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Tagged with 'Warren Bennis'

I am Not a Born Leader

Part One of a Series on The Tempting Ten Wallow Words Carl Sandburg, the American historian, poet, and novelist who won two Pulitzer Prizes, once said, “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” With today’s urgent streams of […]

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Authenticity: To Boldly Grow Our Inner Space

In their book, Learning to Lead, Warren Bennis and Joan Goldsmith, write, “To be authentic is literally to be your own author (the words derive from the same Greek root), to discover your native energies and desires, and then find your own way of acting on them. When you have done that, you are not […]

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Why Many Planning Sessions Are a Waste of Time and How to Fix Them

I was asked to facilitate an annual strategic planning retreat with a senior leadership team. The CEO sent me their draft agenda for the session. Hmm…oh, oh…. Looking at the typical approach they’ve used before, four common strategic planning problems immediately popped out: The agenda was loaded with about 17 project/operational presentations/reviews and updates. Yikes! […]

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Shift Happens: From Just Surviving to Thriving in Turbulent Times

The light dawned. I was in a meeting with my colleagues, reviewing the rapid changes in our training and consulting business and sorting through our priorities for the coming quarter. We had doubled our already substantial business over the past 18 months. While the growth was exciting, it was also exhausting. We were piling on […]

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Are you Feeling the Love?

Early in my career, I worked in a company with an inspiring and passionate CEO. He often said, “If you love what you’re doing, you never have to work again.” Love that concept! Most of us hate work. It’s a four-letter word. Hard work is why I left the family farm. Whenever a job started […]

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Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmm on… Strong Leaders Boosting Positive Emotions

Adding to last week’s blog on Emotions at Work… If you ask subordinates what they want in a leader, they usually list three things:  direction or vision, trustworthiness, and optimism. Like effective parents, lovers, teachers, and therapists, good leaders make people hopeful. – Warren Bennis, An Invented Life: Reflections on Leadership and Change   Leadership […]

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Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmm on…Partnering not Patronizing

Sam Walton built Bentonville, Arkansas based Wal-Mart into the world’s largest retailer through treating staff as respected partners. One of his legacies was to “treat them as partners and they will treat you as a partner and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.” A scout leader was trying to lift a fallen […]

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Do You Read to Lead and Succeed?

Read. Lead. Succeed. We’ve been using that tagline on bookmarks, our web site, and other development materials for years. It’s not just three catchy words that rhyme. There’s plenty of evidence to show that many highly effective leaders are avid readers. In his Harvard Business Review article, “For Those Who Want to Lead, Read,” John […]

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Say What? Are the Best Leaders Listeners or Talkers?

Does your team or organization need to improve communications? Would you like to get more e-mails every day? I’ll often ask those two questions in workshops when we’re discussing communications. Most hands go up when asked who would like to improve communications. Often no one raises a hand when asked who would like to increase […]

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Steps to Strengthening Authentic Leadership

In their book, Learning to Lead, Warren Bennis and Joan Goldsmith write, “To be authentic is literally to be your own author (the words derive from the same Greek root), to discover your native energies and desires, and then find your own way of acting on them. When you have done that, you are not […]

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Webinar: 10 Distinctive Behaviors of Highly Innovative Leaders

Decades ago pioneering leadership researcher and author, Warren Bennis, declared, “The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive.” The future is here. Disruptive innovation is destroying and creating whole new industries at a blistering pace. Before experts have finished declaring that something can’t be done or won’t […]

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Growing Through Our Turbulent Times

Years ago I was in a meeting with our team reviewing the rapid changes in our training and consulting business and sorting through our priorities for the coming quarter. We had doubled our already substantial business over the past 18 months. While the growth was exciting, it was also exhausting. We were piling on new […]

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Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmm on…Organizational Culture (Part One)

It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue … but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look … – Henry David Thoreau, American author, poet, and philosopher Before we can learn to lead, we must learn […]

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Is Your Organization Facing a Talent Gap?

As summer fades like the flowers in our garden and we move into a busy fall season we’re planning a series of webinars, executive briefings, and workshops focused on Talent Management. Here’s why: • 70% of executives think their organization lacks adequate bench strength • 97% of organizations report serious leadership gaps, 40% say these […]

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Thoughts on Leadership Reflecting the Legacy of Warren Bennis

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Warren Bennis. Over the past 30 years my views and practices on leadership have been profoundly influenced by his research and writing. After reading his personally revealing and deeply thoughtful memoirs a few years ago (“Review of Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership“) […]

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Season’s Readings: Looking Back to Focus Ahead

As the sands of time run out on another year I’ve found this quieter time is great for looking back over the past twelve months and focusing on what lies ahead. One of the biggest challenges of our time is the tornado of multi-tasking crazy-busy bustle that can spin us around in ever faster circles. […]

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Authentic Leadership Comes from Building Our Strengths

I will be delivering a presentation next April at a healthcare leadership conference. The conference theme focuses on the courage to bring authenticity to action. A couple of my books have chapters on authenticity as one of seven core leadership principles. In light of our work over the past 18 months with Zenger Folkman’s strengths-based […]

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Love, Leadership, and Productivity

Valentine’s Day hearts convey feelings of love and passion. It’s a day to celebrate romantic relationships and express our gratitude and affection for loved ones enriching our lives. February 14 is also a good time to review the powerful impact extraordinary leaders have on their teams and organizations. Exceptional leaders fan the flames of love […]

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Vote for the World’s Top Leadership Gurus

Last spring I was pleasantly surprised to be included in the World’s Top 30 Leadership Gurus for 2011. It’s an honor to be included with the leadership leaders who have inspired and taught me such as Warren Bennis, Tom Peter, Ken Blanchard, Jim Collins, Stephen Covey, Marshall Goldsmith, and Rosebeth Moss Kanter. Voting is now […]

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A Good Time to Check Your Balance and Timeless Leadership Learning

As students head back to school this is a good reminder to check our balance and leadership learning. It’s so easy to lose our personal, team, and organizational balance and not recognize that it’s happening. Have you become trapped as your team’s chief technical problem solver? Are work days an endless series of fighting fire […]

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