If I challenge my boss, she will thank me. If I speak up for what is right, my boss will not persecute me. If I fight for my integrity despite pressure from above, I will always keep my job. None of these results are guaranteed if I do the right thing. The only time I […]
There is a leadership crisis in our culture. Politics. Business. Sports. Families. Wherever you turn the results of this crisis are evident. Some of the symptoms are political stalemate, lack of trust, dysfunctional teams, cheating in athletics or broken homes. There are a lot of approaches to fixing these symptoms. But the problem is we […]
“No excuse, sir.” Of the four approved responses a West Point plebe may use, this one was hardest for me to say. But, everything we did at West Point had a purpose. The purpose of teaching 18 year olds not to make excuses actually fulfills West Point’s purpose: To provide our nation with leaders of […]
Last month, I spoke to over 700 people about the role of courage in leadership. I had 10 minutes to speak. Courage goes beyond the physical courage displayed by our soldiers on the battlefield. Moral courage is needed from leaders in the hallways and boardrooms of businesses and non-profits as well. Click on the image […]
Thirty-two years ago this week, I entered the United States Military Academy at West Point as part of the Class of 1988. This week the Class of 2020 began their journey as part of the “Long Gray Line”. In honor of Independence Day and the men and women who serve so we can have the […]
Thank goodness politicians are not the only examples we have for leadership. Rarely do their words match their actions. They may be great speakers, but who cares! Our words mean nothing unless our actions follow those words. The actions of an introverted Leader of Character will lead a team to excellence before the eloquent words […]
“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 […]
In this political cycle in the United States, Donald Trump has raised (or should I say lowered) the bar when it comes to conflict. His sophomoric responses to reasonable debate are mirrored by a lot of people on both the right and the left on Facebook. Classless conflict is not a new phenomena. Our society […]
Email is a terrible way to communicate. There are multiple studies showing about 50% of all emails are misinterpreted. My experience and your experience probably support that fact. I have received angry emails from my customers, my peers and my leaders through the years. They can make me both angry and frustrated. Unfortunately, the way […]
Email is a terrible way to communicate. There are multiple studies showing about 50% of all emails are misinterpreted. My experience and your experience probably support that fact. I have received angry emails from my customers, my peers and my leaders through the years. They can make me both angry and frustrated. Unfortunately, the way […]
Email is a terrible way to communicate. There are multiple studies showing about 50% of all emails are misinterpreted. My experience and your experience probably support that fact. I have received angry emails from my customers, my peers and my leaders through the years. They can make me both angry and frustrated. Unfortunately, the way […]
It had been 12 months since I hired Tracy. During the interview process she wowed me with her passion and drive to succeed. I wasn’t just moderately hopeful for her. I thought she would be doing my job some day! But 12 months later, that person was nowhere to be found. Tracy turned out to […]
Positivity or negativity? It boils down to making a choice. The attitudes we display go a long way in determining what type of leader we are and how many followers we have. Do we choose our attitudes or do we let our circumstances or other people choose them for us? Do we choose to focus […]
What are my priorities for this year? What accounts and what goals should I focus my efforts on? The time is now to ask these questions. Do not wait until after the holidays. I sat in many, many strategy sessions for individuals, small teams and large organizations. They can be a beat down or very […]
