During the current COVID-19 crisis, “How are you doing (as an organization)?” is a common question I receive from colleagues, friends, and clients. It’s asked in a genuine spirit of caring and concern. Given that most people are used to hearing how bad things are from leaders of other organizations, my response of, “We are doing pretty good actually,” typically … Read More
How to Communicate in a Crisis
I have been communicating a lot over the last two weeks – with our leadership team, with our staff, and with our clients. The disruption COVID-19 has made to our business, and the speed of decisions we as an organization have made as a result is unprecedented. As a training organization, we are in the business of bringing people together … Read More
Always Be Five Minutes Early
One of the sayings I have always resonated with is, “If you’re five minutes early, you’re already ten minutes late.” When my wife and I are meeting friends for supper, I’m worried about being late, so we try to leave in time to be there early. Part of what drives my need to be early is an enormous sense of … Read More
The Art of Prioritizing
For those of you who have been reading my blog regularly or have read my book, The Ordinary Leader, you know that I have been dealing with post-concussion symptoms for a long time. A few weeks ago, I hit my head again. It was a silly incident that shouldn’t’ have happened – I hit my head on a door in … Read More
Why We Need to Let Under-Performers Go
One of the most important decisions we can make as leaders is when to let someone go. Although it’s never a fun decision and an even less enjoyable task, I personally find it easiest to let someone go when their behaviors don’t align with our culture. There is no place for, and I refuse to tolerate, mean-spirited and disrespectful people. … Read More
How to Be an Authentic Leader
[Excerpt from The Ordinary Leader] Many positive adjectives can precede the word leadership – servant leadership, empathetic leadership, and compassionate leadership to name a few. The adjective I like the most is authentic. For me, authenticity ties together so many of the words used to describe good leadership. Being authentic is about expressing yourself congruently – the person others see … Read More
How to Manage Your Email Inbox
The other day I was having lunch with some of my staff, and one of them reminded me of how she and a few others used to take turns transcribing emails for me. They would read me an email, and then I would tell them what to type in response. This was about five years ago, after I sustained a … Read More
Finish What You Start!
My children have always been involved in a variety of activities, ranging from sports to music. They have enjoyed most of their chosen activities and always looked forward to participating in them. However, they have both had instances where they didn’t enjoy an activity they signed up for. In these cases, they would usually at some point come to me … Read More
How to Develop a Culture of Mentorship
[Excerpt from The Culture Question] One often-overlooked strategy for creating a culture where people like to work is to consciously and consistently develop employees through mentorship. Investing in staff in this way creates opportunities for meaningful relationships, shows employees that they are valued, and allows them to develop their abilities, which will ultimately help the organization. A mentoring culture may … Read More
What I’m Learning About How to Let Go
I have been the senior leader within our organization and have overseen our marketing efforts since our inception. In conversations with others, I’ve learned that it’s not an area all leaders delve into or hold up as important enough to merit much of their attention. As such, marketing often becomes an oversight that is delegated to other employees. I, however, … Read More