Leadership in Action™ explores the simple, practical, everyday actions that elevate your leadership — helping you show up with clarity, courage, and authenticity in the moments that matter.
“How can you possibly communicate anything meaningful in 140 characters or less?” It’s a question I asked myself while being prodded to check out twitter and one I am often asked now. Boy am I glad I didn’t let my skepticism stop me! Not only have my interactions on twitter been meaningful, but I consider […]
Gossip makes up 80% of our conversations according to Dr. Nicholas Emler as cited in an article in the NY Daily Mail. I’ve heard a similar statistic cited many times. Whether this number is right or wrong the point is we humans spend a whole lot of time doing it. Webster defines a gossip as
In The Benefit of Dissenting Opinion Mike Myatt reminds us of the importance of vigorous debate. I think the reticence of people to offer a dissenting opinion, or hear one for that matter, points to a more fundamental issue getting in the way of progress. We seem to have lost the ability to have passionate
It is way too easy to over commit ourselves these days. Overwhelm and an ever expanding to do list are symptoms that we have a problem. According to conventional wisdom learning to say no is key to solving this problem. But I don’t think the solution to overcoming a habit of over committing is as simple
In Rising from the Ashes I told the story of how Donna led a team to success after having failed previously. One key learning, which made the difference between failure the first time and success the second time, was how to create an accountable relationship with team members. There are two things that often get
Can failure be the source of success? This is a true story… Donna (real person, fictitious name) was someone who had previously failed in managing a project but was now ready to put herself out there again. After all, the project she led before was something no one else had even tried to do. She
A true sign of mastery is realizing just how much you don’t know. Since masters and beginners share “not knowing” in common, why is “not knowing” so freeing for us when we have achieved mastery, and so darn uncomfortable when we are beginners? Amber Naslund got me thinking about this in her post titled The
There is no doubt working with people is a lot less predictable and messy than working with things. When I asked the question “What is your biggest challenge in managing people?” on twitter one of the first responses I got was from @LeeJCarey who said “the biggest challenge in managing people is people”. So true!
You have this big dream or a really exciting idea. Your spirit is brimming with positive energy from the possibility. Your mind is racing with tons of great ideas on how to make it happen. Then you start to think of who you would love to ask to join you. And then you think to
In an excellent post on Leadership and Political Correctness, Mike Myatt of N2Growth discusses the debilitating phenomena of political correctness that has unfortunately, as he puts it, “become a dominant mind-set in our society”. In this post he posed the following question: “Do you ever wonder how the term “Politically Correct” evolved from an obscure catch-phrase that was once used
There are many who believe that once trust has been breached or broken it can never be repaired, at least not to the level that returns the relationship to it’s former state. I absolutely agree with that. Except I believe that while the relationship will never be the same, that does not have to mean
While scanning through some of my earliest blog entries I came across one that had me reflect on the fundamental purpose of this blog: to inspire everyday leadership through everyday actions. We may have an idea of what leadership is, but what does it look like in everyday action? In the post titled The Red Car Theory of Leadership I
In honor of the 4th of July celebration in the United States I have been thinking about what freedom makes possible. Perhaps the most famous line from the Declaration of Independence is this: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
A friend shared an unsettling story with me recently that highlights the perils of a poorly negotiated partnership agreement. I am sharing this story with you for two reasons. One is because it is an important wake up call for anyone who is in or is considering forming a partnership. I cannot emphasize enough how critical
Jane Perdue of The Braitewaite Group graciously agreed to guest post here. Jane is a seasoned HR executive who is now making a difference through coaching, consulting and speaking. She is also a fabulous writer – definitely check out her blog Life Love Leadership. Thank you Jane for sharing your wisdom here. I am grateful
