Leadership Feeds

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Greg Hoffman on inspiration: “Leaving inspiration to chance, where it just hits you in a random moment, is not a recipe for sustained success in the creative world. You have to go out and find it. While some may be born with a seeker’s mentality, others can learn to be more curious. Curiosity is a muscle, and muscles need to be trained.” Source: Emotion By Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike II. Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler on deliberately practicing soft skills: “Few people, if any, would think of practicing with a coach to learn how to get along with coworkers, motivate team members to improve quality measures, emotionally connect with a troubled teen, or talk to a physician about a medical error. Most of us don’t even think that soft and gushy interpersonal skills are something you need to study at all, let alone something you’d study and practice with a coach. But that’s precisely what should be going on. “Many of the profound and persistent problems we face stem from a lack of skill (which in turn stems from a lack of deliberate practice) than from a genetic curse, a lack of courage, or a character flaw.” Source: Influencer: The Power to Change Anything * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday…

Personal growth is the first practice of remarkable leaders. Show up as the person you aspire to become. What are you waiting for? Average leaders show up as their best selves. Remarkable leaders… Continue reading →

“When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.” Brenda Ueland You might be a lousy listener if… #1. Listening feels easy. #2. Listening is about technique. #3. Solutions are top of mind. More… Click the link to expand your leadership influence.

Feelings are based on perceptions. An imagined offense causes real resentment. Emotion produces action. Emotion based on an imagined violation results in destructive action. Stop solving problems that don’t exist. Don’t trust your feelings. Do this instead.

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Tom Asacker on leading with people: “Those skilled at motivating people to cross a new bridge to change their beliefs and behavior, are not trying to cajole or manipulate them against their will. Rather, they seek to guide them to a new destination, a transformed way of feeling, thinking and acting that’s aligned with their personal desires and values. Effective leaders know that the first essential step to changing people’s behavior is to understand their perspectives and embrace their desires and beliefs. Everything else flows naturally from there.” Source: The Business of Belief II. August Turak on the three types of transformation: “All human motivation arises from a longing for transformation. There are three different types of transformation. When thirsty man drinks, he transforms his condition. When a poor man the lottery, he transforms his circumstance. And when Mr. Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning an utterly new man, he has experienced a transformation of being. All three types of transformation are necessary. It is only when we try to replace one type of transformation with another that we get into trouble. When we turn sustenance into ‘comfort food,’ are actually trying to fill that hole in our soul by overfilling our stomach. Comfort food is an attempt to substitute a transformation of condition for a transformation of being, often with disastrous results. Food,…

Personal struggle is an unexpected source of lasting impact. “Life is not about you. It is about what you do for others.” – Tom Rath Discover 10 sources of competence and learn how reflecting on your struggles can lead to meaningful contribution. Transform personal challenges into opportunities for growth and leadership.

A reader asks, “Can we be a good leader if our personal life is in shambles…?” How good do you have to be to lead? I gave this reader 5 observations. What do you think about my response? How would you respond?

Discover the power of deep listening for leaders. Learn how ‘Lead with Ears’ can be used for energizing aspirations and to enhance influence. This post reveals 7 impactful questions to unlock and empower your team’s true potential. You can transform your leadership today.

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Nance Guilmartin on the need to take a pause: “Today you need the ability to discern what lies beneath people’s words, their reactions, or their silence. If you don’t build the neuropathways in your brain to pause, to momentarily disengage your automatic reactions, you can trigger a chain reaction that derails your best intentions and strategies.” Source: The Power of Pause: How to be More Effective in a Demanding, 24/7 World II. Lawrence Levy on the nature of innovation: “Culture is the invisible force on which innovation depends. We like to pin the mantle of invention on individuals, not circumstances. We anoint heroes and tell their stories. Yet innovation is a collective undertaking. It is as much the product of circumstance as of genius.” Source: To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Like us on Instagram and Facebook for additional leadership and personal development ideas.  …

