I can hear you from here! What this love you speak of? You need to rein it in, Ted, on this whole loving leadership thing. You’re not supposed to be loving the employees—it’s the HR handbook! I get it— this can be a new concept for traditional leaders— love and leadership. We’ve grown up seeing […]

Hmmmm…the D-word? Are you trying to think what I mean? Well, depends on the context, right? Maybe you can guess if I give you the context. The D-word is referring to getting things done in your life. No, not Dill Pickle Chips (although I love them)– but rather DISCIPLINE. Who wants to talk DISCIPLINE? Virtually […]

Never fails. An organization wants to reward a hard-working individual, so they promote them to supervisor. The intention is good but the result can be bad. Many recently promoted don’t have the skill set to lead nor do they even want to. If you’re looking for your next generation of front-line leaders, pick your best […]

Conflict can be hard. Even thinking about conflict can be hard. You know what’s even harder? Not having those important performance management conversations and hoping things will get better. I’ve been working with an Animal Hospital with the objective of making the team dynamics better as well as improving the frontline leader in the organization. […]

When I speak to teenagers, I talk about the “3 Mean Things” that the kids should know. They should hear these from me since these things coming from a loved one, may be too shocking. If your child doesn’t know these, you teach these. The sooner they know and accept the “3 Mean Things” the […]

I turned 60 this past year and I am just now feeling that I am acquiring some wisdom— not a ton, mind you, but I know some things now. I think as we get older, we question our lives, what we’ve done, and what we’ve failed to do. Speaking for myself, I have questioned, “What […]

Over the 12 years that I have been speaking and engaging with audiences, on several occasions, I have been asked to come in and work with a team struggling with dysfunction, low morale, or some other ailment. And although this request is a departure from my typically delivered product, I always say yes. I enjoy […]

I learned the hard way about the importance of professional distance. At 23, I was a young, enlisted US Navy Petty Officer onboard a 60’ wooded minesweeper stationed in Charleston, SC. I had a young engineering oiler (technician) that reported to me. I, unfortunately, allowed that relationship to get too close, too chummy, too familiar, […]

When I speak to audiences on the topic of leadership, I early in the presentation remind them that they are being watched. I’ll ask, “They’re watching you for what?” Invariably, someone will yell out, “Everything!” and that person is right—everything. As leaders, your conduct and behavior are constantly under scrutiny, and people determine what they […]