Know anyone who is a “born leader?” It’s a common label to attach to someone who is especially effective as a leader. But is it accurate? What is a “born leader” and what should other leaders do when they think one of their subordinates is one? There are certainly people who were born …
Category Archive: Uncategorized
Apr 27 2010
Four Leadership Traits That Are Not Situational
What are the most important actions for a leader? Of course the answer to such a question is highly situational, but I got to thinking about some things good leaders do in general. These are things that should become a habit, things that good leaders do without giving it a lot of thought. …
Apr 22 2010
Leadership Knowledge – Do You Know What You Know Not?
Sometimes leaders feel they must present an air of ultimate knowledge and infallibility or they will lose the respect of their subordinates. There is a line from the book of Proverbs which states “He who knows not and knows not he knows not: he is a fool – shun him.” This is exactly …
Apr 20 2010
Crisis Leadership – Hack the Clock
Years ago I was a crew member in an Air Force helicopter rescue unit. One of things we did a lot was study the procedures for handling emergencies. There were a few situations that required immediate action, which was trained and practiced so as to be second nature. Most situations though allowed time …
Apr 15 2010
Levels of Leadership
I’ve been following a thread of comments relating to a question about how to handle a boss who is a complete jerk. This boss is antagonizing, bullying, and generally manipulative. What surprised me about the comments was that most people seemed to think the answer was for the subordinate to just move on. …
Apr 13 2010
Effective Leadership Communication: 9 Tips for Writing
Effective communication is vital for leadership success. In today’s world of instant message, texting, and email, it’s easy to forget some common rules that still apply in most situations. There is a dichotomy here though that leaders must understand and accept, even if it doesn’t seem fair. While a leader should strive for …
Apr 08 2010
Leadership vs. Management: Leaders Manage, Do Managers Lead?
Leadership vs. Management. After many years of debate, one might assume this issue is settled. Apparently not. There are still articles written and books published by authors who want to tell us the difference, and I too have offered my opinions on the subject. I’ve developed the somewhat unpopular opinion that leadership and …
Apr 06 2010
Leadership Experts: Are They Really?
In a recent blog by Greg Satell at Digital Tonto, he writes about how so many people hold themselves out as experts when in fact, they really aren’t. He complains that too many of these people don’t have the experience and haven’t done the work to truly be experts. Though he is talking …
Apr 01 2010
Leadership Questions and Answers
Leadership Questions and Answers Like all businesses that expect to succeed on the internet, I pay attention to the search terms people use to find my sites. At the risk of being accused of trying to pack this with keywords, I want to address a few questions that are obviously on people’s minds. …
Mar 30 2010
Leadership Cultures and Their Effect on the Organization – Finale
For the last five posts, I’ve detailed six different leadership cultures. You may have seen yourself or your organization in one of these cultures. Unfortunately, many leaders don’t understand that they are in a particular situation. But, it falls to the organization’s leader to determine the type of leadership culture that exists. Unlike …
