond in a crisis says a lot about who I am as a person and a leader.

Do I run from a challenge or towards one? Do I act selfishly or selflessly? Do I disappoint others or do I lead them?

In other words, do I come through the crisis weaker or stronger? Continue Reading…

A man came to my house the other day asking for work. I handed him a hammer and some nails and told him to build a tree house for my kids.

In fact, I gave him every tool he needed to complete the job. He should be able to build the tree house if I give him the right tools, shouldn’t he? Not necessarily… Continue Reading…

A whistleblower will receive up to 10-30% of the fines paid by an employer for an SEC violation. The False Claim Acts will allow whistleblowers to receive 15-25% of the fines paid. If someone has impure motives for doing the right thing, should that be considered an act of integrity?

Be careful how you answer this, because we can all have ulterior motives at times. We may look good from the outside, but why did we really do the right thing? Continue Reading…

“I know what I am doing now.” That is what I thought after a few years leading sales teams. I thought I had arrived. But each time I allowed myself to think that, I was proven wrong.

Someone or something always surprised me. A new challenge would surface that I was not prepared for. It took awhile, but I finally realized becoming a leader has no end point.

Unfortunately, some leaders fall into a rut and stop growing. To be a lifetime leader, leaders need to never stop growing. If leaders stop growing, over time people will stop following. Continue Reading…

Use a blog to build leaders! Really? My answer is yes. Leaders need simple, actionable tools for leadership development. How does a leader find time to build leaders when there are so many other tasks that demand a leader’s time and energy?

Blogs are a great resource, and they are not labor or time intensive. Continue Reading…

Critiquing a basketball team or soccer team the day after a game is easy. ESPN has built a television empire by analyzing the mistakes made by coaches and players.

The scrutiny is often insightful with multiple lessons for other coaches and players to consider. It is much easier to diagnose why someone failed AFTER the failure.

But, what can we to do identify an impending failure? How can we see it before it happens and make changes? Continue Reading…

Untrustworthy? Poor communication/listening? Micromanaging? Selfishness? Uncaring/Demeaning? When I ask people about the worst leaders they worked for, these are some descriptions I receive.

Many people believe if you fix these things you will be a better leader. We go to seminars and listen to podcasts (mine included) looking for answers. We read blogs and articles and books about improving in all these areas. “The 12 Skills Leaders Need to…”

The solutions presented are treatments to the symptoms of a disease that runs deeper. I believe the root issue needs to be identified so the treatment plan can actually change the leader and not just treat the symptom. Continue Reading…

Problem finders are everywhere. It does not take a PhD, a MBA or even a GED to be a good problem finder. It takes no skill or advanced education to point fingers. Problem finders usually wallow at the lower levels in organizations and rarely make it past middle management.

However, problem solvers are rare. Problem solvers get great jobs and earn good money. Problem solvers are what companies need in leadership. Leaders of character who are great problem solvers always use the same tool when diagnosing a problem. Continue Reading…

What are the top five things you admire most about your leadership hero?

In front of every audience I speak to I have an audience participation portion. With each group, whether it is a group of 15 or 1,500 I ask them to think about their favorite leader in history, in the movies or for whom they have worked. Then I ask them this question:

What are the top five things you admire most about your leadership hero?

If you are reading this blog, scribble down your own answers now before you read further….

1. ________ 2. _________ 3. _________ 4. ________ 5. ________

“Fifteen years and she is still looking over my shoulder checking up on me. I have done this job for fifteen years without an incidents, and she still doesn’t trust me!”

Micromanagers often have employees who feel like they are not trusted. The micromanager creates an environment that hamstrings creativity and growth, while exasperating her employees.

Some say this is a trust issue. That may be what it looks like from the outside. But, inside the micromanager the issue is often plain old-fashioned fear. Continue Reading…

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