February 15th, 2010
While having coffee with a friend who possesses a larger-than-life personality, and the physique to match, he shared a story regarding his twelve year old son, the quarterback of a team for whom he is the head coach. Like everything else, my friend is big into leadership and relishes every opportunity to pass leadership principles onto his son.
My friend said that he had been pushing his son for some time to show more leadership, and to offer motivating challenges to his teammates while in the huddle between plays. The big man shared an important lesson he learned from his son regarding his attempts to lead by constant example:
During practice I had this habit of joining the huddle almost every play and offering words of wisdom to players who needed instruction and guidance. I was becoming annoyed with my son because I did not see him practice the same behavior with his teammates that I was attempting to instill in him. Over dinner one night, I pushed him to not merely be a player; I said he had a responsibility to be a leader and that he wasn’t exhibiting leadership with his teammates.
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February 1st, 2010
One of my executive clients was interviewing for a leadership position at the helm of a prestigious national sports team. Asking for my help to prepare for the interview process, I readily agreed, and I asked him to be prepared for a mock interview.
At the onset of our practice interview, he pulled out a notebook and began to explain his system of interviewing and recruiting players that had been part of his success!
“Bill (not his real name), what are you doing?” I asked.
“This system is the key to my success,” he confided.
“Bill, if you go in there telling them what you do as the basis for your success, you will lose them right there. Everyone else competing for this job will do the same thing. It’s not about what you do, it’s about who you are that distinguishes you from the rest.”
Tags: executive leadership coaching
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November 12th, 2009
The key to finding empowerment in fearful days is to take responsibility for the outcome you desire. Face your fear (everyone has fear). Develop a specific plan. Be prepared to make adjustments. Work the plan. Recommit to the plan each and every day, and correct the course along the way – as with any strategy, the odds of reaching your goals are much higher with the right attitude and a specific roadmap to guide your journey.
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October 26th, 2009
At an organizational level, leaders must know the basic conditions that generate the greatest chance of success. According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Why teams don’t work”, there are five critical conditions that make the difference between success and failure – all of which are included in InitiativeOne leadership training.
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October 16th, 2009
In the September edition of Forbes Insights, research suggests that as the recovery continues, many corporate senior leaders may be blindsided by an unparalled employee exodus in their respective firms. Many of these leaders have misread the high retention rates during the recession as a sign of employee satisfaction. The truer picture is that large numbers of employees are dissatisfied and disillusioned by the bottom line, maximization of profit over people, short-term thinking demonstrated by many corporate leaders during the recession.
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October 13th, 2009
“Fred”, he said, “There are two cycles in this business. The first cycle is when you make money. These are your boom times when the market is strong. Just about any farmer can make money at a time like that.” “However”, he continued, “The second cycle is the one that separates the great operators from everyone else.”
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October 9th, 2009
WHAT is so significant about this question, regardless of how it is asked?
Some of you may remember this question as the title to a popular quiz show in the 50’s and 60’s hosted by the late Johnny Carson. The show made the phrase a popular expression that still catches the attention but more importantly, how you think of and answer this question today says a lot about the health of your business team.
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October 8th, 2009
Emerge from the Dark Side
How Just Paying the Rent Can Draw You Over
Those who have participated in an Initiative One Leadership Process are familiar with the term “pay the rent” (PTR). PTR describes the daily, ongoing firefighting, immediate problem solving activity that is part of every leader’s day. PTR consists of those mundane but necessary things that are the essence of performing the business. Pay the rent is important because if we are not successful in this endeavor, there is a strong likelihood we won’t last long enough to achieve our Vision by reaching our critical goals.
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October 7th, 2009
I was nervous. I could feel the perspiration on my palms and extreme tension in my jaws. My regional jet was about to land at Chicago O’Hare in 40 mile-per-hour crosswinds. I had heard an off duty pilot riding in the jump seat behind me tell one of the flight attendants that our plane was designed to withstand crosswinds up to 35 miles per hour. I didn’t like the way the math was adding up here.
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October 1st, 2009
A common link between every dysfunctional team I have assisted is that there is always an underlying “un”forgiveness issue(s) that has eroded relationships among some or all team members and their ability to work together collaboratively and or effectively. Just this week, an executive revealed to me that he dreaded coming to work because of deep resentment toward his boss after some uncomfortable interactions. He indicated that he now avoided conversations for weeks at a time with his boss and had even become resistant to working with his peers of whom he regarded as his boss’ allies. His performance was definitely impacted!
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