A SECRET to lifelong success is to always be in learning mode, personally and organizationally. In Cultures of Growth, Mary Murphy contrasts a Culture of Growth with its growth mindset and the fixed mindset of a Culture of Genius. These mindsets exist on a continuum. We don’t just have one or the other. We are not static. We frequently shift from one to the other depending on what we are experiencing. Instead of questioning if a person has a fixed or a growth mindset, the question we should ask is: “When are you in a fixed mindset, and when are you in a growth mindset?” In aiming to evaluate individuals’ mindset set points, organizations often end up putting an inordinate amount of focus on what employees bring to the table and not enough on how that table is constructed. Too often, we label people as one or the other without considering the context and the culture that creates and maintains a particular mindset. “The culture surrounding us is one of the biggest influences on our beliefs, motivations, and behavior. This mindset culture exists at the group and organizational level.” Critical to our job as leaders is the understanding that “Mindset culture is so powerful that it can actually block an individual’s growth mindset.” A Culture of Growth encourages confidence and intrinsic motivation, process orientation, a tolerance for risk, and resilience. A Culture of Genius is characterized by know-it-alls, status, talent, competition, task orientation, limited potential and opportunities, and a…

NAVY SEALs talk about the Gouge. But what is it? It’s not a thing but mental readiness—a preparedness that is based on some foundational beliefs. It is a place you bring yourself and others to mentally. It is defined by Admiral and former Navy SEAL Bob Harward in The Gouge!, as “the contract we all have with humanity, sharing the best of everyone for the collective well-being of all. It was always intended to be information you could believe in, people you could trust, organizations you could rely on because it came from people who wanted the best for you, and therefore good for all.” What caught my attention was the subtitle of the book: How to Be Smarter Than the Situation You Are In. The Gouge is more than just good advice shared with others. It is a perspective that brings out the best in others. It is a decision-making tool that presents obstacles as choices. Harward explains: Each choice is filtered through the collective experience and wisdom of those participating and reinforced accountability to each other and to yourself, faith in one another, and inherent trust, which facilitates deliberate action. Once the choice is made, you’re committed and focused on making the right choice. To have Gouge, you must be a tuned-in person with the following fundamental beliefs: Mission First. People Always. We can make others better every day. As a leader, “you are a participant in human development. If we can take care of people and…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Peter Block on freedom and accountability : “Freedom being the choice to be a creator of our own experience and accept the unbearable responsibility that goes with that. Out of this insight grows the idea that perhaps the real task of leadership is to confront people with their freedom. This may be the ultimate act of love that is called for from those who hold power over others. Choosing our freedom is also the source of our willingness to choose to be accountable. The insight is that freedom is what creates accountability. Freedom is not an escape from accountability, as the popular culture so often misunderstands.” Source: Community: The Structure of Belonging II. Peter Koestenbaum on free will and responsibility: “Freedom is a fact inside your heart. It is your most precious possession. It gives you power over your life. It gives you the benefit of being responsible for your existence and accountable for your life. Free will cannot be explained scientifically—only philosophically, poetically, religiously, or mythologically. Claiming your freedom is the ultimate secret for mastering your life.” Source: Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness—A Philosophy for Leaders * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Like us on Instagram and Facebook for additional leadership and personal development ideas….

HERE’S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in July 2024 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Lead Boldly: How to Coach Others to Greatness (The Transformational Coach) by Hugh Blane In Lead Boldly, peak performance coach Hugh Blane shares his three guiding principles for converting human potential into inspired performance. He does this by providing a detailed road map for transforming a leader’s results at work and home in unprecedented ways. Lead Boldly makes the compelling case that there are vast levels of untapped potential in every corner and cubicle of organizations. Because of unparalleled stress, burnout, disengagement, and continual distraction, employers are sitting on a treasure trove of potential but have, until Lead Boldly, lacked the keys to developing the mindset and skill set to unlock it. Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future by Mike Maples Jr and Peter Ziebelman The breakthrough concepts of Pattern Breakers come from the observations of Mike Maples Jr., a seasoned venture capitalist, who noticed something strange. Start-ups like Twitter, Twitch, and Lyft had achieved extraordinary success despite their disregard for “best practices.” In contrast, other startups deemed highly promising often failed, even when they seemed to do everything right. Pattern-breaking success, they reveal, demands a different mindset and actions to harness developments others miss or that may, at first, seem crazy. Maples and Ziebelman vividly illustrate an unexpected world where chaos is welcome,…

