“I just don’t have the time!”
October 18, 2018
October 18, 2018
September 27, 2018
A client of mine, who happens to be an excellent divisional leader, recently inherited a new region. He didn’t have a lot of time to get them up to speed, as he’d done in the past with the other regions in his division, and in an effort to get everyone on the same page, he created a five point leadership message that he emailed out prior to his meetings in his new region. (more…)
July 19, 2018
June 21, 2018
Imagine that you’re looking at a coin…one side is worry and the other side is confidence.
Why is worrying so addictive to us humans? Everyone does it. Worrying is one of the most powerful forms of visualization. This is our reality because you’re using your five sense while worrying. Sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. (more…)
May 17, 2018
So many of my clients have been asking me a great and very relevant question, what can I recommend they do, to give them and their organization, a competitive edge? In other words, a way to elevate them in the eyes of others.
I like to keep things simple. So here’s my simple, easy, 100% guarantee input that will immediately give you the upper hand… (more…)
April 18, 2018
Over the past year, I’ve been asked to help many individuals find their new job/career opportunity. Unfortunately, they have had to make this a reactive vs. proactive activity. Below are a few thoughts I’d like to share with you to support your career.
Many of you are in the age range from 40-55, which are your peak earning years. You might think that a fifteen year span is a long period of time to get your career/finances in order, but it’s merely a blip on the radar screen of your life. (more…)
March 8, 2018
Self-Image is the internal picture you hold of yourself. You can’t out-perform your self-image as it creates the boundaries for you in your life. In other words, how far do YOU think you can go?
Self-Esteem is how you feel about yourself. It defines what you think you’re capable of doing and what you think you deserve to achieve. The words feel and deserve are the key words here. (more…)
February 8, 2018
Great branding is partially about distinguishing your company as an innovator, not an imitator. The idea is to differentiate yourself from your competitors in your customer’s mind and heart. (more…)
January 25, 2018
Some of your team members, including high performers, are not going to stay with you forever. For this reason, I recommend that you set aside four hours each month to cultivate a prospective farm team. You can use this team to replace players who are promoted or leave your company. You can’t afford to wait until a vacancy occurs to start this process. (more…)
January 11, 2018
Should you or shouldn’t you? Yes or no? Now or later? Bureaucrats somehow find a way to avoid making decisions so they can escape all responsibility. But good leaders and coaches know that making decisions is essential to leadership. After all, your company or team can’t make progress unless you’re willing to make decisions.
In a perfect world, you would have all the time you need to make a decision. In reality, many decisions must be made quickly (more…)
December 28, 2017
A good friend of mine likes to say that there are three types of people: Those who think, but don’t act, those who act, but don’t think and a very small percentage who think both before and after they act. I urge you to join the ranks of the latter. These are the “reflective thinkers” among us, and they usually make great coaches, managers and leaders. (more…)
December 14, 2017
Leaders do not give up easily on their people, or pull the plug too quickly on possibilities. Their faith and persistence overcome their doubts or discouragement. By remaining patient and refusing to acknowledge failure, they are usually able to find successful courses of action and move forward to the completion of their goals. (more…)
November 30, 2017
Leaders make a conscious effort to develop winning habit patterns for themselves and their team. A “habit” is something that you or your team does in a regular and repeated (virtually automatic) way. In other words, winning can become a habit; unfortunately, so can losing. (more…)
November 16, 2017
If your number one goal is to ensure that everyone likes and approves of you, you will inevitably compromise your integrity and, therefore, your credibility as a leader.
Let’s face it, not every decision you make as a leader will be popular, but that’s as it should be. Down deep, every member of your team wants a leader who will make the hard decisions, based on what’s best for the entire group rather than what’s best for themselves or certain individuals. The leader’s role can be a lonely and unpopular one at times. But even the most disgruntled team will respect the leader who has the courage and character to stand firm and make the tough decisions.
It’s good to reflect on the time- honored business axiom: “Character is what you are; reputation is what others think you are. Reputation comes from others, but character is in you.”
Excerpt from The New Coaching Illustrated
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November 2, 2017
Tough time constraints on today’s managers make it virtually impossible to devote an equal amount of time to every team member. In an effort to increase overall performance, most managers tend to devote more time to improving their underachievers—but I always advise spending more time leveraging your high-performers. Here’s why: (more…)
October 19, 2017
Many leaders mistakenly believe that everyone expects them to have all the answers—but that’s not logical. You may know a lot, but you can’t know everything. The days of the Lone Ranger are over. In today’s complex business environment, you need the ideas, zest, energy, enthusiasm and collaboration of every member of your team. And they need yours. (more…)
October 5, 2017
Virtually all great coaches see themselves as teachers. Teaching is not just a skill, it’s an honor. It’s the art of imparting your knowledge and experience to someone else— and isn’t that the heart of good leadership?
Instead of just telling people what to do, a good coach takes the time to patiently show them how to do it. (more…)
September 21, 2017
Most of us love to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s one of the reasons people go to work for a company.
