Group Dynamic

Here we are at Avonlea Village (for you Anne of Green Gables fans) on our last trip to Canada in 2009.

As I wrote this, I was preparing for family vacation to Manitoba. Yes, that’s right, Manitoba. That’s where we were when this was going to get published on June 29.  Unfortunately, I goofed up the scheduling, so we went a week without the blog; reminder: during this busy summer season, I’m taking a break from original posts and instead, sharing “greatest hits.”

Anyway…

Why Manitoba? Read the rest of this entry »

Are you new to a leadership position, and you’ve found this blog? Here are the top five posts with relevance to new leaders.

By the way, please share this with any Read the rest of this entry »

Some of us enjoy the tidy list. Nice to have as a touchstone, though if we’re serious, we’ll dig deeper. Regardless, here are two for your consideration.

The first is seminal for me – Read the rest of this entry »

Last week we explored the first concept of “the big three.” This week, number two.

This one is simple; it’s just a suggested two word definition of leadership.

Meet needs.

It is astounding Read the rest of this entry »

It is good to be efficient, and it’s also good to be comprehensive. Sometimes those two things don’t work very well together. Over the last 12 years or so, most of my work helping groups has been through 4 to 8 hour leadership workshops. However, there is a demand for leadership training that can be delivered in much shorter periods of time.

This has forced me to work with previous clients to find out which “nuggets” have made the biggest difference for them in terms of their leadership success.  These may not be the most important aspects of leadership, but they are the ones that made the most difference in the shortest amount of time.

There are three.  I have started referring to these as “The Big Three.”

Number One: The Four Levels of Maturity. Read the rest of this entry »

Something that strikes most visitors to Walt Disney World is how “nice” of a place it is. It’s very clean. The employees are called “cast members” because they’re playing a role and they have a reputation for great service and friendliness. Everyone knows that.

But there’s another unique element present at Disney World that is seemingly beyond Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, we covered the first four of nine simple things that an aspiring leader can do in order to stand out.  Here are five more – I’m anxious for your opinions!

1) Whenever possible, Read the rest of this entry »

In preparation for a breakout session at an upcoming conference, I developed a list of ten things a leader can do to stand out and get noticed.  Not in a “look at me!” kind of way, but in a way that will help the leader connect more to others, and to enable others to connect as well.

While all ten pointers are applicable to all potential leaders, there are four that newer, more fast-paced leaders, might relate to more than the experienced.  So, those four this week, the rest next week.  Here we go: Read the rest of this entry »

The title is lifted verbatim from the tenets of Manager Tools, and the brilliant minds of Mark Horstman and Michael Auzenne. I encourage you to go to the source if you want to go deeper.

But the short version is this:

Any feedback on any behavior is most helpful to the individual and the organization if it is Read the rest of this entry »

In time for your New Year’s Resolutions, this article is a great and practical read for Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I raised up the value of the principles in “Drive” by Dan Pink.  If, as research has shown, people are motivated by autonomy, then there is a class of words we ought to avoid, as they can crush autonomy.  These may include “ought,” or “must,” but let’s focus on the one that seems to pass judgement:

Read the rest of this entry »

Came across this — another take on that same topic:

Kindness At The Office – Forbes.com.