Here is a selection of Posts from June 2024 that you will want to check out: The Art of Adapting: Staying Fresh in Your Leadership by @WScottCochrane When Teams Can’t Trust Their Leaders by @philcooke Edith Bolling Galt Wilson-Biden by @jamesstrock Escape These Communication Traps Without Creating Conflict by @KateNasser The Grit Behind the Grime: How Summer Jobs Teach Lasting Life Skills by @artpetty "A history without a country" — it’s no wonder why many Belgians still ask themselves what it mean to be a Belgian! Take a quick tour of my trip to #Ghent and #Bruges with that question in mind by @markdmckinney Six Ways Leaders Can Develop Grit by @TerriKlass Are We Focusing on Values or Results? by @mr_swarr Deepfakes, Debates & Democracy by @jamesstrock My Month Without a Smartphone by @tedlamade 6 Early Warning Signs You’re Dealing With a Toxic Person by @cnieuwhof What Music Can Teach Us About Doing Our Best from @JohnBaldoni How to Give Constructive Feedback To Your Creative Team by @PhilCooke 7 Essential Requirements For All Good Leaders by @DanReiland 10 Ways You Can Spot Insecurity In Any Leader by @WScottCochrane Cultivating the Self-Confidence to Take Chances on You by @artpetty Learn to take a chance on yourself How To Become a Thought Leader by @wallybock Lazy Work, Good Work by @morganhousel It’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that the most productive use of a knowledge-worker’s time could be sitting on a couch thinking How to Beat Burnout and…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Professor L.A. Paul on how to think about important life choices: “As we live our lives, we find ourselves confronted with a brute fact about how little we can know about our futures—just when it is most important to us that we do know. For many big life choices, we only learn what we need to know after we’ve done it, and we change ourselves in the process of doing it. I’ll argue that, in the end, the best response to this situation is to choose based on whether we want to discover who we’ll become.” Source: Transformative Experience II. Lee Kuan Yew on leadership: “The task of the leaders must be to provide or create for them a strong framework within which they can learn, work hard, be productive and be rewarded accordingly. And this is not easy to achieve.” Source: The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Like us on Instagram and Facebook for additional leadership and personal development ideas.  …

IF SOMEONE was to ask you who is your customer, you would probably easily answer the question. Regardless of what you do at work you probably know who buys the product or service your company makes. Now, if that same someone were to ask you who consumes the work that you personally do, the answer may not come as easily. In a lot of cases, the person who uses what you make isn’t the end customer of your company. It’s likely to be someone who works for your company. What would change if you began to think of that person as your customer? It’s a question most people never consider. How does the work I do make my colleagues more or less successful? It becomes particularly challenging for people working outside of any product development roles. If you work in finance, who uses that spreadsheet you create? What about the legal team? They create policies. How well do those policies enable the work of those who have to follow them? In other words, how well does your work “work?” Making your customers successful defines the value of your work. The simplest way to know if you’ve done that is to see (and measure) how their behavior changes once you’ve delivered your work. Did your spreadsheet reduce or increase the number of questions asked about the budget? Did the procurement policy you implemented decrease or increase vendor onboarding time? These are the true measures of success and value. The act…

