A Glimmer of Hope: When Leaders Get It Right

I just arrived back from beautiful Fujairah—one of the northernmost emirates in the UAE—where we held the final module of six in a 15-month leadership development curriculum for a global technology company. The total program included modules around personality, values, organization vision and alignment, leadership style, high performing teams, change management, and motivation—the gamut. This…

Do you have a customer service mindset? 3 ways to find out

Here’s a little game for you. Finish the following phases: “Do unto others as you would have _____ ___ _____ ____.” (Yes, the Golden Rule) “Beauty is in the eyes of ____ _________.” “If it were me, this is what __ ______ ___.” I trust you were able to complete these very common sayings.  While…

Trust, Caring and Connectedness: Who Was Your Best Boss—a creative exercise and reminder

As you look back over your work career, who is the supervisor, manager, or leader that you would identify as your best boss?  And more importantly, what was it about them that made them great in your eyes?  Take a minute now to identify that person.  We’ll use your experience to identify something that will…

What can people expect from you as a leader?

Boss watching is a fact of life in many organizations. Frontline employees are more concerned with keeping the boss happy than they are with keeping the customer happy. Leaders can help employees focus in the right direction by taking the mystery out of what people can expect from them as a leader. Employees are always…

Rebuilding Trust, Commitment, and Morale

Years ago, business owners were asked, “If you had to choose between a fire that wiped out your facilities versus having all of your people quit and walk out at the same time, which option would you take?” Almost everyone said they’d rather lose their buildings and equipment because to rebuild their human organization would…

Who are you as a leader? 6 questions to help with transparency and authenticity

So much of leadership advice focuses on what to say and how to act in ways that creates trust, confidence, and followership.  And while it is important to understand how certain leader behaviors can be interpreted by others, that should never take the place of authenticity.  All of us have a genuine leader inside of…

Changing Behavior—What are you seeing through your “belief window”?

Want to know what a person believes? Watch their behavior. People act consistently with their world view. If someone is acting scared, or selfish, or self-centered, they are telling you something about their beliefs. That’s the message Hyrum Smith, co-founder of LegacyQuest and former vice chairman of Franklin Covey delivered at The Ken Blanchard Companies…