The Shocking Thing Most Professionals are Not Doing
In every workshop, we ask participants to share a book they’ve read to help with their professional development. You’d be shocked by the number of people who admit they do NOT read (or listen to) books. Yet, everyone claims they want to improve. “True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.” – Karl Popper Everyone...
The Power of Raising the Standard
The old way of viewing standards was to set the bar to “good” or the “check the box”. People are prone to meet (and rarely exceed) the bar that’s set for them. When the standard is set low, people won’t stretch themselves to go above and beyond. Instead of setting your bar to “average” set your bar to “great” and watch...
What You Should Know About the Modern Definition of Leadership
If you search “leadership” over sixty thousand definitions will come up. While some of them are great, others are completely off base considering the current state. Through our research, we’ve created the most accurate and modern definition of leadership that anyone, no matter their role, should live by: A leader is defined as someone whose actions INSPIRE,...
3 Surefire Signs Managers in Your Organization Need Leadership Training
Organizations often promote top performers, but without proper leadership skill development, they struggle to lead their teams and only manage to get by. No matter how long your people have been in their leadership positions, it’s always critical to develop and elevate their skills. Here are 3 signs your managers need leadership training. 1. They Blame their Team for...
Why You Should Lean Into Your Weaknesses
There’s a trend to only focus on your strengths. While I agree you should capitalize on you’re strengths, Leaders are doing everyone a disservice (including themselves) if they don’t work to improve in areas they are weakest. If you’re only focusing on your strengths, that means you’re ignoring the other areas required to be an effective leader. Think...
Why You Should Turn Down Judgement and Amp Up Empathy
Empathy is a trait many leaders believe they have, but in reality, their thoughts and actions aren’t that of an empathetic leader. Don’t believe me? Have you ever thought, “Why is that person doing it that way?” or “This should be easy, why aren’t they learning faster? ” or “Why is this person fighting me on my idea?” Every day, we...
This Single Phrase Puts Everything Into Perspective
Quite often we are worried about ourselves. What will we do? How does this impact me? How is this conversation going to get them to like/respect/follow me? All the while, we’re not thinking about the true meaning of leadership: to inspire, empower and serve in order to elevate others over an extended period of time. We are all guilty. But there’s a method you can put into...
One Thing You THINK You Do, But You Actually Don’t
Most people (spouses excluded) won’t call you out, but they’re definitely judging you based on how well you listen when they’re talking. Active Listening is a skill you have to constantly sharpen, but one that’s often forgotten because it’s considered “too basic”. When I say “active listening” I’m not talking about nodding...
The Most Powerful and Often Overlooked Element of Feedback
One of the most cringe-worthy sentences of all-time has to be, “Can I give you some feedback?” I bet you just heard one of your horrible boss’s voice in your head. Apologies for the PTSD. Looking back now, the title of this article should be Feedback: the most overused business phrase. I’m not here to bash feedback as a tool. Feedback is, in fact, a critical...