Never let ‘em see you sweat. This advice is commonly touted in a variety of high pressure situations: life, school, sports, business deals. But does it have a place in leadership? When I facilitate workshops on leadership with students and experienced managers I invite them to share the best leadership advice they’ve ever received. This invitation » Read More
A leader once said to me “Alan, I’m a leader in my company, but I don’t know what’s expected of me.” A closer look at that organization revealed a few things. It had succession gaps in key leadership positions. It had little support for new leaders and no model of leadership. It had inconsistent training » Read More
The movie 42 tells the story of how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to become the first African American man to play Major League Baseball. Amidst continuous racial discrimination and taunting from fans and players alike, he led his team to a National League pennant in his first season. Robinson earned Rookie of the » Read More
Picture the best follower you have ever known. Was this person in possession of any of these traits? Knew their stuff. Had drive and determination. Was positive and willing to serve. Challenged you and made your ideas better. Helped you realize and achieve your vision. Made you and everyone around you better. I hope you’ve » Read More
Employees leave. That’s about as guaranteed as death and taxes. Almost as equally guaranteed is the use of the exit survey. HR departments seek feedback from exiting employees on their employment experience. Some conduct live interviews. Some, electronic surveys. Some, both. Whatever the mode for collecting feedback, HR wants to know what worked, what didn’t » Read More
“Don’t just act like the character. Be the character.” I’ve heard these words from theater directors many times, and so have countless other actors and actresses on stage and screen. The best actors are the ones who cause you to forget that you’re watching a movie or attending a live play, who can convince you » Read More
Can you lead a team in a hurry? In today’s lightening-fast business world, effective leaders who achieve swift results through others have the advantage. What does it take? I’ve led and overseen lots of project teams. They don’t all succeed, and the ones that do have a few things in common. When we talk about » Read More
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