One of my favorite buildings is the Chrysler Tower in New York City. Although it was constructed 90 years ago, that building is still standing because it was built with integrity. Since it was designed and assembled properly, it doesn’t need to be propped up—it just needs to be maintained. The same can be said…
I can’t get what I need. My boss doesn’t understand me. My organization’s systems don’t work. I don’t have the resources I need. My job doesn’t take advantage of my strengths. No one appreciates me. My boss micromanages me. There’s no room for me to grow. They don’t understand how much I could be contributing…
Dear Madeleine, I work in a very large company and have managed a small team for a couple of years. About a year ago, my department got a new leader, who is my manager’s boss. This new leader came from another part of the company and apparently is being groomed for the senior leadership team. …
I’ve always appreciated this quote from famed author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: “Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.” What good is building character only to have it erode due to a lack of maintenance? Coaching enables people to gain clarity about who they are,…
When people hear the phrase servant leadership, they are often confused. These folks think you can’t lead and serve at the same time. Yet you can, if you understand that servant leadership consists of two parts: A visionary/direction, or strategic, role—the leadership aspect of servant leadership; and An implementation, or operational, role—the servant aspect of…
Think about a leader you admire. Maybe it is the CEO of your company, the principal of your local high school, or the president of your alma mater. If I asked you about the specific qualities that made them successful, you’d probably tell me about their hard skills—teachable abilities such as vision and strategic thinking.…
The negative, almost nasty, comment to one of my LinkedIn posts bugged me. I spent 30 minutes formulating a clever response and then, another 30 minutes trying to figure out how to post it. I could see the man’s comment in my notifications, but when I clicked “check it out” or “join the conversation,” I…
Do the people you work with know what you expect of them? Do they know what to expect of you? Pause, please, and really consider those two questions. If I walked into your workplace and asked your team these questions, would I get immediate answers? Would I get consistent answers? Would I get answers you…
In this episode of the Blanchard LeaderChat podcast Chad Gordon interviews Jackie Freiberg, coauthor of Cause!: A Business Strategy for Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness. Freiberg describes how finding your purpose helps organizations and individuals take their performance to a new level. Freiberg shares how organizations need to find their cause if they are going to…
Dear Madeleine, I am currently in an unfulfilling job. I also have digestive health issues that are not being resolved through diet and supplements. I am a creative person and I long to travel. I currently want to leave my job and travel around the world to heal and to write about my experiences—a blog…