Stuck in 1st gear – is the impediment to progress you?
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Stuck in 1st gear – is the impediment to progress you?

It happens easily enough and usually innocently enough. You start a business or organization then endure what is often a long and expensive learning curve. Along the way you learn…you learn a lot. You discover the competencies and incompetencies of those working with you. You learn how to manage cash flow challenges. You learn the...
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5 phases of your role as leader
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision

5 phases of your role as leader

The expectation that leadership can be a singular role is unrealistic. We wear a lot of hats. We manage, we motivate, we correct, we monitor, we inspire, we facilitate, we coordinate, we focus, we bark, we growl, we whisper, we articulate, we define, and we execute. A couple of posts ago I wrote about our...
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The principle of systems and controls
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation

The principle of systems and controls

Two nights ago we went with some friends to a local burger joint. It is not a fast food place like McDonalds but it is part of a chain. It was the dinner hour and the place was quite busy. After being seated, we settled in to wait, quite a long time as it turns...
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6 Bases of Power – Charismatic
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power

6 Bases of Power – Charismatic

They stand out, those charismatic leaders. Larger than life and more enduring than time, their names remain known and their works referred to yet today.  People like Jesus, Caesar Augustus,  and Charlemagne anchor ancient history.  In the more recent past it is Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, Henry Ford, Aimee Semple McPherson, Churchill, Hitler (despicable but...
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6 Bases of Power – Coercive
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power authority control Effective Leadership emotional security Leadership management Motivation power

6 Bases of Power – Coercive

There was a time when this type of power was common. It is the first resort of bullies, manipulators, and thugs. It is the last resort of everyone else. The Business Dictionary defines it as “Authority or power that is dependent on fear, suppression of free will, and/or use of punishment or threat, for its...
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3 Ways to really piss off your associates and employees – When power is abused and misused
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power authority control Effective Leadership emotional security Leadership management Motivation power associates authority control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management

3 Ways to really piss off your associates and employees – When power is abused and misused

Matt was a high-volume sales associate in a large retail store. He sold custom-built products that required a significant amount of time to prepare estimates and proposals. On one Thursday evening he was working  alone at his desk in his department when the manager from another department in the store came to Matt and asked...
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Power Plays – Getting the job done
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power authority control Effective Leadership emotional security Leadership management Motivation power associates authority control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management administration associates authority communication control delegation employees Leadership management productivity responsibility student training

Power Plays – Getting the job done

A friend once remarked that “It is amazing how much you can get done if you just do it.” A look at a jobs offered column on line or in a newspaper will inevitably turn up several with the qualifier “Must be a self-starter.”  Why? Because you hire people to extend your reach, multiply your...
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Power Plays – Authority
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power authority control Effective Leadership emotional security Leadership management Motivation power associates authority control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management administration associates authority communication control delegation employees Leadership management productivity responsibility student training associates authority control delegation Effective Leadership responsibility

Power Plays – Authority

Power has a source, a circuit, and a purpose. The laptop into which I am entering these words is powered by a battery which receives its power from a wall outlet which receives its power from a power line which is powered by a generating plant. The circuit is completed when the power flows from...
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The Gentle Side of Force – 8 skills of leadership Iearned from my friend the horse whisperer
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power authority control Effective Leadership emotional security Leadership management Motivation power associates authority control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management administration associates authority communication control delegation employees Leadership management productivity responsibility student training associates authority control delegation Effective Leadership responsibility associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management

The Gentle Side of Force – 8 skills of leadership Iearned from my friend the horse whisperer

My friend Steve is a horse whisperer, was one long before Robert Redford made the label famous. Steve’s been a cowboy forever, a genuine, sure ‘nuff, tall in the saddle hand-me-that-rope cowboy. He’s knows his way around a horse, knows how to care for them, and knows how to handle them. If you’re interested you...
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Churchill and Hitler were both effective leaders. Here’s why.
associates competence control delegation developing capable people Effective Leadership emotional security leadership development control delegation Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation organization planning responsibility vision associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Motivation authority communication control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation power authority control Effective Leadership emotional security Leadership management Motivation power associates authority control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management administration associates authority communication control delegation employees Leadership management productivity responsibility student training associates authority control delegation Effective Leadership responsibility associates control Effective Leadership employees Leadership management Achievement control Effective Leadership Leadership Motivation

Churchill and Hitler were both effective leaders. Here’s why.

Leadership as a topic can be completely separated from concepts of good and evil. Leadership in its execution has been used for both. There is perhaps no more certain contrast of this than in the parallel administrations of Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill. One used his considerable skills of leadership to bring most of the...
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