One of your direct reports disregards a rule. What do you do? Do you let it slide because they are a top performer? Do make excuses for them because they might not know better? Do you fire them to send a message to your team? It all comes down to discipline, and not in the way you’re probably thinking.

If you have ever tried to something with any real difficulty, you have exprienced failure. Failure is a part of life. However, many people avoid failure by simply deciding not to participate. If something smells even remotely challenging or risky, they avoid because of the fear of failure.

There aren’t many managers that say being a leader is simple. It makes a lot of sense because there are so many important things they are responsible for. It starts with building great relationships, connecting their team to a deep purpose, having a vision, setting clear standards, holding others accountable, and being a strong coach just to name a few. 

To get a pulse on employee engagement and culture, most company leaders leverage a yearly employee engagement survey. This isn’t enough. Measuring culture is the least important part of the company culture journey. The most crucial part is impacting it.

When coming up with a list of key leadership skills, it’s not uncommon to see phrases like “good communicator” or “strong decision-making abilities” come up. While such attributes are certainly important, another vital trait is often overlooked: empathy.

Organizations today seem to be on a mission to get more out of less. The best example of this is fewer employees with more responsibility. Often this ends up with a role I call the “two-way” leader. Not only do they have to perform their own job function but they are also responsible for managing a team of people.

When you share your passion, competence, and experience with others, you make an impact that lasts a lifetime