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In servant leadership, which is more important – a good relationship or the pursuit of excellence? A challenging question. This matter is tested daily in the workplace. Office teams work collaboratively to accomplish goals and relationships are essential to the process. Yet, the business must perform better than the competitors
When our toddler children asked us the why question all day long we thought it was charming. It meant they were curious, smart, and exploring the world to learn new things. Then we went to the workplace as adults and things changed. Those people asking why questions all day long
Friday morning I was mentoring four young female leaders. They had asked me to spend an hour with them sharing my experiences and responding to some of the questions that were facing them as leaders. I view this as an honor and a responsibility to mentor the next generation of
Have you given any thought to whether your leadership will matter today? Saturday, I sat on the 50 yard line and watched my nephew play football for his college team. In addition, to enjoying a good game and feeling very proud of my nephew, I found watching the coaching staff
The best leaders own their destiny. They make a conscious personal choice to rise above any circumstances they face. They own whatever it takes to achieve the desired outcome. They wait for no one. They blame no one. They are not victims, ever. No industry teaches this lesson better than restaurant franchising. In franchising, the
I challenge you this week to examine the assumptions you make about the people that you lead. I believe that if you assume great things about the people you lead, you will get great things. If you assume the worst, expect to get it. At Popeyes, we run quick service restaurants
Last week, I shared with you the traits of the leader as teacher. This week we’ll examine the leader as a student. When our daughters left to go to college, my husband would write them a letter to guide their journey as a student. As I look back at these
Today I share with you a blog post from Kevin Eikenberry titled Seven Lessons Leaders Can Learn from Great Teachers. I’ve always believed that the best leaders are great teachers. Leaders who explain, demonstrate, gently correct and inspire performance in those entrusted to their care. The teaching leader is no
Tens of thousands of marchers converged on Washington, D.C. five days ago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” Day in the United States, I reflect on these words. “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should
Last week our leadership team toured six new restaurants in Indianapolis. The highlight of the trip was the opportunity to recognize the outstanding contributions of our restaurant team members. We thanked Sherrie for packing orders fast and always smiling for her guests. We admired Jesse for his sense of urgency
We are living in a bad boss reality. Are you doing anything to change it? In November, 2012, Inc. magazine featured these statistics in a website article called Jerk Alert: The Real Cost of Bad Bosses by Maeghan Ouimet. Three out of four employees report their boss is the worst
On Friday afternoon, I taught a workshop on The Purpose Of Leadership at the national convention of the business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. The audience was primarily college campus leaders of the fraternity’s chapters. Time with student leaders is my favorite kind of opportunity – to speak with young people
Monday was my first day back after a four-day vacation. I must confess, I am not good at taking vacations. For the first two days I didn’t even know I was on vacation. I kept answering emails, taking calls, and reviewing work. Somewhere around day three, I notice that I
This fall, I will have the opportunity to speak at the Gwinnett Leadership Forum, on September 5, 2013. The Leadership Forum is all about helping local leaders connect to their highest potential – a mission that is right up my alley. Twice a year they bring in world-class leaders to
My observation is that sacrifice is not a popular notion in our culture. It has bad implications. When you sacrifice, you lose something, you give something up. It might be hard, uncomfortable, even painful. Who would want that? Pleasure is a very popular notion in our culture. It has a
While speaking on a panel at the Women’s Foodservice Forum a few years ago, I was asked if mentors had played a large role in my development of a leader. I struggled with the answer because, honestly, I wasn’t sure that I had been mentored. But I certainly remember wishing
We often gain insight from questions we are asked. Particularly when the questions are on topics we were not thinking about at the time. Recently, I have been asked twice to describe my career path to groups of young leaders. Ostensibly, the young leaders were interested in how one gets
In my work, I often have opportunities to meet great leaders and to learn from their wise counsel. Recently, I met such a leader and he was kind enough to spend an hour with me sharing his observations about leadership. It was a gift. This leader served in elected and
When my daughter was getting ready to go to college, my husband gave her Cal Newport’s book, How To Win At College, to read. Among other things, it gives the future college student real world tips on what the top students do to succeed on campus. It includes advice on
One of my many shortcomings is that I hate exercise. I’ve never experienced that adrenalin rush thing that athlete’s talk about. For me, exercise is just sweat and muscle aches, and I don’t enjoy either of those things. Now rationally, I know that exercise is good for my body and that is
Have you heard about the extreme sport called expedition mountaineering? It is one of the most dangerous activities you can do – attempting to reach the summits of mountains like Mt. Rainier in Washington or Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. Most extreme sports are done alone, like cliff diving and
I’ve enjoyed the recent news coverage about Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. Jeff Bezos has proposed that one day soon our packages will be delivered to our doors by Prime Air drones. This vision has been called audacious. Many critics have implied this idea is laughable. Yet at Amazon, there
In our family, words are a constant source of debate. “When you said that you hated the Caesar salad, what did you mean by that?” Really? Do we need to discuss this? But the conversation will continue: “Did you really mean hate, or did you dislike one of the elements
There is a book series for children 8-12 years of age called Skylanders Universe: The Mask of Power. It is a conventional storyline of good versus evil. The good guys are called Skylanders. The bad guys, called Spell Punks, create a mask of power that uses fire, water, technology and
A few years ago, I was with a group of Popeyes assistant restaurant managers and I asked them, “what happens when one of your friends gets promoted to restaurant manager? Does anything change?” Laughter. Of course it does! “They become ‘the boss.’ It’s different.” “Suddenly act like they own the
Last Friday I had the privilege of speaking with a team of leaders – my favorite thing to do. The owner of a local landscaping company asked me to talk with his team about leadership. Eighteen of us gathered in my living room and, over pizza lunch, we talked about
Dick Lynch is the Global Brand Leader at Popeyes. He tells this remarkable story about his first job out of college: “I had always dreamed of a career in advertising, but could only scrape up enough money to attend a small, rather undistinguished Midwestern college. When I graduated with a
When you ask someone – what is the opposite of humility? – the answers come quickly. Arrogance. Egotism. Pride. Superiority. Haughtiness. But when you ask someone – what is humility? – the answers come much more slowly. Meekness. Quietness. Modesty? So what does humility mean at work? And what would
Anyone working on a jigsaw puzzle this summer? Have you ever worked for hours and hours on a jigsaw puzzle – only to find one piece missing? The frustration of not being able to complete the masterpiece intensifies. The satisfaction and joy of seeing the complete picture evaporates. We walk
I get tired of hearing people refer to people practices as “the soft stuff.” Accessing the full potential of your team? That is the hardest thing you will do as a leader. I love to watch sailboat races. It is thrilling to see the boat tilt to the wind, lean
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