The knowledge worker cannot be supervised closely or in detail. He can only be helped. But he must direct himself, and he must direct himself toward performance and contribution, that is, toward effectiveness. Peter Drucker When Boards Overstep Their Role I once watched a board of directors make a decision about what they believed the CEO should be doing. Unfortunately, they got it dead wrong. Notably, none of them had ever served as a CEO. Funny how that works. More importantly, they had never learned a key principle: Leaders lead and boards govern. These are two different roles with two different purposes. As a result, the leader chose to leave the organization. He understood the truth: “Good leadership thrives where leadership is valued.” Leaders, managers, and team members all join an organization to serve its mission. However, if they must be supervised like a child playing near a busy street,

I have a habit of starting each day with thoughts of gratitude. As I looked at the blank page of my journal, nothing came to mind. How sad is that? Then I asked myself, “What’s wrong with me?” As I pondered, a current disappointment stemming from unmet relational expectations came to mind. Relationships that matter can hurt. That’s draining. Then I remembered my mom’s recent fall resulting in a fractured hip and surgery. That was hard. I also peeked at the last seven days of my calendar: fifteen coaching or speaking appointments and two podcasts. Okay, that’s a lot for even the most gregarious person of whom I am not. For me, that’s a really stupid schedule. I know better. I coach leaders to schedule better. Here’s the thing, even during these last seven days of pedal to the medal, I have maintained my quiet times and exercise. That’s simply

Last night, I finished up a podcast recording with Erin Porteous, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver serving thousands of children across the city. While we touched on a variety of topics, I was most impacted by four values she holds dearly: Hard Work     Humble     Humor     Honest We didn’t get a chance for her to define each of these but for the most part, they speak for themselves. Let me share with you why I love this set of core values. Less is More. Just like goals, the greater the focus the better return. We all have dozens of values. That’s why this work is so important. We need to elevate a set of values that have the ability to cascade over many good ideas. Easy to Remember. The small number of values aids our memory but so does the iteration

“On your worst days, wear your best suit, walk with your head held high, show no weakness, and project that nothing has changed.” Shinzo Abe Former Prime Minister of Japan One of my mentors tells of a time he was hired to pastor a church of 1200 people. One year later, the church shrunk to 600. I asked why this happened. His answer was straight to the point. “They didn’t like me.” At the time of our conversation, he was still serving in the same role at the same church but now had over 5000 attendees. That’s leadership. Even for the most hard-working, professional, and faithful leader, sometimes you’re a hero and sometimes you’re a zero. When you’re going through tough times, try to ride it out. Trust God for the long haul. Keep working on the right goals. Keep moving forward. Finally, don’t be afraid of hard conversations about

Three things in my early days shaped me most: My parents, the Christian faith, and my first year at Bank of America back in 1980. Management Training Program I was twenty years old, still in college, but was selected and hired for the bank’s Management Training Program. It was a year of intense training. Here’s a snapshot of the subjects: How to dress (professionally, according to your height, body type, and occasion) How to dress (professionally, according to your height, body type, and occasion) How to write a letter (style, grammar, and editing) How to shake hands, smile, and make eye contact How to have hard conversations and deal with conflict How to tell the truth while honoring the person How to behave at formal gatherings, including the use of utensils, napkins, etc. How to listen to others and say back what you heard How to identify suspicious behavior inside

“If you start doing what you’re supposed to do, you won’t have time to do what you shouldn’t be doing.” Jonathan Moore These three good habits create an advantage. They fill you, empower you, and make you better. When you get better as a leader, EVERYONE benefits. Reading If you didn’t read last week’s blog, go back and read it. It’s important. If you can’t find it, let us know and we will resend it to you. Prayer I have identified “Pray” as one of my five professional core values. What is a professional core value? It is something I commit myself to practice once I walk out the door of my home (virtually or physically). My definition of this value is as follows: “I partner with God in every moment of life, enjoying his presence, help, and guidance.” I believe a relationship with my creator does not start nor

A Weird Habit That Helps Me Stay Accountable I have a weird habit. After every day is done, I go back to my calendar and make sure it is an accurate accounting of what actually happened. I delete appointments and time blocks that didn’t happen, increase or decrease time to the appointments that lasted longer or shorter, and add appointments that were not planned, etc. I do this to better evaluate the effectiveness of my week. Measuring Discipline, Not Just Planning And even more importantly, my discipline to follow through on my plans. After all, it does no good to plan your best day and then allow it to be hijacked. Most of us talk about priorities. We say we have them, but our calendar often points to a different conclusion. In fact, many leaders can articulate their chief aim—their big goal for the season or the year—yet their calendar seems to

