For at least a decade now, I've maintained that having a family business culture is far more about creating the right environment than how many people work at a given location or how far away the corporate headquarters is. Quite frankly, that all ties back to a strong leadership presence - which...

Even if that plant manager I referenced last time had been willing to pretend to be the slightest bit personable in those employee meetings and actually engage the team by accepting a question or two, that would have only served as a starting point! He still would have needed to develop some...

As part of a Live2Lead event a few years back, one of the speakers shared something they witnessed soon after accepting the top role in a new organization. Many of the executives arrived at the corporate headquarters into a private parking lot, entered through a secluded elevator, and went...

Once we’ve accepted a leadership role, there’s never a shortage of things demanding our time and attention. That’s just part of what we signed up for! That said, one thing we just can’t lose sight of, especially if we want to build the kind of leadership presence...

Since Cindy and I had the chance to enjoy the 75% of the Stadium Tour we hung around for (we left during the rain delay because it was already past our bedtime and neither of us were all that bothered about seeing Motley Crue anyway), I’ve seen various pictures posted to social media from...

I once heard that everyone has the power to brighten a room; some do it when they enter and others do it when they leave! During a Strategic Leadership Coaching session recently, I challenged the gentleman I was working with to define the biggest change he had made in how he worked with his team...

Let’s go back to that less than engaging experience I mentioned before where a fellow not named Bret Michaels soured my opinion of every bit of music he and his band had put out during their entire career… He and his band released an EP and five full studio albums before 1983 &...

I’ll be very transparent here, I know my limitations… I'm certain I’ve never even been able to sing as well as Vince Neil (if we can really call what he does now singing), which is a fairly low bar at this point! In fact, I haven’t believed I could sing for more than...

I make no apologies for my taste in music. In fact, I’m convinced the 80’s hairband genre featured some of the most talented musicians and entertainers in the last century. You certainly don’t have to share this opinion, but I’m clearly not alone - as evidenced by the 30...

If you’re willing to wear that cape that comes with truly leading your team, you know that phrase I shared as we started down this path won’t be one you’ll be using as your own any time soon! That whole idea of “I’m only responsible for what I say, not for what you...

If we really want that strong foundation for leadership communication skills, learning to know each member of our team as well as we possibly can is the best starting point I can suggest. To that end, showing our team members that we’re actually interested in who they are rather than just...

At this point, I feel like I’ve pounded the drum loudly enough about communication being a responsibility we can’t duck if we expect to lead anyone around us. And I think you’re probably on the same page with me that the messages we send as leaders are far more than just what we...