Leaders

Dec 12 2012

Talk is cheap – Communicate

To effectively communicate I occasionally have conversations with our team leaders about two critical components of teamwork – communication and structure. Recently, I had the opportunity to see effective communication at work…

One evening our office sent out a carefully drafted email to several thousand prospective students. Within hours, students began responding to the email resulting in three straight days of record applications. I was reminded of several principles of communication that are critically important to any organization seeking to accomplish its mission and vision…

Dec 07 2012

Six Secrets of Great Teams

Jim Collins‘ book, Good to Great, profoundly impacted my life. But I’ve always wondered, Why did he use the bus illustration? On a bus the only person working is the driver – that doesn’t seem fair! And even though Collins emphasizes figuring out where you want to go after all the right people are on the bus, the driver still has sole discretion as to whether you head there or not. (I think we’ve all worked for a boss like that.)

Several months ago, I came across a video of the Canadian rowing team. It’s only a couple minutes long – watch it real quick. Within the first few seconds of watching the video I realized – This is it! This is a great illustration of team leadership!

Check out these six secrets of great teams…

Dec 03 2012

Communication and Structure – Get Any Organization Back on Track

Having been involved in organizational leadership for more than 20 years, I am always intrigued by those things that either hinder growth or support it. It’s true – every organization is moving ahead or its falling behind.

The primary focus of my work has been organizational development. In fact, the companies and institutions where I served each experienced significant growth while I was there. Several experienced record growth. And more importantly, some have continued to grow since I transitioned to a new place of work.

There are two things that have the most profound influence on whether an organization grows or declines…

Jul 13 2012

Are you leading or manipulating?

Most of us agree – leadership is influence. And there are times when influence morphs into down-right-out manipulation.

At it’s core leadership involves change. After all, what are we leading people to do? To be? Yet there’s a fine line between leadership and manipulation.

Both involve influencing others. Both attempt to persuade people to do what you want them to do. And both leverage vision, passion, and emotion to elicit a desired result.

So how do you know if you are leading or manipulating?

Jul 02 2012

What does longevity have to do with leadership?

Longevity is not leadership. Leadership is leadership. And longevity is longevity.

Don’t get me wrong – I love hearing about leaders who launch organizations and serve them for 20, 30, or 40 years. But does tenure make great leaders?

One of my best friends is one of the most loyal people I know. He will likely serve his current organization for the rest of his life. I have learned much about consistency and contentment through our friendship.

My father has been serving the same organization for more than 25 years.

Organizations and teams can benefit significantly from a leader who communicates and implements bold, compelling vision through changing seasons over a long period of time. And Sarah and I are looking forward to investing the most fulfilling and productive years of our lives in a long-term role within an organization.

Yet I’ve learned that although some executives man the helm of an organization for a long period of time, they are not always leading.