Every year leaders around the world make an honest effort to become exceptional leaders through the creation of New Year’s Resolutions – most of which is never achieved. Consequently, they fall back into the same
While standing in the check-out line at the supermarket, I listened as a lady in line ahead of me was explaining some customer service techniques and skills a young female checker needed to improve her expertise: “greet people, smile, and be positive, she said.” The young checker never responded, either verbally or non-verbally. I whispered
Servant Leadership practices are intrinsically motivating. That said, all forms and practices of leadership are motivating to some extent, but most do not motivate employees and team members to higher lives of enthusiasm. Maslow’s Hierarchy of motivation suggests that the highest level of motivation provides opportunities for personal growth. Ideally, individual motivation, i.e., personal enthusiasm
The servant-leader knows empathy is one of the twelve characteristics of servant leadership. Obviously, when leading from the heart, as is the intent of a serving leader, one has to exercise extreme patience, compassion, and understanding in their day-to-day interaction with others. Be that as it may, just how empathetic should one be in their
Multiple intelligences are rarely if ever, talked about in leadership circles. Two that might be discussed are intellectual intelligence (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Frames Of Mind by Howard Gardner mentioned seven types of multiple intelligence in human beings. Gardner argues that there is a wide range of cognitive abilities and that strength or weakness in
Leadership rules and team building are much-talked-about leadership topics in today’s business world. While a lot of my leadership skills and practices were achieved through training, a huge amount came from my involvement with the following sports throughout my life: Key to Success As I was watching NASCAR racing one time, I took note of
The new leadership paradigm shift: “Change – Just Do It!” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it was that easy? My Navy career change was easy because the change normally came in the form of an “order or command” that was quite natural and robotically followed. There was no discussion or reasoning behind the change. It
“Great leadership: Good Things Happen to Those Who Do Good.” This was a favorite quote from my fellow high school football coach and friend Matt Hinkle, head football coach at Shelton High School in Shelton, Washington. Every time someone made a good block, a catch, a touchdown, or in response to something someone did that
As I reflect upon the “Roll Tide” leadership dynasty that is rising throughout Alabama, I am reminded of my own coaching successes and some of the foundational ideas of leadership and organizational sustainability. Several words are being thrown around in the sports media that speak to the long-term growth of Alabama Football — “Dynasty” and
Lead by serving others. Leadership, for over three decades, has used MBWA – Manage By Walking About. It has been the recommendation to managers to get out from behind their desks and into the work areas to see what employees are doing. The premise is that by observing the workers, one would be better able to
Anyone can develop leadership qualities and traits. It is often taken for granted that leadership is about leaders who are leading followers in the organization to great heights of achievements. What is not seen is the often vitally important leadership of followers as they complete the daily tasks they are assigned to meet organizational visions,
The progression from student to the first job, applying experience to problem-solving, followed by increased responsibility, then being somewhat relied upon in your department and the next thing. You’re a junior manager – welcome to the early stages of leadership! The transition where you go from reporting to everyone and then having someone report to
This week we have David McCuistion, who grew up in Tennessee and loves teaching about Servant Leadership. Thanks for doing this interview! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got to where you are today – where you’re from, your educational and/or work background? I grew up near Rockwood, Tennessee, a
“I don’t care what you know until I know how much you care.” I’m sure many readers have either heard or read that statement about what employees think of leadership. But do people actually care about what team members say or believe as long as they are doing their job? Consider the following situation: You