With spring well underway, many people have started their annual home spring cleaning ritual. Have you ever thought about doing a spring cleaning for your business? Spring is a great time for business leaders to examine routines, learn from past mistakes, and make improvements to create a more productive and successful company. Clean out your » 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
Over the last few weeks, I have been working together with a team to prepare a proposal in response to The Children’s Trust (TCT) Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) “Safe and Supportive Communities: Place-Based Service Partnerships for At-Risk Populations.” The purpose of this competitive solicitation is to identify 16 place-based service partnerships to address child abuse prevention, » Read More
Everything you do and say communicates SOMETHING. In fact, the most effective leaders know that their team’s performance hinges on being a great communicator. “Since we communicate whether we want to or not, it’s in our best interest to get good at it” David Grossman Communication Expert. When a leader communicates effectively, everyone understands the » Read More
As a leader I have encountered a diverse number of leaders each characterizing certain leadership styles. Some of these leaders have been effective, some not so effective, and some have been extraordinary. What type of leaders have I encountered? Here are a few that come to mind: “Gung-ho” leaders who lead zealously and are overly » Read More
If I were to put in you a completely dark room and you had no idea where the door was, how would you find the door? You would have to take a step, and adjust for your next step given the “feedback,” wouldn’t you? You would probably bump into things. You may even get a » Read More
“People go farther than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can.” John Maxwell Webster’s defines encouragement as the “the act of inspiring others with renewed courage renewed spirit or renewed hope.” Think of a time of when you had a problem and you needed to talk to someone. Who was the person » Read More
Have you ever been frustrated by name-calling, finger-pointing and the blame game? Or watched how harsh judgments can divide people, divide organizations and result in inefficiency and ineffectiveness? For 20 years, I’ve observed the impact that judgment has on relationships, families, organizations, neighbors, communities and nations. When I was a youth director, I noticed that » Read More
Steven Covey once said, “Character is what we are; competence is what we can do. The reality is that character and competence drive everything else in the organization.” How is your team in your business or organization aligned for success? Do you have two key components that drive success? I have known many companies who » Read More
There’s a lot of pressure, and even hype, out there about the need to be or become an expert. Of course, to be perceived as an expert you need to know something about your area of expertise. “Expert” also implies some depth of knowledge and understanding, as well as expertise in applying it. What if » Read More
