In a recent virtual workshop I did for an organization, I encouraged everyone to ask themselves the question, “Is it me?” It’s an accountability question. It’s a look inward and do your part kind of question. It’s the kind of question that builds relationships and improves performance.  As part of my workshops I always ask participants to complete an assessment that puts this question, “Is it me?,” squarely on the shoulders of each of them. The assessment includes a scale – three being most of the time, two being some of the time and one being rarely – for each question. I have incl ..read more

Are you aware that something could be lurking on your team that is highly dangerous? Something that sucks the energy of your team and is probably dragging down the morale of everyone? There is a good chance that you don’t even know what it is, but your team does.  Employees usually fall into one of five categories…  Every team has its share of rock stars (those employees that you wish you had more of) and rising stars (rock stars who simply lack experience). Your team most likely also has many steady stars (meet expectations, but don’t usually exceed expectations) and falling stars ..read more

Leadership is about Relationships I once heard a joke about a boss arriving at work one morning in a brand-new Lamborghini. “Wow,” one of his employees said. “That’s an absolutely great car.” The boss replies, “Well… if you work hard enough, put all your hours in like you did this year, and strive for excellence, I’ll get another one just like it next year.” While the above story might be funny, unfortunately, underlying the humor is something that is fairly common – many leaders still don’t fully understand or appreciate who is paying their bills. They don’t fully get who helps them s ..read more

Appreciation is a leadership principle so basic, yet unfortunately so often neglected. It’s simply about having a heart of thankfulness. Those leaders who have a heart of gratitude will also have the heart of those they lead. People are inspired, feel more valued, and are more positive by gratitude. A study done by Glassdoor, an online career site, found that 81% of employees said they are inspired to work harder when their boss shows appreciation. Compare that to 38% who said they work harder when their boss is demanding and only 37% work harder when they fear losing a job. Warren Bu ..read more

There is something big that leaders often get backwards with their teams as it relates to teamwork and many times they don’t ever get it right. But you must get it right if teamwork is important to you and your team. The Pig and the Chicken – Teamwork Story One sunny day a pig and a chicken were walking down a long road into town. As they were passing one of the local restaurants, the chicken turned to the pig and said, “I have an idea. How about we open up a restaurant?” The pig agreed that was a great idea! “What will we serve at our restaurant?” the pig asked. “Ham and eggs of ..read more

Leadership Story In a Gallup survey, when employees were asked whether their supervisor or anyone else at work cared about them, only 4 out of 10 strongly agreed with that statement. That lack of caring is startling. If you fail to care about those you lead, they will eventually fail to care about you, the team and the organization. I love the following true leadership story I heard bestselling author Simon Sinek once tell. He was staying at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas. He said it is a wonderful place to stay, not because of fancy furnishings, but because of the people who work t ..read more

Last month my wife and I were on a Pacific Coast cruise. We later discovered that we were on the Princess Cruises Entertainer of the Year ship. For seven days we were entertained by the best Princess had to offer – talk about lucky! While we were checking in to get on the ship a man turned to us and with a big smile warmly said “hello.” We thought, what a nice guy, but had no idea who he was. The next night we discovered that this friendly stranger was singer Phillip Browne, who was now onstage singing and entertaining us all with songs like “Haven’t Met You Yet, Mr. Bojangles, Unforge ..read more

How does it make you feel when you see a teammate or someone take all of the credit for success? Seems selfish, right? How can one person truly do anything great without others around him or her. In almost all instances that success was the result of someone else’s efforts in helping that person become successful. Many times it is because of a team. The following funny teamwork story/fable has strong application to teams and shows the dire consequences of believing it’s all about YOU. Feel free to share it. There was a frog who was bold enough to ask if two geese would take him south wi ..read more

Ask yourself, who is the best boss you ever worked for? If you were asked why they were the best, you would probably say things like: “She was so positive.” “He made me feel appreciated.” “She took the time to know me and coach me.” “He listened carefully.” “I felt like she would do anything for me.” Most likely you wouldn’t say things like: “He was really good with processes and numbers.” “She knew how to really keep us on task.” “He was good at sticking to rules and plans.” “She was great at making sure we always came in under budget.” “He could really di ..read more

At the heart of most dysfunctional teams are team members who are individually more concerned about about their own aspirations and gain at the expense of the teams goals and gain. Such team members believe it is all about them and only about others if they can get something for themselves. These types of selfish team members frustrate what a team is capable of achieving. If that is your team or anywhere close to your team, you might want to consider sharing the following story. There once was an anthropologist who was studying the culture of a remote African tribe. He had conclude ..read more