Almost daily, every business leader is faced with opportunities and decisions that will impact the direction, the employees and the success of the organization. Aaron, while he was left in charge of the Israelites as Moses went to meet with God on Mt. Sinai, decided to construct false gods at the request of the Israelite people. Why? They had grown ...
When Jeff began leading his family’s 4th generation business, he was anxious, knowing that most businesses never last beyond the 3rd generation. He worked hard, but nothing seemed to succeed. The business struggled and Jeff began feeling like a failure. Desperate, Jeff bowed down on the shop room floor and dedicated his business to God. Soon thereafter the business began ...
While mentoring a young executive, I shared the importance of having the right balance in being people-focused versus task-focused. With my financial background, I tend to focus on tasks. However, I’ve realized over the years that people are far more important. Research conducted by Robert Anderson and William Adams discovered that the number one indicator of effective leaders is strong ...
Deborah Grayson Riegel writes in a Harvard Business Review article how to correct leadership mistakes in a healthy manner. Riegel encourages us to take three steps. The 3rd and final step is to, “share what you will do differently next time.” This step requires self-reflection. We need to pause and reflect on what part we had in the mistake and ...
In a Harvard Business Review article, Deborah Grayson Riegel writes about how to correct leadership mistakes in a healthy manner. Riegel encourages us to take three steps. The second step is “address what you need to do right now.” If you don’t identify what needs to be done to fix your mistake, your apology will seem meaningless. I once neglected ...
Deborah Grayson Riegel writes in a Harvard Business Review article how to correct leadership mistakes in a healthy manner. Riegel encourages us to have a conversation with ourselves then with the other parties involved, addressing three parts. The first part is to “Take Responsibility.” Years ago, I took an emotional intelligence assessment. One of the painful findings was that I ...
In a Harvard Business Review article, Deborah Grayson Riegel writes about the pain in making mistakes. But when a leader makes mistakes, the pain can feel more profound when you know others are following. When our mistakes cause others to question our expertise, our identity can be shaken. This often results in arguing, blaming others, withdrawing, deflecting accountability and/or digging ...
In January, Tom Phillips, former CEO of Raytheon, passed away. In his Wall Street Journal obituary, there’s a story of a Harvard undergraduate who asked Mr. Phillips if he believed there was a contradiction between his Christian faith and running a missile manufacturing company. Mr. Phillips answered, “We would like it to be a world where armies and weapons were ...
Some leaders refuse to admit their mistakes. Instead, they double-down and add another lie to the situation, holding fast to their original position. Sometimes, due to pride, leaders hold fast even with irrefutable evidence that they are lying. Over the years, I’ve learned that when I make a mistake, my best path to reconciliation is to own the mistake. If ...
Years ago, I served on an advisory board for a national nonprofit. For months, the organization was struggling with challenges that didn’t make sense to the board. Eventually, the board was informed that the executive director of the firm was resigning due to a pornography addiction. After the revelation surfaced, there was a key leader in that organization that said, ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
