Group Dynamic

A true staff meeting story:

Tyler turned to Tykeshia and said “I never Read the rest of this entry »

1996

I was despondent. Poor me. “My people” weren’t engaged.  They didn’t get me; they weren’t loyal, they weren’t receptive, they were leaving me, and it wasn’t my fault.  They just needed to give me more time, to get to know me…

Except… Read the rest of this entry »

“Samantha, please reinstate the afternoon tea and coffee cart for the residents, starting in November.”

Samantha [delivered with sarcastic tone and an eye roll] : “Well, sure, why not. Last time we tried it, Read the rest of this entry »

Something that occasionally presents itself in the world of leadership is that there is one person, also a leader, who doesn’t “get it.”

Maybe it’s another teacher, a member of administration or your direct supervisor. They see what you are doing, they know that those you lead appreciate what you’re doing, but for one reason or another, they don’t think it applies to them. It’s usually one of the following: they think they’re already doing it,  they think their team is doing fine and they don’t have the time to “waste,” or they think their way is better.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Olympics have a way of shining a new light on the meaning of dedication.

The opening ceremonies were comprised of one spectacular vignette after another, with thousands of performers, musicians and athletes knowing exactly where to go and what to do during every minute of their moment in the spotlight. That’s dedication.

Every commercial that runs during the Olympic Games tells the athlete’s tale of foregoing dessert, not watching TV, not skipping a single day’s workout in order to be the best. That’s dedication.

Then there was the Chinese farmer who spent the last two years traveling to London via rickshaw just to see the Olympic games. A little extreme, but yes – that’s dedication.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fear paralyzes; sometimes we allow it to, calling it “caution.” It’s good to be cautious.  Not so good to be paralyzed. Either by over-analysis OR fear.

(Though, extreme analysis can combat fear; see Freakonomics for the statistics on child restraints…)

A good nugget from Tim Ferriss’s Four-Hour Workweek is this (paraphrased):

The thought of the “worst-case scenario” keeps us from acting, yet the worst-case scenario almost Read the rest of this entry »

Clumsy attempts at self improvement are better than smooth successes at nailing the status quo.

A good, and immediate, example is Read the rest of this entry »

An email I received yesterday:

I would be interested in your thoughts about too much Read the rest of this entry »

About a third of my work in leadership training is with youth organizations, with an emphasis on true empowerment of youth leaders to contribute to the organization’s work.  It takes effort, so I was recently asked “Is it worth all the effort to have student leadership?”

I said yes, and here is my full answer:

Many would agree that it isn’t worth Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a leader, you’re likely an expert on something.

If you’re an expert, people come to you for advice and opinion.

And you might find yourself talking and talking and talking.

Then, you realize that you’re talking too much, and listening too little.  You know better, but you’re stuck.  What can you do?

Here’s a phrase that works in nearly every situation:

I don’t know; what do YOU think?

This will force you to stop, and will dignify the people you serve, and build relationships.

But I don’t know – what do YOU think?

I ate in a London pub with a group once, and the server made a mistake when calculating the bill.  Unfortunately, he didn’t believe us, and our argument kept escalating.  I got a little, um, Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Anniversary to the most important book on leadership on my shelf.  Not only is it compelling, research-based, comprehensive, elegant, immediately applicable, and timeless; it changed my life.

Research ought to be relevant, right? So, when it was time  Read the rest of this entry »