As a leader are you always supposed to be an optimist? Well…no. Not necessarily. To be sure, optimism is vital for effective leaders. But so is the discernment to know when it’s time to shelve the optimism and to lead with realism…idealism…or even pessimism. The reality is, in some circumstances a leader must be a…
How to Increase Your Leadership By Weighing What Matters
Effective leaders know that while certain metrics require counting, there are also vital indicators that require weighing. Let’s face it. Leaders measure. It’s part of what we do. It’s in our “DNA”. We want to know how many, how much, how often, how far and how fast. But as seasoned leaders will tell you, while counting tells you some important information,…
How a Line in the Sand Strengthens Your Leadership
Have you drawn a leadership line in the sand? A line in the sand is where your core values intersect with real life situations. Several years ago I was called in to help stabilize a non-profit organization which had been in a financial tailspin. About three months into this journey the Chief Financial Officer came into…
How 4 Simple Questions Can Redefine a “Great Leadership Day”
Wherever you lead, and in whatever capacity, there is one question that should be top of mind when the day is done. “Did I lead well today?” If you can’t answer that question clearly and definitively each and every day, what was the point of all of that leadership energy you expended? What was the…
3 Ways Your Fast Decisions Could Be Hurting Results
Today’s leadership culture celebrates fast decision making. But the reality is, if your decisions are happening too quickly you could be doing more harm than good. A recent Google search on the question, “How to make fast decisions” returned an astonishing 517,000,000 hits. Everyone, it seems wants to make fast leadership decisions. And there are…
