I came across a TEDx talk today by Drew Dudley about Leadership. It is called “Creating cultures of leadership”. He explains his first ever class on leadership. After the class, a participant came up and said “I thought I understood leadership, but now I don’t. Could you explain exactly what you mean by leadership?” He could … Read more
Companies today aren’t managing your career. You must be your own HR guru. That means it’s up to you to identify your place in the world and know when to change course. It’s up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive. This is the premise of Peter Drucker’s 2005 HBR article “Managing Oneself”. Peter Drucker asks … Read more
They lie, they manipulate and they pick fights: Some colleagues are ruthless, especially when it comes to their own professional advancement. Avoiding a toxic employee can save a company more than twice as much as bringing on a star performer. The trouble with Toxics is that they are difficult to detect. Often, Toxics are popular with … Read more
I have sat through many presentations over the last 3 years listening to experts telling company leaders how they can make their company an engaging workplace; how they can increase employee engagement. Is it really the employer’s responsibility? Engagement is a Choice Surely a basic requirement when you accept a job is that you engage … Read more
Most people do not have a compelling vision. A boring vision attracts mediocre people and mediocre performance. “I want to make €1 million” is not a compelling vision. It is about you, and you alone. Why would anyone else give their best effort so that you can have €1 million in your bank account? Guy … Read more
We love to talk about the problem It drives me nuts when someone just wants to use me as a sounding board as they share their problems. I find it hard to listen to someone who just wants to tell me about the problem. They have a lot of energy and passion to describe their … Read more
De duodecim abusivis saeculi “On the Twelve Abuses of the World” is a self-help book written by an Irish author between 630 and 700AD. You could say that it was the earliest precursor to Steven Covey, Brian Tracy or Jim Rohn. The work was widely propagated throughout Europe by Irish missionaries in the 8th century. Its authorship was often … Read more
One of the hardest parts of leadership is getting people around you to take action. It is easy to get people to agree generally that things could be better, it is a vastly different conversation to look them each in the eyes and ask that they tell you directly how they will be taking action … Read more
“passion brings out an enthusiasm and a dedication in others” Warren Buffett Warren Buffett speaking in Italy recently Summary of his words on Inspirational Leaders “In the really great managers the common quality they have (in addition to intelligence, energy and integrity) is a passion for what they do. They are not doing it for the money. At least … Read more
The title of this post came from a summary of a talk by Pat Murray. As a leader, people watch every single act. If you are in a bad mood and act out of that bad mood, people think that is who you are. Words are generally ignored, we watch what you allow to happen. As … Read more