Last Wednesday, June 12, in front of almost 60,000 people, the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, was inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame. In an outstanding, emotional 20-minute acceptance speech, he reflected on football and life. Here are some of his key thoughts that apply to us all. It’s hard to throw, catch, block and tackle and hit kids when they’re way bigger and way more developed than you, only to go home that night bruised and battered and strained, but knowing that you have to show up again the next day for just the chance to try again. But understand this: life is hard. No matter who you are, there are bumps and hits and bruises along the way. And my advice is to prepare yourself because football lessons teach us that success and achievement come from overcoming adversity and that team accomplishment far exceeds anyone’s individual goals. To be successful at anything, the truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t. Consistent, determined, and willing to work for it. No shortcuts. If you look at all my teammates here tonight, it would be impossible to find better examples of men who embody that work ethic, integrity, purpose, determination, and discipline that it takes to be a champion in life. We led by example. Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas.  …

SUMMER is here. The summer is a perfect time to explore new ideas and perspectives to challenge your thinking and expand your potential. Create a summer reading plan. Try a book you usually don’t pick up. Wally Bock offers his advice on this here. Here are ten suggestions for books released this year to inspire you and help grow your leadership.   Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg – (February 2024) Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and his trademark storytelling skills to show how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation. (Blog Post)   Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict by William Ury – (February 2024) In Possible, Ury argues conflict is natural. In fact, we need more conflict, not less—if we are to grow, change, evolve and solve our problems creatively. While we may not be able to end conflict, we can transform it—unleashing new, unexpected possibilities. With this groundbreaking book, international negotiator William Ury shares a new “path to possible”—time-tested practices that will help readers unlock their power to constructively engage and…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Michel de Montaigne on safeguards: “The infancies of all things are feeble and weak. We must keep our eyes open at their beginnings; you cannot find the danger then because it is so small: once it has grown, you cannot find the cure.” Source: Michel de Montaigne – The Complete Essays   II. Martyn Newman on self-reliance: “Being self-reliant does not mean that you just go out and do your own thing. It means being secure enough in yourself to turn to others and take into account different points of view while also regarding yourself as finally responsible for working what has to be said or done. “When you boil it down, self-reliance involves having confidence in your own judgement as a leader, and being able to control where you devote your most productive emotional and intellectual energy.” Source: Emotional Capitalists: The Ultimate Guide to Developing Emotional Intelligence for Leaders * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Like us on Instagram and Facebook for additional leadership and personal development ideas.  …

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Dean Williams on real leadership: “In exercising real leadership, one must be open to new ideas and novel information. One must be willing to test deeply held assumptions and question prevailing truths. Too often managers in organizations write off people they dislike and refuse to entertain ideas that don’t agree with their particular paradigm or sense of the way things should be.” Source: Real Leadership: Helping People and Organizations Face Their Toughest Challenges II. Kim Scott explaining why leaders are the exception to the “criticize in public” rule of thumb: “When you encourage people to criticize you publicly, you get the chance to show your team that you really, genuinely want the criticism. You also set an ideal for the team as a whole: everyone should embrace criticism that helps us do our jobs better. The bigger the team, the more leverage you get out of reacting well to criticism in public. “Too many managers fear that public challenge will undermine their authority. It’s natural to want to repress dissent, but a good reaction to public criticism can be the very thing that establishes your credibility as a strong leader, and will help you build a culture of guidance.” Source: Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find…

WITH uncertainty as a given, we need to approach what we do with a different mindset. Innovation is key to sustainability. The Venture Mindset offers a way to rethink your decision-making process. Ilya Strebulaev conducted the largest survey of VC investors, held hundreds of interviews, and collected what became the largest database of unicorns and unicorns-to-be and their founders. This search revealed many practices of VCs. Together with a venture builder Alex Dang they translated these learnings into practical lessons for traditional organizations and present them in The Venture Mindset. So, what is the Venture Mindset? The Venture Mindset is a new mental model where failure is a must, due diligence is put on its head, dissent is encouraged, ideas are rejected in their myriads in search of a single winner, plugs are pulled, and time horizons are extended. Here are the nine key aspects of the Venture Mindset, the most important guiding principles: Home Runs Matter, Strikeouts Don’t VCs worry more about errors of omission than they do about errors of commission. Most organizations get that turned around. The concern is not the chance of failure but the risk of missing out on the possible success. “The goal is not to win each time. The goal is not to miss the opportunity to win big at least once.” That means that you have to experiment and be comfortable with accepting failure. Every decision made will not be a win. To win in the end, “you need to be…

