Leadership is about creating culture. Sometimes that gets lost in the mix when we look at large and complex organizations. There are great examples of how this looks in a startup, and INC. magazine highlighted some in their June 2011 issue. Here are three things I took away from the article.
Is ego in leaders bad? When we think of ego we too often point to examples where ego has been the destruction of people. Barry Bonds. Bill Clinton. Marion Jones. Richard Nixon. The list could get long. We too often forget that ego is the reason many of these people succeeded in the first place. Ego deserves some exploration.
Ever thought of leading a family vacation as leading a team? There are lots of similarities and family vacations can be looked at as an opportunity for professional development. Read on . . .
Organizations are run much like our culture – at high speed. Might be fine for getting work done, but what is the impact on how we manage our greatest resource – our people? Look no farther than comparing the breathing rate in Africa vs the United States.
Is ignorant a bad word? Should we hire the ignorant? The answers are No and Maybe. It takes a special leader to hire the ignorant and sometimes hiring them is a bad idea. It can also be a powerful word for pushing us to grow.
Do you write thank you notes? It is a powerful way to build trust with others and to monitor how well you are recognizing great things that people are doing around you.
Here is a fun idea for announcing a job change or an addition to your team. Do not miss a change to onboard well or announce a change in responsibilities.
Great leadership and great followership starts and ends with conversations that create understanding and actions. Here is one conversation around Building Trust that makes a difference.
Followers need leaders that tell them the truth AND help them find the path out if they choose to work through a challenge. Here is a story about telling the truth, leadership, followership, and how it can make a big difference in a life.
Leaders need to know others and be known by others. Here is a tool to help start those conversations – it is great leadership and great followership.
What to do with people that are not performing on a team? This is a question asked in my leadership / followership class and I committed to blog on the answer.
A question from my Leadership / Followership class at the Holland Chamber of Commmerce. Question was around the facilitation of a group that was stuck in the decision making process.