Phil was approaching the end of his seventh year as the headmaster of a private school. All things considered, it had been a successful venture. The school’s census was growing each year, Phil directed a deeply dedicated faculty, and the school was paying its bills. Late one Friday afternoon, the parent of a student knocked...

In the previous post I listed the four benefits gained from an effective strategic staff. Just to be clear, that strategic staff may be formal (paid and designated as your associates) or may be informal (either paid or volunteer but who round out your work load because you have come to rely on them and...

A strategic team is a person or persons who, by virtue of their competencies, motivation, and reliability will: Extend Your Reach - they make it possible for you to influence people and events far beyond what you naturally could. They provide access to people and events to which you would not normally have found entrance....

Four Reasons Why We Work Alone. First, We Find It Too Daunting to Release Responsibility to Others.  We have an  intuitive understanding of our ultimate objectives and the things that need to be done in order to reach those objectives. Often the people to whom we would release responsibility don’t. Our natural instincts, insight, and...

When your circle of concern is greater than your circle of ability. Robert’s second floor offices are crowded with papers, files, memos, phone messages, charts, and project plans. On his belt hangs a smart phone. A secretary in a front office handles the business telephone, which rang a dozen times in the few minutes I...

Effective leaders understand both causes and their effects and are capable of dealing with both. In an earlier post I used a story of a manager at Disneyland who encountered a late night situation with tired horses and large crowds of people. You can read about it here. The immediate concern was the safety of...

When a new sailor arrived on board, he had to learn how to tie knots and which rope hauled up which sail. After which of course they would know the ropes. It is an expression used in all kinds of settings these days, but the principal applies especially well here. When I graduated from college,...

There are, of course, many traits found within successful and effective leaders. The six I've listed here are almost universal. 1. Make others feel important. If your goals and decisions are self-centered, and obviously so, followers will lose their enthusiasm quickly. Be certain to emphasize their strengths and contributions not just your own. 2. Promote...

"How to Light a Fire Under People Without Getting Burned," one of the seminars I offer, demonstrates the art of multiplying your efforts through others. I sometimes conclude the seminar with a role-playing exercise where each participant must list the tasks he or she presently does that could possibly be done by someone else, then...