What the hell is happening? We can look back at centuries of what makes good and bad leadership. Our culture is rife with leadership programs, courses, and institutes. Books on leadership rain from the sky. We are obsessed with leadership. And yet in virtually every industry and institution today we can find numerous examples of absolute horseshit leaders and they only seem to be … Read More The Rise of Horseshit Leaders
I loved the movie The Omega Man when I was a kid. Charlton Heston is seemingly the only man left in the world. He spends his days scavenging the city for goods (sometimes really good goods), and every night he barricades himself inside his fancy house to protect himself from the apocalyptic mutants known as The Family that ravage the Earth. He’s safe outside … Read More Introverts, Extroverts, and Being Out of Your Comfort Zone
For several years (a lifetime ago), I tended bar in Madison, Wisconsin. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but I worked with some of the best people I’ve known and learned some important lessons about life. Many of those lessons have to do with leadership. The tales you collect working in a bar are long and varied, but I recollect just a few below … Read More 7 Things Bartending Taught me About Leadership
Developing as a leader is important business. You have to focus on the present and the future while taking care of people (including yourself) and systems. Doing that properly means continuously strengthening core competencies. This is daunting and there’s no getting around it. However, there is a way to provide some structure. Whether you’re helping someone else develop as a leader, or developing as … Read More The Leadership Scorecard
Can you guess the three prominent U.S. organizations that these values belong to? Organization One Communication Respect Integrity Excellence Organization Two Integrity Commitment Advocacy Respect Excellence Organization Three People as a competitive advantage Ethics What’s right for customers Diversity and inclusion Leadership Answer Organization One: Enron Organization Two: Veterans Affairs (under Eric K. Shinseki) Organization Three: Wells Fargo (under John G. Stumpf) Yes, the stated … Read More Use Your Values
