In August 2015, I sat in a room with John Maxwell for what was the closest I had been to him in the decade and a half that I had been studying his work. If I’m being honest, I was completely overwhelmed. This session was just prior to the event where I would complete my initial certification to use ...
Assuming we’ve fulfilled the part of our leadership responsibility that lies in tying our organization’s mission, vision, and values to a definite purpose and we’ve invested the effort to recognize what our team members have shown us to truly drive them, we have the key pieces in place to help them ...
Even without knowing where all those parts I stamped out each day would eventually go, who would benefit from them, or how any of the blood and sweat I put into them had even the slightest lasting impact on the greater good, I still found a way to motivate myself each day in spite of always achievin...
As we started looking at ways to provide a clear picture of the purpose each of our team members are working toward, I shared how Pat Lencioni defined “immeasurability” in The Truth About Employee Engagement. Just to be sure that’s fresh in your mind, here it is once more:
Employees need to be ab...
The Law of the Edge states that the difference between two equally talented teams is leadership. Leadership is the key to success!
Chapter 15 begins by reminding us that teams always look for an edge. Sports teams create new plays to outsmart their opponents and win games. They trade for what they ...
My primary focus in writing What’s KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) was to absolutely drive home one single point to every business owner, executive, and manager it could possibly reach. That point, detailed through each separate chapter, was how much impact effective l...
To build a purpose driven organization and to provide our team members with clarity around purpose driven work, part of our leadership responsibility is indeed to become extremely effective at connecting the most monotonous work to something monumental! OK, I realize that likely seems a bit dramatic...
A year or so before I left the manufacturing company I had worked with for nearly my entire adult life, the corporate office launched a campaign that segmented the organization into two distinct business units. Truth be told, this wasn’t anything new; it’s more about branding than anything else… Whi...
Early on in this look at Leading With a Clear Purpose, I shared examples of close friends who have dedicated (and risked) their lives through careers serving others; military, fire, and law enforcement. In detailing those, I even provided some average starting wages for police officers and firefight...
Over the years, I’ve referenced the preamble to the Declaration of Independence numerous times in articles on our website as well as lessons in our Leading At The Next Level program. Just in case it’s not fresh in your mind, I’ll share it once more here - directly from the National Archives website:...
Earlier, we looked at how important it is for anyone in a leadership role to paint a clear picture of the organizational purpose they’re working toward so each member of their teams could have something tangible to connect with. While that was a broad reference that I only touched on in passing as w...
Once we’ve been intentional about adjusting the pace we use to help each of our team members latch onto a purpose that drives them and yields engagement, we can shift our attention to the second piece of the pattern that Marston identified; is our team member more focused on the task at hand or the ...
