Posted: July 21, 2016 | Categories: Self-Improvement

Occasionally I hear someone say, “Everyone wants to be liked”.  I have found that is not always true.  What I have found is that being respected is a universal goal.  Even the most cruel and heartless dictator wants respect.  What I have also observed is that gaining respect usually involves significant courage.  We can’t always “go with the flow”.Read More…

Posted: May 13, 2016 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

“Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is a quality which guarantees all the others” -Winston Churchill

We often hear about the importance of building trust to have a strong team.  A high trust level comes about primarily through the character and competence of each team member.  One of my favorite components of trust is courage and conviction.  As much as we all respect it, the path of courage and conviction can be lonely.Read More…

Posted: March 25, 2016 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

Have you even seen a situation when someone you work with was verbally attacked by their boss for a mistake they did not make?  What happens when the attacker realizes he or she made a false assumption and he or she is wrong?  Usually it is one of these 4 things:Read More…

Posted: February 25, 2016 | Categories: Self-Improvement

“Ultimately

there is only one impediment to our growth and success, and that is laziness.  If we overcome laziness, all other impediments are overcome” – M. Scott Peck

When I read the above quote this morning, I said to myself, that nails it!  We have all probably heard the definition of insanity:  “Doing things the same way we have always done them, and expecting different results”.  And why do we do things the same way and expect improvement?  Laziness!  That’s right.  We are in a certain routine and pattern, and we don’t want to be interrupted.

As I reflect on the coaching I have done in just this past week, here are some of the barriers folks have overcome:Read More…

Posted: February 12, 2016 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement, Team Building

When I help companies coach their teams to higher performance, there are four pillars that must be solidly in place:  Ownership, clarity, and accountability.  These pillars rest on a solid platform of trust.  Without this foundation, the three pillars crumble.

Just yesterday one of my clients asked me, “If we need to build more trust on our team, how do we do it?”  I hear this question more than any other.  While there are many things we can to strengthen trust, let’s start with three “bomb-proof” fundamentals that have stood since civilization has begun.Read More…