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...

Verbalizing a specific purpose that each of our team members identify and connect with can play a critical role in earning that 57% increase in discretionary effort that I referred to throughout What’s KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) and several times as...

As we work to verbalize a purpose each of our team members find fulfillment in and connect with, something they can rally around as a genuine purpose in their life, it won’t be as simple as throwing the proverbial mud against the wall and hoping something sticks. This will require us to be...

Just as much as I get fulfillment by getting things done, there’s a large group of folks who will thrive on having as much fun as they can while they work at achieving their purpose. While this group will likely be every bit as Outgoing and move at a pace that’s just as fast,...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Leadership is HARD! I’m not suggesting that it’s complicated or difficult, just that it nearly always brings a heavy mental and emotional burden. Fulfilling our own responsibilities is often a complicated task in itself but...

Near the end of a recent lesson in our Leading At The Next Level program, I shared something I had found in a Bloomberg.com article that ties right in with what the point we closed with last time; career advancement is not a one-size-fits-all proposition!

Certain jobs attract people with...

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...

Remember that quote I shared from the Snoopy meme, “I’m only responsible for what I say, not for what you understand,” as we started looking at how important communication is for anyone in a leadership role? While I have seen or heard more than a few folks in supervisory or...

Once we accept that it’s way more than what we say, there’s a lot more we’ll need to consider than just our tone and our body language. If we’re really leading the team members who are counting on us, they’ll be watching what we do when those words aren’t...

The one responsibility we can’t duck if we want to lead is communication! But that’s never as simple as just saying the right words!

So picture the movie Rush Hour, where Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker first meet and Tucker asks Chan “Do you understand the words that are coming...