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Remain open to, contribute to, and build upon new ideas. No matter what is said, keep open to the one-percent possibility that all ideas have value and that you can learn from them. Suspend judgment, seeking first to understand the message of the other person. Learning is not confined to childhood or to school but […]

Say what you think and feel to the people you believe will benefit from your message. For example, I once tried to tell a younger colleague that our clients were responding negatively to his hairstyle, which was a long mullet with an even longer braided rattail. In the beginning I was so worried about hurting […]

Your cumulative record of adherence to your commitments forms the essence of how others view you. So get clear on your commitments, make fewer of them, and keep the ones that you make. Seek to minimize the impact of any commitments you choose to break by informing others in advance that you will not keep […]

Define and understand what it means to be on purpose and how to remain there. It’s easy to get distracted and discouraged by the million things in your life. But the way to really make things happen and achieve your goals is to clear your mind, pull together the tools you need, and fully embrace […]

Weigh carefully the potential consequences of quoting other people and spreading gossip. This means guarding against attribution and retribution. First, attributing statements to others out of context can be misleading. When you hold meetings, ask folks not to attribute what particular individuals said in the meeting afterward. If they want to share something about the […]

With the proper sentiment, mindset, knowledge, and tools, leaders can empower multitudes of talented people to collectively bring about required change or to maintain needed stability. Over the past twenty-plus years, I’ve had the opportunity to witness leaders bring about the change and maintain the stability that boosts enterprise-wide quality, speed, savings, and innovation. These […]

Research examining the characteristics of innovative federal leaders to determine their common leadership traits reveals that they demonstrate “great resilience and vision” and are “all able to network and collaborate effectively across stovepipes within their agency and across sectors.” This is a result of making the choice to focus your heart and mind on adopting […]

Effective leadership lies at the core of an energized enterprise. As outlined in my last post, Signs of Effective Leadership, the evidence is in the energy when you walk in the door. Effective leadership determines if and how your people contribute to your organization’s achievements and how freely they can contribute the best of themselves […]

People who advance to the leading edge of performance have organizational mastery. They are driven to be total systems thinkers, and they integrate people, products, and processes. Individuals with organizational mastery exhibit an understanding of how their enterprise works and how different factors influence one another. They have knowledge of systems and how all the […]

Effective leaders plant and cultivate seeds of energy. In an energized enterprise led by an effective leader, we see possibility thinkers who say, “Sure, we can do that!” or “How can we do that?” Their attitudes are, “We’ve got each other’s backs.” People offer help when they know you need it or even if they […]