Leading Each Other
I had a wonderful visit with a friend recently. He is one of my oldest and dearest buddies, and when we get together we talk by the hour about nearly everything in the world. He leads a large organization and reads and travels widely. I always find our time together meaningful and inspiring. This time he said something that hasn’t left me. As we got up from our lengthy, far-ranging conversation, he said, “Oh, I’ve really enjoyed this. I love the way we lead each other.” It was a casual comment. He wasn’t making any particular point, but I’ve reflected[read more]
Strong Leaders
One of the joys of my life has been studying the lives of great leaders and teaching the lessons gleaned. I count it a privilege. I’m also impressed by how many of these lessons of leadership are common to the greats throughout the centuries. I want to urge one of these lessons upon you now. There is a power in simplicity of thought and language. Effective leaders know it and discipline themselves to harness this power. Mediocre leaders never do get a handle on this truth. I make it a practice to listen to how leaders speak and to notice[read more]
StoryBrand
I had a blast recently doing an interview at StoryBrand with Donald Miller about my ebook, Ten Signs of a Leadership Crash. This week instead of writing about it, I've included a link to that podcast here. Don is an engaging host, and I believe our discussion will inspire you to watch for the signs of an impending crash in your life and in the lives of the people around you. It will give companies, business leaders, politicians, pastors, husbands, and wives the language and the tools to describe some of the things that signal there is trouble up ahead, and equip[read more]
The Oscars
A great deal of the consulting I do is crisis consulting, and so I was fascinated by the confused scene at the end of the 2017 Oscars. What intrigues me is how those embarrassing moments contain some of the lessons essential to leading in a crisis. I want to list some of them for you now. First, a summary. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were tasked with presenting the Best Picture honor. When Beatty opened the envelope, he realized he had been given the wrong card. It was the card for Best Actress, which had already been awarded to Emma[read more]
Know Thyself
There is a truth that comes down to us from the ancient Greeks. We should pay attention to it, because it is one of the best reminders we have of how to lead well. On an ancient Greek temple are chiseled the words, “Know Thyself.” Now, there are many interpretations of these two words. Scholars will no doubt continue to argue about them for years. For our purposes here, though, let us just assume they mean what they say: You should know yourself. In the work I do with leaders, often the most damaging barriers to stellar leadership and a[read more]
Happy Warrior
One of the jobs of a leader is to model attitudes that inspire and are contagious. The attitude I find most helpful is one I call “Happy Warrior.” The Happy Warrior thrives on challenge, smiles at adversity, gets energized by hard work, and loves the team. The Happy Warrior feels right in place, knows that whatever he or she faces is the price of greatness, and seems to get happier the harder things are. We’ve all known the opposite. A small challenge makes an appearance and the UnHappy UnWarrior starts to whine. Usually, he or she starts to blame. The[read more]
Practical Things
I’ve had an unusual request come to me so often from some of my readers that I have to address it. And I’m going to do it right here, in this week’s Leading Thoughts! The request that I’ve had is this: Tell us the most practical things—from health matters to travel matters to inspiring people—that you do in your life of leadership. Okay, here goes. When I sit at my desk chair or on a plane or train for many hours, I sit on a tennis ball. I move that ball around the backs of my thighs, around my bottom, and[read more]
Art of Manliness
Recently I recorded a podcast with Art of Manliness, one of the most effective podcasts for men, and we discussed my book, Building Your Band of Brothers. Because the principles we explored apply to both men and women and because they are principles I often address here in Leading Thoughts, I want to make that podcast recording available to you this week. You can listen to the podcast here. Be sure to also explore the wonderful Art of Manliness website. You don’t want to be without Building Your Band of Brothers(Kindle or Paperback), which was the topic of the podcast, or the larger Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men that it was[read more]
The Job of a Leader
Years ago, I decided that the way I could serve organizations best was by helping them communicate better. Let me list some of the experiences that led me to this conclusion. I discovered that after sitting with the average CEO for an hour or two, I often understood what he wanted from his employees better than his employees did. I once sat with U.S. troops on the frontlines in Iraq who did not know whether they were supposed to advance on the enemy and had no idea of the ROE (Rules of Engagement) if they did. I talked to senior[read more]
Leadership Diet
I want to talk to you in this Leading Thoughts about your leadership diet, and I want to be very practical. In the same way that elite athletes must feed themselves differently from non-athletes in order to perform well, leaders must feed for success too. They have to be intentional about what I call their “leadership diet.” By this phrase, I mean what they take into their minds and hearts that becomes the fuel of their leadership performance. Take a moment and think back over your previous seven days. Think about what you’ve read, what you’ve watched, the podcasts you’ve listened to,[read more]