As a young banker I took a Dale Carnegie course on “Effective Public Speaking.” The first night we were asked to share why we were taking this course. One person who spoke was a newly appointed union president. Through clenched teeth, and with rising intensity, this man said, “I’m taking this class because when I speak to the members of ...
My son, Jeremy, works at a sheltered workshop. If you think working with your staff takes patience, imagine managing an entire team of adults with special needs who all have individual quirks and challenges! We are so blessed that Jeremy has an amazing boss named John! Due to Jeremy’s autism and obsessions he can be moody at times even to ...
Edith Onderick-Harvey wrote in Harvard Business Review about five behaviors of leaders who embrace change. Since change is constant and necessary, we’re discussing these five behaviors this week. The third behavior is to seek out what’s not working. There’s always a need for discovering problems, but especially when major change is happening. I once worked for a CEO who began ...
In 1776, our Founding Fathers grounded their argument for independence from Great Britain in their declaration “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” They may have declared their independence from Britain, but at the same time they were noting their interdependence upon their Creator. Many people break away from employers ...
Dan Cable, author of Alive at Work, shares in a Harvard Business Review article about a consumer banker in China named Jungkio. Jungkio’s predecessors had regularly scheduled times at each branch to pressure staff to cut costs, causing the staff great anxiety. Jungkio eliminated the meetings and instead began arriving at branches unannounced. He started by serving the staff breakfast. ...
One of the most important roles of leadership is listening — really listening. Empathetic listening. Active listening. Unfortunately, the voice you occasionally get to hear is that of whining. As difficult as it may seem, as a leader, you’re to empathize and listen. Consider the story of Job who whined to God about His circumstances. God patiently listened before setting ...
Tom’s a CEO who had a leader who was struggling at work. He needed some additional oversight until he matures into his potential. But he was reluctant to release any control. Tom knew that if this leader didn’t accept his recommendations willingly he would likely sabotage any help he sent his way. He needed to prove that he was teachable, ...
Researchers Alison Reynolds and David Lewis studied how businesses tackle complex problems. These researchers labeled the businesses that were best as solving problems as “Generative.” Two key attributes stood out at these Generative companies; being Cognitively Diverse and Psychologically Safe. Reynolds and Lewis discovered that teams that were diverse in their backgrounds and thinking styles proved more successful at solving ...
When I was a young and foolish 25-year-old, I read an article about a new business concept called “Rent a Wreck.” After leaving public accounting I was searching for my next career, so I started a used car rental agency. Looking back, I heard only what I wanted to hear. When friends and bankers asked me tough questions, I had ...
Are you able to allow someone else to make a decision? Or do you give the responsibility for a decision to someone else only to take it back? Taking back previously given responsibility compromises your leadership and undermines your staff. Jeremiah 8:4 says. “Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
