How Do You Win?

It’s about the middle of the pro football season, and last week the NFL lost a long-time, colorful, and beloved coach – Bum Phillips. Phillips was known for wearing his cowboy hat on the sidelines and for being very quotable. Today’s quotation may be his best – and it applies to all leaders. Read it,

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Once You Master Delegation . . .

Last week, I wrote about some of the challenges that keep us from delegating important work to others – and why John Wayne was part of the problem (if you haven’t read it, I encourage you to – it created a flurry of opinions and comments worth reading as well!). Once you get past these

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You Can’t Coach Attitude

I wish I had a dime for every time I have experienced this story . . . I’ve just finished giving a workshop or a keynote, and someone walks up to me with a question. It is seldom a question asked in front of the group, but rather separately on the side, alone. “I’ve got

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How John Wayne Stunted Leadership Development

John Wayne was one of the biggest film stars ever. And his legacy has been hindering leaders for a long time. Unwittingly, in many of his movies, John Wayne “proves” that you can succeed alone. All you need is the biggest will, the most stamina, and the fastest gun. John Wayne taught (well, perhaps reinforced)

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The Best Leaders . . .

Today, a quotation about leadership. While I’m not sure I agree with it 100% in all situations, it is well worth thinking about, especially when considering the source. So read on, ponder it yourself with the questions and action steps, and then read my additional comments at the bottom. “The best leaders collect information widely,

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Are You a Micro-Manager?

Have you ever experienced a micro-manager, a control freak, a meddler, or a person who can’t let go? The behavior gets labeled in different ways, but it is really all about the same. How do you like working for or with people like that? If you are like every other person I have talked to

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Trustology: The Art and Science of Leading High-Trust Teams

By Richard Fagerlin Trust is a pervasive and important topic for all of us personally and professionally. I get asked to teach about it often, and I have worked hard to study it over the years. For those reasons and more, I wish I had written this book. The author takes an important topic and

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Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling

By Edgar H. Schein When one of my favorite management thinkers writes a new book, I am always curious – and Edgar Schein is on that short list for me. His book Process Consultation: Its Role in Organizational Development, played a big role in my development as a consultant, and his recent book Helping: How

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Leadership Relationship Building – One Step at a Time

I’m a big believer in the power of relationships in leading others more effectively. After all, would you rather (and are you more likely to) follow someone you know and like, or someone you don’t? In part because of this belief, I have often used an exercise at the start of leadership training that I

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Commitment and Engagement

We see it all around us, yet inside of our organizations, we seem to ignore or forget the lessons. Look to the web.  The highest traffic site on earth is Google, run by an ever growing company that, in many ways, seems to have their act together, if you read most of the business press.

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