Edith Onderick-Harvey wrote in Harvard Business Review about five behaviors of leaders who embrace change. Her premise is that 70 to 90% of mergers and acquisitions fail to meet their objectives often due to leader’s reluctance to change. Since change is happening rapidly everywhere, let’s discuss these five behaviors. The first behavior is to share a compelling, clear purpose. Have ...
Years ago, I had an employee who had been very effective and engaged in her job. Then she became jealous of another employee. Her attitude changed, and the quality of her work declined dramatically. Although I addressed the underlying issues, it soon became evident that she was never going to reengage. We mutually agreed that she needed to leave. One ...
When I’m the person in authority, slowing down and being thorough is my job. It’s not optional. This means stepping back, listening, observing, taking plenty of notes, studying, doing research, and getting advice from wise people. Proverbs 20:8 teaches, “When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.” Many decisions can be biased ...
Priya Parker, author of “The Art of Gathering,” shared in a Wall Street Journal article four tips on conducting effective meetings. The fourth tip is to “Cause Good Controversy.” Ms Parker once facilitated a meeting for an architect firm that needed to decide their new strategic direction. Because the firm had a polite culture she arranged for them to have ...
Priya Parker, author of “The Art of Gathering,” shared in a Wall Street Journal article four tips on conducting effective meetings. The third tip is “Issue Pop-Up rules.” Ms. Parker recommends that using creative or amusing rules can force compliance while allowing the group to have fun. Ms. Parker was leading a meeting that kept being disrupted by executives returning ...
David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby, desired to maintain his commitment to be a steward of his business, rather than an owner. David says, the business is like a tree that bears fruit. If you believe you own the tree, you may decide to break-off the branches to give to your heirs after your death. Family feuds can then destroy ...
When I started in public accounting, my boss informed me that during tax season it was mandatory that I work 55 hours a week. But, if I worked less than 70 hours others would view me as a slacker! During those 70 hour weeks, I remember many Mondays spending hours cleaning up the mistakes I made on Sunday. In a ...
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. ...
According to David Blight’s book, “Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory,” May 1, 1865 was the first Memorial Day. On that date, 10,000 people gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, mostly freedmen, to honor those Civil War soldiers who died to free them from slavery. Blight wrote, “African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. What you ...
Empowering others is a great leader’s strength. Whether as an individual or part of a team, people who feel empowered can achieve amazing successes. The greatest example of empowerment is found in John 21. Jesus had been crucified and resurrected. Jesus seeks out His disciples and finds them fishing. Jesus returns and reminds Peter of the lesson he learned over ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
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