Category Archives: Guest Posts

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Downton Abbey The Movie

A Reel Leadership Article

Several episodes of the classic Downton Abbey television series provided fascinating examples of leadership and a variety of other management issues.  Now Downton Abbey, the movie, brings a story on an even grander scale – and with some outstanding lessons for today’s world.

Cast of Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey opens with a picturesque scene, a historical reality that offers a thoughtful observation on today’s “tech-driven” world.  Downton Abbey is going to be the site of a royal visit from King George V and Queen Mary. The notice, originating as a hand-written note, travels by mail train, by a mail truck, by a messenger on a bike, and then is hand-delivered to Lord Grantham.  It’s an interesting scene to observe, how a message travels – clearly the opposite of instant communications today driven by just the press of a few keystrokes.  Read more...

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Great Train Robbery Part 2

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 second article, the leadership style of Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Butler, the “Copper” will be examined.

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Helping College Freshmen Through The Awkward In-Between.

This is a guest post by Crystal Chiang. Crystal, along with co-author Gerald Fadyomi, recently released their latest devotional Starting Now: A 30-Day Guide to Becoming Who You Want to Be in College. They hope for it to be a guide to recent high school graduates as they start college.

For teenagers who grew up in faith communities, the transition to college can be a tough one for a number of reasons. Whether they move away or stay home, chances are graduating means they’re no longer in the youth group. And that means…

Cover of the book Starting Now  Read more...

  • Their high school friendships aren’t in the same place anymore
  • Their previous mentors aren’t around
  • Their normal go-to for community isn’t an option anymore.
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5 Powerful Benefits Of Becoming A More Confident Leader

EVERY person is a leader in some capacity or context: in your family, in situations at work or school, in your community… in virtually every sphere of life.

That is because, in the famous words of leadership guru John C. Maxwell, leadership is about one life influencing another.

We ALL do that.

Leadership, visionary, fearless, bold on a speedometer - Grow Your Leadership Confidence

Attribution: https://www.canstockphoto.com/iqoncept

The question is whether your influence is:

  • Positive
  • Negative
  • High impact
  • Low impact

My guess is that you are like me – you want to influence and impact others in a positive way AND in the most potent way possible.

That begs the question… as a leader, how can you increase your level of positive impact on others?

From my research and personal experience, there is a quality you can exercise (and grow in) that can supercharge your positive influence on the lives of others.  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...