“Insecurity” That was the answer Johnny Sirpilla gave me during one of my recent podcasts. I was asking questions about conflict. Unnecessary conflict. Why do so many leadership teams struggle to work together? To get things done? Insecurity (noun) Uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence: She had a deep sense of insecurity | he’s plagued with insecurities. The state of being open to danger or threat; lack of protection: Growing job insecurity | The insecurity of wireless networks. Both definitions help us examine ourselves and our leadership skills. I don’t think insecurity by itself is our greatest threat; it’s the lack of conscious awareness of its presence. When we operate from unconscious insecurity, we: Sense a threat that most often does not exist We speak too quickly or not at all We are slow to take responsibility We blame Anxiety increases along with our heart rate We are not

The first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines. Proverbs 18:17 There is a principle taught by some business and financial coaches The principle goes something like this: Forsake any work activity you can pay someone else to do that costs less per hour than your wage. For example, if you make $50 an hour and pay someone $25 an hour to mow your lawn, you’re smart because you just netted $25—assuming you earned $50 during that hour. Using this logic, if you mowed the lawn yourself, you would lose $25. Furthermore, the coaching continues by encouraging the repetition of this principle anywhere and everywhere you can. In other words, do what you do best and pay others to do what they do, as long as it costs less than your earnings for the same effort. On the surface, it sounds aristocratic and smart. But is it?

Heads Down, Spirits Down You see it everywhere, at home, at work, at church, in athletics. Heads are down. Their spirit is down. They lack confidence. Quitting is their convenient friend. In almost every single situation, it’s because they believe what they are hearing. They are listening to the destructive voices from a noisy and negative world, and they are allowing those vibrations to echo deep inside the chambers of their being. To make matters worse, we tend to be hardest on ourselves. Instead of extending grace, we often reinforce those internal voices with our own criticism. A Day That Shook Everything March 9, 1987, was an earthquake of a day. I had made a big decision months prior. A gigantic decision. It was the first day of the rest of my life. I was distraught. My head was down. I was defeated. I made a big mistake. That’s how

Some say they have to go to work. Others say they get to go to work. Some meet a problem with fear and angst. While others meet a problem like David faced Goliath. How can two people facing the same situation find the good and respond so differently? Finding the good in your life is a daily commitment. Some of it is a predisposition, but most of it comes from the cultivation of gratitude and a sense of mission. Finding the good in your life is a daily commitment. It’s what achievers do. Achievers are training every day. Moreover, they are training their whole person – body and soul. Cultivating gratitude Cultivating gratitude or mining for Good is a daily habit that promotes health and generates positive and purposeful energy. However, if you don’t know the value of positivity, joy, direction, and energy, start mining for the good in life.

Focus on one goal at a time We’ve all heard, “Keep your eye on the prize”. I think that’s good because it causes me to examine my daily habits to see if they align with my goal. After all, many of us get into ruts of behavior with our heads down, rarely looking up to see where we are heading. Visualizing is not enough Visualizing where you want to go and creating a cadence of strategic steps to get there is fundamental to goal achievement. But it is not enough. Goal achievers know and practice 2 KEY DIFFERENCE MAKERS: They FOCUS on ONE Goal at a time. Rather than juggling five ambitions, they zero in on the one that matters most right now. They may have other goals in mind, but they don’t write them down or talk about them. Instead, they write down and talk about everything pertaining to

If you are not taking care of yourself, you’re not leading well. Effective leadership starts with leading your own personhood. Your first responsibility is to lead yourself, body and soul. If you do this well, it will overflow into the lives of those you love and lead. It will overflow into the places, seasons, situations, and opportunities of life. I walked past a good-looking young man the other day. He looked healthy from the inside out, displayed a beaming white smile, a skip in his step, and boasted well-crafted shoulders, chest, and arms. He carried in one hand what looked like a carefully blended health drink. He’s probably more than thirty years younger than I. Was I jealous? Maybe a little. His days of testing have not yet come. I don’t know the young man, so I cannot speak to his intellectual development or his spiritual condition. I cannot speak

To put it quite simply, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss I learn new things every day, from podcasts, teachers, life, and books. I learn best from books because they deliver learning at a customized pace and place. Pace is the element of learning that can be adapted to meet your needs. It does not matter if you are a highly skilled reader with an amazing vocabulary or if you have reading challenges and need a dictionary to help you define some of the words you encounter. Either way, when you read, you feed your mind like exercise feeds your body. Place is that element of time and space where you can isolate yourself from all of the distractions and hurry of life. It provides cognitive therapy and new perspectives as well as

I’ve been fooled before. Talented people are not always performers. They sparkle and shine from time to time. That’s what grabs your attention like a trout to a lure. Then you get hooked, reeled in, and cooked for dinner. Low performers are sitting around waiting for direction This is going to sound harsh, yet its truth echoes throughout the marketplace like a giant drum beat. Low performers are sitting around waiting for direction, even though much of the work is staring them right in the face. They are talented but also lazy. Lazy people become soft and cry like victims or children who scrape their knees. They will blame you for a lack of direction. You don’t need that. You need high performers who help you advance the mission. High performers need little direction and affirmation from others. They are self-motivated learners and achievers with tons of tenacity. As they