Key Characteristics of Powerful Leaders
Top leaders need to be especially good at what they do. The power they have available to them accentuates both their strengths and their weaknesses. Leaders are also not subject to the ordinary checks and balances like other employees.  Additionally, people will magnify the characteristics of the top leader, both good and bad, by mimicking their behavior without even knowing it and use the leader’s behavior as the excuse/justification for what they do. While there are many characteristics of great […]
Leadership definition affects organizational culture
A great many people have attempted to come up with an effective leadership definition. Webster’s defines leadership as: “a position as a leader of a group, organization, etc.; the time when a person holds the position of leader; the power or ability to lead other people.” However, this doesn’t tell you what a leader actually does or the key attributes of a leader. We prefer this definition of leadership: the skill of influencing individuals and teams to enthusiastically accomplish common […]
Are Your Employees Truly Engaged?
Engaged employees are more likely to be high performers, drive action, and participate in achieving the organizational goals.  Find out what your workers are thinking and how to motivate them, in addition to avoiding costly turnover in the year ahead. Consider this: 34% of employees say they plan to leave their current role in the next 12 months (Mercer) 51% of the U.S. workforce is not engaged, costing organizations between $450 and $550 billion annually (Gallup) 68% of the human […]
The Talent Drought
Written by: The Challenge In the past, as employers we could look for employees that had certain types of training.  When they came aboard, they could move quickly.  Today, most employees we hire do not have the training or experience.  If they have the experience, we have to unwind some of it since we may do it differently.  Some organizations get so desperate that they simply need bodies and hands to be able to even be able to handle work […]
What We Need To Succeed
Written by: During the course of my life, as we have studied successful people in all positions, industries and organization sizes, we have noticed certain commonalities of attitude and habit.  These commonalities not only improve current situations and circumstances, but also improve life over time.  These same approaches have value and power in our personal lives, not just in business. The sum total of them cause: Self awareness Maturity Great relationships Ever increasing results But how do you get there?   […]
Are You Ready For The Homerun?
Each of us has an opportunity every day to live each moment to the fullest and make each and every interaction one that is memorable and impactful.  In order to do that you must make a concerted effort to make each interaction a homerun. Once you make up your mind that this is how you want to lead your team, drive your organization forward and live your life to the fullest, here are a few tips that can help. Review […]
Effective Communication Skills for Business Success
  In this “Drive Through With Don”, he discusses two different teams and the effect communication had on the success of the businesses. One team was struggling and frustrated and they communicated very poorly with each other.  Poor communication damaged relationships, created mistrust among the team members and any efforts to turn this around were either blocked or given very little effort.  Once a team becomes ineffective it bleeds over to customers and suppliers and before too long, the problem […]
Effective Communication and Better Listening Skills
When most people think of communication, they think about talking and passing along information, advice or opinions.  Effective communication also involves actively listening, knowing when to speak and when to stay silent.   Keep in mind that 85% of what we communicate is nonverbal so in addition to being patient, your face and actions must also be considered.  All organizations maintain that they value open communication, but few listen to their staff, customers and suppliers effectively.  Listening, like any other skill, […]
Change Management Process for New Managers
When my friend John moved downstate to take a new position, he was nervous. He was coming into a totally unfamiliar organization as a manager. Most of the people he would be managing were 20-30 years older than he was. There was an established culture with prevailing relationships and time-honored routines, yet part of his job was to shake things up. He and I both worried about his ability to tackle these challenges. How could he, a much younger manager, […]