Intuitively, the picture resonates. We’ve all had the petty-tyrant boss; the person who loves the sound of their own voice and is oblivious to the resentment and de-motivation they’re engendering. And most of us can relate to the manager who loves to roll up his sleeves and jump in on the line. But don’t…
When I get time to read again, one of the first books on my list is “Delivering Happiness”, by Zappos founder, Tony Hsieh. Also on that list will be several of the books in the presentation below. Maybe there’s a few here for you too. I’ve only read some of these, so can’t vouch for…
Successful communication is an essential leadership and life skill. Engaging well with others depends on it. Here’s Julian Treasure with a 10-minute TedX talk on “How to speak so that people want to listen” that’s very worthwhile, with one caveat about his take on “judging” (more on that in a bit). In summary: If you…
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT having “principles”, but few seem to be guided by their principles consistently, because it’s just too easy to make exceptions. The thing is, if you don’t follow your principles in every case, they’re not principles. Understood and accepted as non-violable, your principles become your “rock” – a steadfast guide to action even…
FURTHER TO POSTS on leadership development (“Why developing leaders is hard…” and “Developing Good Leaders…“), here’s a great slideshow by Steve Dale (@stephendale), on: “… taking responsibility for personal & professional development in order to remain ‘relevant’ in a sometimes chaotic and fast-changing environment” [slideshare id=17012079&style=border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0;margin-bottom:5px&sc=no] Beyond wanting to “remain relevant”,…
THIS IS ARGUABLY the most important text on how teams can and should be managed so as to deliver great customer service. Author Jody Hoffer Gittell does a good job of explaining the specific practices Southwest has developed and maintains in order to consistently deliver an airline experience that’s way better than its competitors, and…
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, which fundamentally is the improvement in an individual’s ability to take the lead and in their people skills, must start from, and be driven by, the learner. Leadership is an individual endeavor. Not solitary, but individual. This is one of the reasons leadership development programs are so often a waste of time and…
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION is the fundamental of #PeopleSkills. Engaging well with others, whether as a leader or just as a human, is vital. And thinking, speaking, and writing are inextricably linked by language; work to improve one, and you improve all. Writing good copy is by no means a skill only needed by those who make…
HAVE YOU GOT 18 minutes to spare? No, scratch that – just make 18 minutes available. Now, or maybe come back later. Either way, this is worth your time. Why you do what you do, whatever that is, is the key. The what you do and the how you do it are tertiary to the…
THERE IS A lot of leadership advice out there. Hundreds of books, thousands of websites; some helpful, most not. Much of it ignores fundamentals; instead offering adhoc, graft-on, band-aid, random, and arbitrary “solutions” with no foundation, little context and no integration. How are you supposed to remember, internalize, and successfully use “The 21 Immutable Laws…
