Leadership
Why Toxic Leadership Starts with Failed Accountability
“There are no ‘toxic leaders,’ just toxic people in leadership positions.” Randolph (2019) That quote is from my first comment, made several years ago during an interview on toxic leadership. Unfortunately, toxic leadership is timeless. I experienced, observed, and fought against it throughout my military career. The interview is below, and the full article is…
Read MoreStrategies: The Best Kept Secret in Many Organizations
“Strategy is executed at the tactical level, but it usually doesn’t reach that far.” Your company has just finished its strategic planning for which it paid a strategic planning consultant $100K to help design, create, or update. Everyone high-fives each other, justifiably proud, and goes out to celebrate. The strategic planning consultant cashes the final…
Read MoreTry Before You Buy: The Power of Book Samples
Sometimes people want to see more of what they are committing to. Book samples allow readers to ‘try before you buy.’ Workbooks, however, require a bigger commitment. It’s tough to buy a workbook without the main book right next to it. Also, the online samples on the Amazon product page are generally not downloadable; they’re…
Read MoreWill Your Vision Mature with Your Potential?
Parts II and 2 “If you do what you’ve always done, you may only get what you have always gotten.” Potential is such a vast subject; sometimes it’s best to combine philosophies if possible. Part I of II was The Promise of Potential, and that idea has not changed. Part 1 of 2 was Will…
Read MoreWill Your Vision Help You Reach Your Potential?
Part 1 Sight is what you see with your eyes. Vision is what you see in your mind. What do you see for your future? Sometimes our vision only meets our capabilities, not our potential. Capabilities are what we know we can do. Potential is what we can do in the future. This may require…
Read MoreThe Promise of Potential in Leadership Development Success
Part I “Leaders are developed over time and with great care.” (Randolph, 2019) The essence of that time and care in leader development is the promise of potential. Most people want to succeed and hope their supervisor, manager, or leader will help them achieve it. Although ‘hope is not a method’ (Sullivan, 1996), we cannot…
Read MorePerfection: The False Expectation in Leadership
(Originally published as Perfection: The Fake News in Leadership on LinkedIn, May 6, 2019). Updated. Perfection is NOT required to be a successful leader. I cannot think of one thing in my life that I have done perfectly. Being thin was never a strength of mine (We live in a skinny-obsessed world). I have never…
Read MoreSmooth Jazz Propels Authors’ Great Stories
There’s nothing like smooth jazz to propel great stories. As I sit back and read The Iraq I Knew… (or whatever book it is) and listen to the soulful sounds of Grover Washington, Jr., I’m now watching the movie in my mind, complete with a soundtrack. Actually, Smooth Jazz Propels Authors’ Great Stories for many…
Read MoreWhy Authentic Digital Connections Matter in Networking
I love the digital age. Not as much as I love mentoring, but the digital age has made life simpler. With the click of a mouse, I can transfer money across the United States, order products from around the world, and know the status of international events in near real time. I can even expand…
Read MoreWho’s In Your Network?
” We all need networks.” But have you ever stopped to wonder: Who’s In Your Network? What would life be like without networks? Most people consider a professional network a must, but what about your personal network? Do you have one? Whether business or personal, it’s always worth asking: Who is actually included when you…
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