Stepping into a new leadership position is a strange situation to many. You’ve worked so hard and so long under another person that to lead a team feels daunting. It feels unnormal.

Thoughts flood your mind. You begin to think about the choices you make. The decisions you have to decide.

After every decision, you wonder if the feeling in your gut is normal. 

The feelings of wonder, doubt, and exhilaration are something that everyone feels after making a major decision. IT IS NORMAL.

It’s also something that isn’t regularly talked about. Leaders love to share their wins, their confidence, their pride.

But their doubts? Their hesitations? Their questions? A lot of leaders are unwilling to share these.

We need to break this model of broken leadership. We need to make it normal to share our doubts, disbelief, and questions.  Read more...

While there is no federal law mandating paid or unpaid bereavement pay, many organizations consider this a part of an employee’s benefits package. They know employees are better when they have time to grieve and care for themselves after losing a loved one.

I lost my father at the end of October. It came as a heavy blow to my heart, mind, and soul. My father was the patriarch of my family and held so many things together. Without him, life has been difficult.

This experience has made me rethink the bereavement process. I think every leader of an organization needs to rethink their bereavement process.

Leaders are risk-takers. They push the boundaries and plow new paths. They know this is the way to new success.

Your team, however, may not be as excited about risk as you are. They’re looking to hold onto their jobs, not rock the boat, and to make sure their work gets done without much interruption.

Risk is not something the normal team member wants to take.

And that’s a crying shame.

Yet, many leaders have created this atmosphere or inherited it. Previous leaders have reprimanded their team members when they’ve taken a risk and something blew up.

Is it any wonder team members are scared to take a risk? NO!

You can change this fear mindset. You can help your team become risk-takers. Let’s look at ways you can do this.  Read more...

Think about the title of this article for a few minutes. What does slow is smooth, smooth is fast mean to you?

I was listening to the Pursuit Of Service podcast hosted by Brian Dodd and Jeff Wright. Brian mentioned the movie Zero Dark Thirty.

Zero Dark Thirty tells the story of Seal Team 6’s elimination of Osama bin Laden. This includes the entering of his compound.

Brian shared how the Navy Seal team moved. They took it slow. They were smooth and methodical in their movements. It wasn’t an in-and-out type of mission.

Their deliberate movements and collection of data allowed them to be successful in their mission.

We need to be slow:

You may have heard that you need to move fast to be a great leader. You don’t. You need to move slow.  Read more...