If you work at Microsoft, for example, you feel motivated by knowing that the mundane tasks in your morning in-box contribute directly to worldwide advancements in information technology. If you work for Acme Plumbing you are energized by being part of one of the top repair outfits in your community. (more…)
September 7, 2017
I call it “One-on-One Leadership,” but it goes by many names. I’ve heard it called “Management by Walking Around.” Or, alternately, “Face-to- Face” Management. Or sometimes even EB2, which actually stands for “Eyeball-to-Eyeball” Management. Whatever you want to call it, you need some in your coaching philosophy—and here’s why: (more…)
August 24, 2017
Ultimately, your success as a leader will be largely determined by how well you maintain your balance in the face of short-term difficulties and disappointments.
Leaders do not give up easily or remain discouraged. Their long- range goals help insulate them from the frustration and disappointment of short-term setbacks. Tenacity and resilience are high values with the best leaders. They may give out, now and then, but they never give up. (more…)
August 10, 2017
One of the biggest threats to fresh ideas and innovation is the phrase, “We’ve always done it this way.” Did you know that people wore shoes for hundreds of years before someone finally took a fresh look and invented left shoes and right shoes? (more…)
July 27, 2017
Winning coaches have developed long antennae. They try to stay tuned to the sometimes subtle signals that are coming from each member of their team. All verbal, non-verbal, and written communication—even omissions and silence—can cue a leader to potential issues that may need personal attention. (more…)
July 13, 2017
It happens to the best of us. Tom Hanks used to throw up before performing. Cher had to be physically pushed out on the stage for her first concerts. Warren Buffet was too nervous to stand up and speak at his first stockholders’ meetings. (more…)
June 22, 2017
Here’s a useful little rule of thumb: To determine reality, simply compare a person’s words (what they “say” they do) with their actions (what they “actually” do).
To be an effective coach, you must constantly uncover and deal with reality—but words alone can be deceiving. That’s why you must compare your team members’ actions to their words. (more…)
June 8, 2017
Time is one of the leader’s most precious resources, but distractions and activity traps are all around us. In today’s fast-paced world, we must continuously come back to the basic leadership question: Am I allocating enough time to the right things—my Top 20% responsibilities—today and every day? They include:
May 25, 2017
Successful coaches focus on building solid, steady, long-term relationships with their team members. These relationships resemble partnerships because they ideally involve 1) close cooperation, 2) mutual expectations, and 3) shared responsibilities. (more…)
May 11, 2017
Make proactive thinking a natural and consistent part of your makeup as a leader. With proactive thinking you don’t have to settle for life the way it comes to you; you can design your life to come to you the way you want it. (more…)
February 9, 2017
“Give the world the best that you have and the best will come back to you.” That beautiful quote from Madeline Bridges captures the original spirit and intent that launched the Mark David Corporation thirty years ago this month. And believe me, those words are just as relevant today as they were in the very beginning. (more…)
December 15, 2016
Good leaders have the attitude, “I will never dodge or avoid a problem.” They embrace the idea that a big part of leadership is anticipating, confronting and proactively solving problems with their people. In fact, if your team ever stops bringing difficult problems to you, it’s a good sign they have either lost confidence that you can help, or concluded you no longer care. (more…)
Here are four mental reminders that will contribute to your success as a leader and coach:
Sincere praise is a powerful (but often overlooked) coaching and leadership tool. It’s powerful because it is not only needed but also appreciated by every person at every level throughout the entire organization. Simply put, everyone appreciates being appreciated. Here are a few insights about praise and recognition that are sometimes overlooked: (more…)
Nothing energizes a team or organization faster or better than a big idea. If your company or department lacks enthusiasm—if your team members are bored—it’s time for a bold move. (more…)
Some favorite expressions of small children: “It’s not my fault. I couldn’t help it. They made me do it. I didn’t mean to. I forgot.”
Some favorite expressions of small adults: “It’s not my job. No one told me. I can’t do everything. Don’t blame me. It couldn’t be helped.”
HA! is one of my favorite little acronyms. (more…)
Most people manage the “what” and the “how,” but the best leaders manage the “why.” By helping their people understand and embrace the “why,” leaders are better able to inspire enthusiasm, trust and loyalty. Here’s how it works: (more…)
There’s a big difference between wanting, believing, hoping and expecting. As a coach, you may “want” something to happen. You may “believe” it can happen. You may “hope” it will happen. But if you and your team don’t fully “expect” it to happen, it probably won’t. (more…)
Years ago the IBM Company asked 500 executives from several different industries to write down their personal definition of “communication.” The definitions were different in several ways, but they were similar in one: Most people agreed that communication had something to do with being “two-way.” (more…)
Is the leader supposed to strike fear into the hearts of his or her followers? Is the leader supposed to make sure that everyone is toeing the company line or conforming to the code of conduct? The truth is, tyrants make terrible leaders; and fear is a very ineffective long-term motivator. (more…)
Lots of companies these days post their Core Values on a poster or plaque in their entryway. Since I’m on the road a lot, I get to see quite a few of these lists, and I am always impressed by the care and thought that obviously went into them. (more…)
Somewhere along the line, someone probably advised you never to make snap decisions. When faced with a difficult choice, we are cautioned to “give it some thought,” or to “mull it over,” or to “sleep on it.”
That may be good advice, but it’s not very practical. In a perfect world, you would have all the time you need to make every decision. In today’s world, however, many decisions must be made quickly, based only on the best information currently available. (more…)
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