Monthly Archives: July 2013

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The Lie Of Busy

Can you hear it? That small whisper in your ear. It’s telling you a lie.

There’s a good possibility you can’t hear the lie well. But you feel it. You’re compelled to do what it says.

The whisper is telling you that you MUST be busy.

You’ve heard this whispered lie, right? That’s why you try so hard to fill your day with activities and motion. The lie of busyness is why I there are days I try to fill my time with unimportant busywork.

We’ve been told to be more productive, we’ve got to be busy doing work. We’ve got to fill our schedules. We’ve got to pack our day with activity.

And it feels good. We’re doing work! We’re getting things done! We’re being productive!

But it’s a lie. Just like the cake is a lie.  Read more...

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10 Leadership Lessons Learned From My Blog Commenters

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from blogging and reading other people’s blogs, it’s that insight doesn’t come only from the author. Many times the comment section is full of wisdom and knowledge about leadership.

Image by Ian Mottoo

Image by Ian Muttoo

The community on this site is very active and it can be easy to miss some of the great content shared within the comments. Today, I want to take time and share 10 leadership lessons that commenters on the blog have shared in the comment section.

1. Self confidence is contagious to a team. Leaders must have confidence in their ability to lead (make decisions, delegate, correct, advise, teach, mentor, train, motivate, etc). Amazing things happen because of confidence. And, it’s easy to prove. Walk into a room full of people with your head up and your shoulders back. Walk in as if you are in charge and watch people sit up. It’s almost funny.
— Charles Hutchinson  Read more...

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What Wolverine Can Teach Us About Leadership

A Reel Leadership Article

One of my favorite comic book characters growing up was Wolverine. He was a tough, no-holds-barred man who was searching for his past and trying to reconcile who he was.

To this day, his past is still somewhat of a mystery. But today a bit more of his story gets released in the new movie The Wolverine.

This got me thinking about the leadership lessons I learned while reading about his exploits in the Marvel comic book series.

Image by Rob Young

Image by Rob Young

Having been a part of the X-Men, Avengers, Alpha Flight, and other superhero teams, Wolverine has been around the block. He’s fought multiple villains, faced death, and been transformed.

His story is intriguing and we can learn quite a bit from his journey.

There’s more to you than you think: During the Fatal Attractions storyline, we see Wolverine have the adamantium torn off of his skeleton. What happened next shocked many readers. He survived and, surprisingly, still had his claws.  Read more...

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The Importance Of Simple Answers

We all know the importance of communication. It’s the lifeblood of our organizations. Great communication helps us to send a clear message to our teams.

But how often does our communication get muddled in complexity? Have you ever thought of the importance of simple answers and simplicity in communication?

The more I think about this, the more I draw the conclusion we must be able to give simple answers in our communication.

Sure, there’s times when we must use the terms of our industry. There will be times outsiders won’t understand what we’re talking about. The key is nailing it down in simple terms.

Complex Answers…

We’ve all run into the person who has to have the most detailed answers. They can go deep into the issue. Yet you come out confused and perplexed by what the person has shared with you.  Read more...

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5 Ways To Help Your Team Grow

We know great leaders continue growing even after formal education. They also help their teams to grow.

I’ve shared how to create an environment of growth before. Today, I want to take it a bit deeper and give you 5 more ways to help your team grow.

Image by Paul Bica

Image by Paul Bica

Our main goal, other than leading the organization towards it’s goal, should be to create leaders. Whether it’s to take our place or to come alongside us, we need to be growing new leaders.

The best way to do this is to help people grow. There’s many ways to do this but I want to focus on 5 ways you can help others grow.

1. Grow yourself: Jack Welch once said “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” So what does this mean? This means we need to focus on ourselves and grow. Get to the level where you know more than someone else.  Read more...