Category Archives: Leadership

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The Main Reasons Strategic Planning Fails

When I was a college student, my New Venture Studies class had the opportunity to advise a local resident starting his own coffee shop. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I was excited to be involved – that is, until I realized the capital came from an inheritance. I was further perturbed when one of his first initiatives was to purchase a brand new Honda Element to cover with advertising before his shop was even finished. Our client didn’t need a new vehicle. He needed a strategic plan.

Puzzle PiecesYou’ve probably heard the adage, “if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” Strategic planning initiatives give organizational and departmental leaders the chance to define strategy, set direction and make key decisions. It breathes life into the vision and gives the existing motivation a track to run on. But a plan doesn’t inherently ensure success.

I recently spoke with my friend John Maloney of ASJ Consulting about why strategic planning fails. Whether you’re a one-man shop or a large organization, here are some of the main reasons we identified.

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Leading Others the Dale Carnegie Way

Dale Carnegie profileThere are two times most people start thinking about leadership. The first is when they experience poor leadership for the first time. Usually one of their first bosses rubs them the wrong way or they have a poor customer experience from a trusted organization. The second time is when they are put in a position of leadership and experience their first leadership challenge. What once appeared to be so easy, so intuitive, so common sense is now complicated and stressful!

Last month I had the privilege to write a guest post on Eric Jacobson’s leadership blog. I shared the 9 principles Dale Carnegie taught on how to be a leader. (Dale Carnegie is author of the classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People). This was one of the most enjoyable posts I’ve ever written.

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What a Leadership Coach Won’t Do For You

Have you ever considered hiring a leadership coach? Do you know someone who has a coach? Contrary to popular opinion, coaches are not just a luxury service for the rich and famous (as one of my past clients once believed). Writers hire writing coaches, speakers hire speaking coaches, actors hire acting coaches, and quarterbacks hire quarterback coaches. Why should leaders be any different?

Leadership CoachingMany leaders hire a coach when they want to gain clarity, explore future opportunities, form an action plan, or resolve a leadership challenge. They share conversations either on a regular or intermittent basis. Coaches are champions of the clients’ vision. But coaches aren’t saviors. Let’s take a look at some of the things a coach won’t do for you.

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The Problem with Good Ideas

Light BulbAre good ideas ruining the effectiveness of your team or organization? Yes, you read that correctly. Are good ideas keeping you from winning? At a time when creativity and innovation are at a premium, good ideas are actually more threatening than ever.

As organizational leaders, we tend to worship good ideas. We don’t want followers who simply show up to do their work and leave, we want ones who generate ideas on their own and possess the motivation to see them through. So what makes good ideas so dangerous? The answer lies in the substantial difference between a good idea and a right idea (tweet).

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Leadership Profile: Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie2I don’t have too many claims to fame, but occasionally I like to tell people that I grew up in the same town as Dale Carnegie: Belton, MO. Ironically, I had to travel to the opposite side of the globe before I invested the time to read what I have since considered the greatest leadership book of all-time: Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. I’ve read through this book many times since then and even attended the Dale Carnegie capstone course which is over 100 years old. Therefore, I’d like to enthusiastically introduce you to one of my leadership heroes. I believe there is plenty we can all learn from the man who pioneered so much work in the area of personal leadership and influence.

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How to Build a Professional Mentoring Program

Have you ever been a part of a formal mentoring program at your organization? If so, how did it go? It not, would it have been helpful? Maybe you’ve even wondered how to set up a mentoring program yourself so that you and/or others could benefit from it.

Mentoring Program

In my last post, I shared the basic principles of mentoring from a potential mentee’s standpoint that I’ve learned over the years. But I’ve also built a professional mentoring program in a previous role and also advised clients on mentoring programs they’ve set up themselves. I’d like to share some of the best practices I’ve collected.

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Mentoring 101

Mentor

Telemachus consults Mentor

It’s said that King Solomon was the wisest man who ever walked the earth.  From the stories it seems his leadership ability was pretty astonishing as well.  Imagine what it would have been like to spend an hour with him.  What questions would you ask?  What problems would you want him to help you solve?  What best practices would you want to know about?

I had the privilege of studying under Dr. Jeff Myers in college and he introduced me to the art of mentoring.  My life hasn’t been the same since.  

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Coach Bill Snyder’s 16 Goals for Success

I’m a sucker for leadership philosophies embraced by successful athletics coaches. Whether it’s Coack K on teamwork or Coach Burton on developing high school kids, I always come away with something powerful and enriching. I think the reason is that athletics provides one of the greatest leadership development opportunities out there because players learn to work as a team toward a common goal in a competitive environment. In short, it’s leadership development training for life.

Coach Bill Snyder

If you follow college football at all, you might have been surprised when Kansas State University climbed to #1 in the BCS Poll at one point this football season.

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The Value of Asking “Why?”

Why? It’s one of my all-time favorite questions. I’m told I asked my parents, “why?” over and over again as a kid and apparently I’ve never grown out of it. There’s no quicker way to cut to the heart of what’s most important, which is one of the greatest responsibilities leaders have. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. In his landmark book Getting Things Done, David Allen shares six distinct ways asking, “why?” adds value. They are too good to keep to myself, so I’ve listed them here below with my own short commentary.

Why

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How to Build a Development Library for Your Organization

Files OrganizedIn my last post I wrote about Individual Development Plans and how you can use them to develop in a professional setting.  This week I’ll tell you how to build a development library for your organization.

What is a Development Library?

A development library is simply a collection of organizational suggested or sponsored developmental experiences that employees can choose from as they consider their own development plans.  When you go to an actual library, you browse the shelves until you find one (or several) book that meets your reading objective.  It’s the same principle with a development library.

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How to Complete an Individual Development Plan

Perhaps you’ve heard of the professional growth tool called the Individual Development Plan (or IDP for short). They often prove handy for many organizations seeking to develop employees’ skills (leadership & functional) in preparation for what’s next. In some cases, entire sectors (such as the U.S. government) require the completion of IDPs on an annual or semi-annual basis. Other organizations have a more ad hoc system involving the use of IDPs.

IDP

So what makes the IDP so special? In this post I’ll explain what an IDP is, why it’s so important, and then share some steps showing how to complete one. At the bottom of the post I’ll include a link to an IDP template you can use for yourself or your team.

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Six Reasons You Should Give Public Speeches

Public SpeakerOne of the ideas I really latched on to when I started taking leadership courses in graduate school was John Maxwell’s quote, “everything rises and falls on leadership.”  But I was also challenged by a response my leadership friends came up with, that leadership rises and falls on communication.  If they were right, then it didn’t matter what I learned about leadership if I couldn’t communicate it.  A quick self-assessment revealed that I could write, converse, and lead small group discussions, but I lacked training and experience speaking in front of groups.

Right then and there I promised myself I would become a better public speaker.