Botanists will tell you to have a vision for how you want a plant to look before you start pruning it. The same is true for your life and your business. Whether you’re talking about programs, processes, personal commitments, or even people – over time, they all tend to accumulate. You simply end up with more of everything. However, overgrowth impedes your ability to scale yourself and your business. In order to grow, you’re going to have to prune. Continue reading The Pruning Principle at Full Focus.

It’s that time of year again. The weather is changing, leaves are falling off the trees, and your favorite leadership podcast is talking about Strategic Planning again. If there’s one thing that humans do well, it’s imagining the future. (We can do it badly, too, of course.) But the important thing is that we can create better outcomes for ourselves and our businesses when we do it intentionally. That’s where Strategic Planning comes in. Continue reading 6 Essential Ingredients for Effective Strategic Planning at Full Focus.

“Quiet quitting” seems to be the hot topic of conversation in business and leadership circles right now. But what exactly is “quiet quitting”? How can you figure out if your employees are doing it? And, perhaps most importantly, how can you create an organizational culture where your team members will feel empowered in their job?   Continue reading How to Avoid Quiet Quitting in Your Business at Full Focus.

You spend your days managing details, scheduling meetings, and replying to emails — by the time you start on the “real work,” the workday is half over. This ends up cutting into your personal life as you try to make up for lost time. It all leads to you feeling more tired, more stressed, and less productive at work and at home. If you heed our advice, you can minimize this pain. The advice is simple: hire an executive assistant! Continue reading 5 Mistakes Business Owners Make When Hiring an Assistant at Full Focus.

Last week we talked about the importance of a thriving company culture. Hopefully, Michael and Megan made the case that a company culture is both important and the responsibility of the leader. We’re going to continue that conversation by talking about how businesses can actually cultivate a thriving company culture – no matter where they’re starting from.   Continue reading 4 Ingredients for a Thriving Company Culture at Full Focus.

Anywhere you find a group of people, you’ll find a culture. That’s true for families, churches, cities, neighborhoods, and anything else you can think of that includes more than one person. This idea is especially true for businesses. Leaders need to have a vision for how they want their culture to look and feel. If they don’t, they could find themselves surrounded by a toxic culture that not only hurts business but makes everyone miserable. Continue reading Why a Thriving Culture Is Essential at Full Focus.

Your business is probably the largest single asset in your portfolio. You’ve invested time and money, and, one day, you may want to see a healthy return on those investments. If you want to maximize the value of your business, then you should start making plans today. Continue reading How to Maximize the Market Value of Your Business in 8 Steps at Full Focus.

There is no denying that you will get further, faster with a good coach. But what about a great coach? How much further could you get with amazing coaching? Today’s episode tackles that question by talking with LeeAnn Moody, Director of Performance Coaching for Full Focus. LeeAnn and Michael break down the four characteristics of great coaching and help you identify what you might need to be successful for your organization. Continue reading What Makes Good Coaching Great at Full Focus.

During the height of the pandemic, everyone was forced to go remote. But, now that offices have opened back up, leaders and staff are confronted with some challenging questions around a seemingly basic concept: Where should work happen? Continue reading What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Remote Work at Full Focus.

What if you could grow your business and only do about 20% of the work you’re currently doing? If that were true, you would do almost anything to find out how to do it, right? Continue reading The 10/80/10 Principle: Grow Your Business with 20% of the Work at Full Focus.