Monthly Archives: July 2019

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Are You Living In An Echo Chamber?

I recently entered into a conversation on Facebook. Another social media influencer had posted his opinion on the abortion debate that started with Alabama.

The conversation was staying civil. He and his wife were on one side of the fence. I was on the other side.

Starry night background image

Photo by Caleb Steele

For me, that’s okay. I can take disagreement. I can listen to someone who opposes my views and consider their argument. Then something happened.

I logged into Facebook. I checked my notifications. And there were no new notifications from this conversation.

Then I did something I shouldn’t have done. I searched for the Facebook friend. When I couldn’t find his page, I found the URL for his Facebook page and tried to access it. I received the following message:

Message on Facebook stating Sorry, this content isn't available right now The link you followed may have expired, or the page may only be visible to an audience you're not in.

Hmmm… Is Facebook broken? Nope. Something else had happened.  Read more...

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Quotes and Leadership Lessons from The Great Train Robbery I

A Reel Leadership Article

The Great Train Robbery is a two-part British television miniseries that was first broadcast in 2013 (Currently available on Amazon Prime, Netflix, and others). It tells the story of the robbery of £2.6 million (£53.5 today) from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on 8 August 1963, first from the perspective of the robbers, and then from the perspective of the police. Episode one, A Robber’s Tale, details the organization and successful completion of the robbery. Episode two, A Copper’s Tale, follows the police investigation into the crime and subsequent arrest of many of the perpetrators. It is a fascinating look at two leadership styles, similar in some aspects, very different in others.  In this first article, the leadership style of Bruce Reynolds, the “Robber” will be examined.

Characters from the TV movie The Great Train Robbery

Bruce Reynolds is the leader of a small gang of thieves, a leader who is not satisfied with the £62K ($78K today) robbery at an airport – a robbery that was “supposed to be the big one” £400K  ($507K).  He immediately begins searching for a bigger score.  Read more...

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Leaders Can Have Fun Too

Being Taken Seriously

Woot! Woot! It’s party time. Or is it? Is there ever a time for a leader to let down his guard and have fun with his team?

My answer is a resounding yes. Leaders can (and should) have fun.

Three men jumping off a snow-covered ground

Photo by Zachary Nelson

There’s multiple reasons why leaders should have fun. Some of the reasons are:  Read more...

  • Having fun as a leader helps you connect with your team. Team members can struggle to feel connected to a leader who doesn’t show a fun side. They will see them as unapproachable and uptight. Break this idea and have some fun.
  • Having fun as a leader helps relieve your stress: Leading is stressful. There are deadlines, people to manage, and people to let go. This is draining on a leader. But, by stepping out of the seriousness bubble, a leader can recover from the trials of leadership.
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How To Change How People View You

Being Taken Seriously

If you’re not okay with those you lead failing to take you seriously, you need to change something. It’s most likely not your team. It’s you that needs to change.

We can sabotage ourselves with our actions. We can sabotage ourselves with our words. And we can sabotage ourselves with our appearance.

Man with hand on his chin

Photo by Sharon Garcia

Do you know what the good thing is? We can change these things. Each of the aforementioned ways we sabotage ourselves are a choice.

We choose how to act. We choose how to speak. And we choose how to dress. This means you can change things.

That’s awesome, right? You can begin to work on yourself and you can change the way people view you.

Let’s take a look at the areas you might need to change people’s view of you and be taken seriously.  Read more...

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Live Action Lion King

A Reel Leadership Article

I can’t tell you how excited I was to see the new, live-action Lion King movie. The Lion King was a favorite movie of mine and to see it brought to life seemed like a no-brainer.

Oh… how wrong I was.

Mufasa and Simba on a cliff

The latest Disney animated movie to be brought to life didn’t wow and engage like their previous effort, Aladdin. Instead, Pam and I sat bored in the theater watching this trainwreck of a movie.

The new Lion King felt uninspired and thrown together. Nothing truly caught my attention and I was disappointed because of this.

If you do go and watch the live-action Lion King, know you won’t be in for a great movie. You’ll be in for a great movie made into something mediocre.  Read more...