In late September, 21 members of the Lead Change Group launched a book, The Character-Based Leader. I’m pleased to announce that five of the authors have stepped forward to offer $300 worth of free materials to readers of the book. My fellow authors Georgia Feiste, Christina Haxton, Lisa Petrilli and Susan Mazza have put forth…
Surly Name Tent Ice Breaker
Do you lead meetings on topics that cause strong emotions and opinions amongst the meeting attendees? If so, you may want to consider this unique way of surfacing concerns prior to starting the actual meeting agenda. I’ve used this process many times and find that it can add a bit of levity to a “heavy”…
Why Jargon Makes Leaders Sound Stupid
Bleh. I just sat through a presentation where the corporate-speak was as thick as pea soup and as gag-inducing as well. News flash for leaders: jargon doesn’t make you sound smarter. It just makes you a target for parody. If you sound at all like Talking Hand Bob, your team is having a lot of…
Leadership Development Carnival – November 2012
The November 2012 Leadership Development Carnival is up at Dan McCarthy’s blog Great Leadership. It’s a hefty carnival – 32 submissions this month. Lots of great reading – a few highlights: – Are you coachable? – Business ethics and rationalization – Your leadership promise – Slowing down – the next big cultural challenge I’m…
Apple in the Orchard
I grew up in the “fruit belt” of southwest Michigan, surrounded by fields of blueberries, raspberries and concord grapes. Because of this, I’m drawn to works with agricultural motifs. So when my colleague Sonia DiMaulo told me she was writing a book based in an apple orchard, I couldn’t wait to read it. The Apple…