Servant Leadership: Character and Competence = Credibility

“Character without capacity usually means weakness in a leader, but capacity without character means danger,” says David Gergen. Servant leadership development and character formation go hand-in-hand. Who a leader is is just as important as what a leader does. Street Cred When describing the core elements of how to persuade and influence others to a particular way of thinking, Aristotle said that influential leaders must possess three things: ethos (character), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). Ethos was foundational to the other two qualities as it served as the “credibility-factor” of the speaker-leader. The Ethos Factor Today we call this the [...]

2022-11-23T18:26:04+00:00May 6th, 2016|Leadership, Personal Growth, Professional Development, Servant Leadership|
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Strategy Alive™ – A 7-Step Strategic Map To Success

  A Way Forward  Maps and compasses are important when traversing unfamiliar terrain and entering into new territory. The same is true in business. Maps are still helpful in a world that is filled with so many unknowns and daily market adaptations. Having clear strategic direction that is both nimble and market sensitive is crucial to bringing vision and resource alignment and mission/cause fulfillment. Let me offer my version of a simple 7-step strategic mapping process that generates innovative solutions to move an organization, large or small, forward. Strategy Alive™ consists of seven steps: Examine. Explore. Extract. Establish. Execute. Evaluate. Excite. [...]

2022-11-23T18:27:23+00:00February 2nd, 2016|Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Professional Development, Servant Leadership, Strategy, Team Building|
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Servantology: The Periodic Elements of Trusted Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership During the last two decades, there has been an explosion of interest in the philosophy and practices of “Servant Leadership.” Many business thought-leaders believe that Servant Leadership is the new leadership model for the 21st century. This is especially true in light of the fact that the American workforce is radically changing and by 2025 over 65% of all workers in the U.S. will consist of the Millennial generation who view leadership from a new perspective. It's Not About You Harvard Business Review recently stated, “The idea of Servant Leadership is a great place for new managers to start...The [...]

2022-11-23T18:26:41+00:00January 13th, 2016|Employee Engagement, Leadership, Professional Development, Servant Leadership, Team Building|
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Problem-Solving: Lessons From Pac-Man and Harry Houdini

  Lesson From Pac-Man It was in the 1980s that the immensely popular video arcade game Pac- Man hit the market. Constantly being chased by his enemies Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, Pac-Man tried to elude his captors while moving end­lessly through the maze eating pac-dots. His reward for successfully eating all of the pellets, was being promoted to the next level to start the process all over again! Increase Our Value-Add As leaders, when we get good at solving problems, our reward is that we get to handle bigger problems…and more of them. I’ve often thought that senior leaders could [...]

2022-11-23T18:16:57+00:00December 28th, 2015|Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Personal Growth, Problem Solving, Professional Development|
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Problems + Disruption = Opportunity

Increase From The Ox One of my favorite metaphors from the ancient agrarian world is encapsulated in the saying, “Without oxen a stall is clean, but great is the increase by the power of the ox.” The sage explains a choice every farmer had to make (and we do too). If they wanted a full harvest, abundant fruitfulness, large profit, and a steady increase from the efforts of their hard-working ox, then they had to feed the ox and keep its stall clean. Those were the pros. The cons? Lots of poop had to be cleaned up each day out of [...]

2018-05-02T14:54:51+00:00December 20th, 2015|Leadership, Personal Growth, Problem Solving, Professional Development|
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Overcoming The Pitfall of One-Dimensional Thinking

Getting Beyond The First Right Answer Leaders who are open to new perspectives are often able to arrive at better and more complete solutions to the problems they encounter in life and work. Yes, the answers to some questions are black and white, yes and no, plain and simple. But for many other questions, quick fixes, memorized sound byte responses, and one-dimensional conclusions don’t always fix systemic and multi-layered issues and problems. Bottom line: Multi-dimensional problems can’t be solved long-term with one-dimensional solutions. One-Dimensional thinking As a kid, I remember when I thought I had the world of one-dimension­al mathematics figured [...]

2022-11-23T17:03:34+00:00November 29th, 2015|Leadership, Personal Growth, Professional Development, Team Building|
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Leadership 101: Our Perspective Colors Everything

As Our Perspective Brightens, Our Effectiveness Broadens Our perspective fuels our emotions and emotions fuel our actions. Success in work, life and leadership is first an inside job. Our internal perspectives and the way we see things affect everything about us. Like a row of dominos that fall when one is pushed over, our perspectives create a ripple effect that sets off a chain of emotions and actions in our lives. In this post I want us to look briefly at the power of our perspectives and how they can help to bring about exceptional life outcomes for each of us. [...]

2022-11-23T17:01:37+00:00November 22nd, 2015|Leadership, Personal Growth, Professional Development|
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We’re Wired For Community

Interdependence Not Independence One of the secrets for a satisfying life and a high performing work team is not independence, nor is it over-dependence on others, it is interdependence. The software of our souls is coded with a need to connect with others and experience genuine community, not just in our personal lives, but in our work lives, too. People are wired for community. We’re made this way; it's in our DNA. Of course, it was the Industrial Revolution that helped turn workers into cogs without soul. But Management 2.0 is changing that forever. A new movement is brewing. People crave [...]

2018-05-02T14:58:28+00:00November 2nd, 2015|Employee Engagement, Leadership, Professional Development, Team Building|
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Iron Sharpeners: Team-Building in the New Economy

Team Building Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Developing your potential is important. It’s a foundational building block of success. Developing the best in someone else is even more impressive. But developing the potential and capacity of a team of people really raises the bar. It sets leaders apart in this new economy. Developing a team is a prized skill and makes a huge difference in the lives of others. Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” Team-builders or “Iron-Sharpeners,” as I like to call them, strive to win championships, not just games. They [...]

2018-05-02T14:59:42+00:00October 29th, 2015|Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Personal Growth, Professional Development, Team Building|
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Sharpening One Another Toward Greatness

Iron Sharpeners Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Ancient Proverb Iron-Sharpeners are leaders and team-builders that align, utilize and sharpen the talents and strengths of others. They harness the power of unity out of diversity. They create team synergy through architecting a sense of genuine community and trust. At the same time, they’re focused and aligned in accomplishing a shared goal. Iron-Sharpeners bring out the best in others. There are many ways to do this. Lessons From the Ancients Here is my list of some practical ways we can “sharpen” one another, “like iron sharpens iron,” by first looking at [...]

2018-04-16T16:52:15+00:00October 28th, 2015|Leadership, Personal Growth, Professional Development, Team Building|
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