One business owner was talking to another. The first asked, “How many people work for you?” The other shook her head, and replied, “About half of them.” I know that is an old joke, but it is told (and retold) because it contains an element of truth. If you want to make sure you wouldn’t

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Your parents told you that you didn’t have to learn everything at once. They encouraged you by suggesting small steps. You took piano lessons, not a single lesson, because no one expected you to become a virtuoso in a weekend. Effective leadership development should be like that too, but rarely is it approached in that

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Do you remember the TV show “Password”? If you don’t know it, you can check it out here. In the game, two teams attempted to win by conveying mystery words to each other using only single-word clues. The word to be conveyed (the “password”) was given to one player on each team and was whispered

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While everyone wants a friend who is empathetic, some will not consider that to be a necessary work skill/habit. If that includes you, I hope you will continue reading. Here is my premise: an empathetic leader is a remarkable leader. The times we live in underscore this premise and actually allow (or force?) many leaders

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Few people have ever found meetings to be one of the best parts of their day or job. And virtual meetings? Even before they became the only way we could meet, they tended to have even lower satisfaction scores and effectiveness. Can this be turned around? Is there a way to have better virtual meetings?

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You’ve likely heard of the Law of Attraction. In short, the basic idea is that our thoughts turn into things eventually. The idea is that we are like human magnets – always attracting something. Not everyone agrees with this principle and the principle often leaves out an important part – the fact that thinking alone,

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In the middle of March, your working world and the view from your “desk” may have changed drastically. Government officials (and perhaps your boss) decreed that the work would continue, but not in the office, and not closer than six feet apart. Suddenly, and nearly without warning, you were thrust into long-distance leadership. While a

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The events of the past few days have been emotional for everyone. A glance at the news will leave you horrified, hurt, angry, sad, or one of many other emotions. I am not qualified to offer solutions to the anger, protests, and violence. Rather, I write to you as a fellow leader and someone who

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When we give feedback, it is with the hope that the person on the receiving end will take action on that feedback. But giving feedback isn’t a one-and-done action. It’s a journey that has many steps along the way. So before we (or should I say ‘they’) get to action, we must realize the emotions

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This is the third in a series of videos on feedback. You can watch the previous videos from the links below. In this video, we talk about how to get others to accept the feedback you are giving – leading them to action. Tweet it out: Before people can apply the feedback you give them,

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