What follows is a letter I wrote in June 2012 to some close friends. We were vacationing with my parents, brother, sister and their families in northern Michigan. I haven't shared this with anyone else until now. I'm posting it here to help during ALS Awareness Month. For context, my brother-in-law, Patrick McGoldrick, had been diagnosed with ALS about 8-months previous to this family vacation. My prayers are with anyone facing this horrible disease in their family.
Read MoreIf you are a in the middle of leading through a crisis, I am so sorry. You didn't ask for it. You didn't cause it. You didn't sign up for this part of leadership. You have some tough days ahead of you. It's going to be harder and last longer than you can imagine. The damage is going to be worse than you think and the sleepless nights are going to be numerous.
Read MoreTeachers are amazing. They work long hours for low pay (one in five have second jobs to make ends meet) and little recognition in a room of humans that often mistreat and verbally abuse them. They may not see a pay-off for their work with some kids until many years later, if ever, yet they keep coming back to work day after day.
Read MoreThroughout my career for the past (nearly) four decades, I have worked on many teams. Some as small as two (right now!) and some as large as 500. Whatever size the team, whether a church staff or business environment, I believe there are several characteristics that help you stand out and get noticed by the leadership.
Read MoreI’m convinced that it is better to have a leadership culture than a leadership development strategy. I’m not saying a strategy or training plan or process is bad. I just think a leadership culture is better.
Read MoreFinding a new team member to join your ranks can be an exciting time for any organization. Yet, it's a process fraught with potential pitfalls that, if overlooked, can lead to less-than-ideal outcomes. I've hired hundreds of people and have learned these lessons from my own successes and failures when expanding my team.
Read MoreIn our work lives, many times we blame a human for something that needs a system. We run into the same frustration again and again, and we think it is a "who" problem rather something that could be solved with a system.
Read MoreAs guys, there are things we do that makes it difficult for women to lead. It makes it difficult for them to breakthrough barriers to have more influence. By the things we say, the ways we act, or the policies we create, we relegate the women to the kids table. Or worse, to the kitchen. Most of us don't literally or intentionally do that--but sometimes our actions have this effect.
Read MoreHaving a well-defined set of staff values is an irreplaceable connector across your organization. These values shape your team's culture, help preserve what's working, and revise what is not. They promote unity and diversity, encourage consistent behavior and communication, and define the criteria for measuring performance
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