Shortly after arriving in the new organization, I asked why we were doing certain tasks that didn’t seem to make sense. This was my first job as an airplane mechanic. I was very young and quite impressionable. I was also quite curious. So I was disappointed when another mechanic told me not to …
Tag Archive: leadership
Mar 26 2014
Leader Know Thyself – What is Success
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What do you consider success? How do you know if you’ve reached that point? I include this in those things a leader should know about themselves because I’ve found it’s important. Some leaders never stop to think about what success really is. Take a piece of paper and write at the top, “Succes …
Mar 19 2014
Leader Know Thyself – Your Buttons
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Think about someone you don’t like. Why don’t you like them? Now, consider someone who can really make you mad. What is it that they do that fires your temper? As my psychology professor once said, we all have buttons. The question is, how do we manage those buttons. Do we wear them …
Mar 12 2014
Leader Know Thyself – Strengths and Weaknesses
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What are you really good at? Be honest and put away the humility for a moment. Take a piece of paper and write two or three things you are really good at. For this exercise, try to keep it related to your leadership responsibilities. Maybe you’re good at speaking to people. Perhaps you’re …
Mar 03 2014
Leadership and Smallpox
Send to Kindle Did you know that smallpox is a possible weapon in the fight against cancer? I didn’t. Why would I? I’m not in the medical research field. But, I am interested in new technology and like everyone else, I’m just a little concerned about cancer. What’s does this have to do with leadership? …
Jan 31 2014
Trust and Leadership
Effective leadership relies on trust. A successful leader must develop the trust of workers, customers, and partners. Trust and leadership are inseparable. The PR firm Edelman has released the 2014 Trust Barometer which has some valuable information for leaders. The barometer looks at various trust issues from more than 33,000 people in 27 …
Jan 03 2014
Whoops, Diversty Strikes Again
I’ll confess, I’m one of the dozen or so Americans who don’t watch Duck Dynasty. But, I am one of the millions who have been watching the controversy surrounding the Duck Dynasty patriarch, Phil Robertson’s, comments in an interview with GQ magazine. My interest in this is mainly as an example of what …
Dec 26 2013
Leadership Lessons from Yahoo!
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Last year the business world was abuzz as Yahoo! hired Marissa Mayer as their new CEO. Mayer has not disappointed those looking for things to write about. She has taken several bold steps in an effort to save Yahoo! from the ash heap of internet history. Since Mayer joined Yahoo! there have been …
Dec 18 2013
Leadership Lessons From Microsoft
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I never thought I’d be using Microsoft for leadership lessons but here it is. Microsoft recently announced that they have jettisoned the stacked ranking system they used to evaluate employees. To briefly explain stacked rankings, supervisors are required to place their people in one of three categories. The top rank gets bonuses. The …
Dec 11 2013
Leadership Lessons From Twitter
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Our city’s school superintendent is no fan of the state Secretary of Education. That’s no secret, but the superintendent found his mind wondering (his words) at a board meeting so he took to Twitter and tweeted a message that compared the Secretary to farm animals. The lesson here seems obvious but it’s amazing …
