Personal Growth

How to deal with a poor leader

I’ve served with some remarkable leaders in several organizations – and I’ve served with some not-so-remarkable leaders. You can read about some of them here. And since I’m passionate about intentional growth, I’m easily frustrated by unproductive poor leadership and the resulting wasted potential within organizations.

To be totally transparent, I’ve made many mistakes in leadership. There were numerous times that my teams endured countless mistakes along my leadership journey. My teams have been more than patient, even gracious, as I have grown to lead more effectively.

So, whether you’ve been a member of one of my teams or you find yourself trapped in this unfortunate situation, here are 4 ways to deal with a poor leader:

My Mess is my Message

Let’s face it – we’ve all ended up in a colossal mess at one time or another. Life is unpredictable and full of difficult circumstances and painful situations.

We don’t create messes on purpose – they just happen, right? OK, maybe there ARE times when painful experiences result from our own poor judgment.

Yep – occasionally the mess is our own fault. And, that’s OK – your mess makes you unique. It allows you to connect on a personal level with others in a way that success does not.

Here are a couple things I’ve learned from chaos…

3 Ways to Guarantee Your Success

My dad encouraged me to start my first company in 1985. He loaned me $300 and took me to purchase the equipment I needed to get launched. Within a few weeks I had paid off the loan and was operating my new venture in the black.

Over the next few years, my dad spent many hours modeling character, integrity, a strong work ethic, fairness, excellence, and organizational leadership. Needless to say, I am deeply grateful for my dad’s influence in my life and work.

I’d love to say that I caught on quick – but I was a maverick, hard charging – some called me driven. So, for more than 25 years I’ve learned by failing – over and over. I’ve made a lot of decisions that didn’t turn out the way I had planned – and I succeeded!

Wait…What?

3 reasons I started a blog

I started this blog in 2009 using the Blogger platform. For three years, I posted a few times each month. My posts were primarily personal although I occasionally included posts about my teams and my work. After a significant amount of research, I decided to move the blog to this WordPress self-hosted site in February 2012.

I am now posting 3 to 5 times each week. And I am becoming more focused on what my life and work means to others and how I write about it. These new changes are significantly impacting traffic and engagement- the first month following the move, the blog received more views than in the previous 36. More about that later.

Most people want to improve

I believe that most people want to grow personally and professionally. But you and I both know that it’s easier to read about and talk about growth than it is to actually do it. If it were easy – everyone would be doing it all the time.

Life is far too short to coast – even for a moment. Your life and legacy are immensely important to so many who are ready for you to lead with passion and intentionality.

I want to inspire you to grow on purpose, to live more effectively, to develop influence, and to lead your tribe. I want you to know that you can grow intentionally and lead today. Status quo is for the birds. And mediocrity is not just boring – it’s repulsive!

20 Life Lessons

I enjoy learning about new things. I’ve always been curious and forward thinking.

When it comes to implementing what I’ve learned – now, that’s a different story. For me, some things are harder to put into action than others.

You may pick up on things quickly. Or, you may be like me and learn the hard way. Either way, here are 20 life lessons: