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The first step in finding your personal purpose for work and life is to look back over the experiences of your life thus far. If we rush forward, without time for reflection on what we have learned so far, we miss important lessons. “Life is a succession of lessons which must
A couple of weeks ago I shared with you the importance of knowing why you work and how you can put into words your purpose of leadership. While we’ve tried to make the process simple, knowing where to begin can often be difficult. Over the next eight weeks, I’d like
A couple of weeks ago I shared with you the importance of knowing why you work and how you can put into words your purpose of leadership. While we’ve tried to make the process simple, knowing where to begin can often be difficult. Over the next eight weeks, I’d like
Last week I shared with you the importance of knowing why you work and how you can put into words your purpose of leadership. While we’ve tried to make the process simple, knowing where to begin can often be difficult. Over the next eight weeks, I’d like to share with
Recently, I had the opportunity of attending at the Atlanta Renaissance Dinner at the High Museum featuring wine, music, art, terrific speakers, and over 100 works of art by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The purpose of the dinner was to advance diverse leaders in top leadership across all sectors
In this last blog post discussing the themes of Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick, we are talking about Moral Authority. This topic begs a definition if we are to have a meaningful conversation. My personal favorite is this definition of moral authority:
Systems thinking has been in the leadership conversation for years, probably most notably associated with The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. But, I had not thought of it as a trait of servant leaders until I came across The Systems Pyramid in Seven Pillars Of Servant Leadership by James W.
In American culture, we admire and celebrate individual contributors. We hold up CEOs, celebrities, entrepreneurs, community leaders who have accomplished great things, and we attach those great things to a person, more often than a team. Even in our sporting events, we tend to celebrate the big name player, over the
Two weeks ago I had the privilege of hearing Ken Blanchard, author of many books including the One-Minute Manager, and Colleen Barrett, President Emeritus of Southwest Airlines. The two of them sat on the conference stage in two big comfortable living room chairs and talked to the audience about their
How many places have you worked where they saiud: “we put our people first?” And how many places was it a true statement? Putting people first is an essential pillar of servant leadership based on the writings of Sipe & Frick in the Seven Pillars Of Servant Leadership. But the
Be a person of character is an important trait. There is an initiative being taught in school systems called Character Counts. The curriculum teaches six essential values to being a person with character: responsibility, respect, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Those are all traits I would like my children to
For the next several weeks I will be blogging about the essential traits of servant leaders. The framework for the conversation comes from a book called Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick. For those of you who think the term servant leader is
Here is a question I love to answer. Does servant leadership deliver superior financial performance results? The answer – unequivocally yes. The reason I love this question is that I meet skeptic after skeptic that cannot follow this logic. It is not plausible that you could serve the people you lead and
Visiting restaurants is where I learn the most important leadership lessons. Better than conferences, books, speeches, and blogs. Restaurant leaders don’t complicate leadership. They do leadership. Meet Min Cho, leader of the Popeyes restaurant on Osan Air Force Base in Korea. Min Cho is no ordinary leader. Last year she
Feedback is truly a gift. Last night my daughter said to me, “just what is the point of your blog exactly, Mom?” In case you have the same question, I offer this answer. I want to challenge you to re-think your approach to leadership. Or perhaps, come to a point
I’m intrigued by companies with strong core purpose and principles. Once such company is the advertising agency, GSD&M in Austin, Texas. This agency was founded in 1971 by four graduates of University of Texas at Austin: Steve Gurasich, Roy Spence, Judy Trabulsi, and Tim McClure. While the founders recently retired, this agency remains
It is a rare occasion that a highly visible Fortune 500 CEO puts their personal values out for all to see. One such individual is Bob McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble. If you go to the P&G website, and search for his biography, you will also find a section
Several of you have asked me what traits I look for that I believe are essential to servant leadership. One good book on servant leadership, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership, by James Sipe, says there are seven core attributes of a servant leader and 21 behaviors to look for. This
One day I was in a Popeyes restaurant observing a busy lunch hour in a high volume restaurant. Despite the flood of urgent, hungry guests, the crew in this restaurant was getting the food out, on time and with a smile. It was like watching an orchestra perform a great
In April, my husband and I visited Napa Valley, California for the first time and as you would expect, we toured the vineyards and wineries of this region. The first thing you notice in Napa Valley is the beauty of the area – rolling hills covered with grape trellises, classic
There have been a lot of challenging circumstances lately. World pandemic. Economic crisis. Culture crisis of racial injustice. People are struggling. Overwhelmed by the layers of anxiety. My mother could get COVID-19. My husband lost his job. My neighborhood is protesting. My friend is hurting. My country is divided. And
In the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, leaders had a full plate just dealing with the immediate implications of closed operations, employee safety, rapid cash flow decline, and more. By now, most have created a new plan for 2020 that reflects this unprecedented challenge. In light of this progress,
What have you learned in the last 30 days? Will you remember it 30 days from now? Just a few weeks ago our worlds turned upside down and many of us found ourselves unable to do the things we normally do. Go to our job site. Go to the gym.
“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because, as has been said, it is the quality which guarantees all others.” – Winston Churchill Nothing like a global pandemic to reveal the courage and character of our leaders. If you aspire to be the top leader of a business
In the last week, most of us have experienced a dramatic change in our schedules and environments. Many are now working from their homes or are without a job. It all happened so suddenly, leaving us reeling from the degree of change in our lives. So, since the changes in
I heard this story some years ago that has stuck in my mind. It was about a village that depended on a mountain stream for their water. For years, at the top of that stream, there was an old man who made it his work to keep the stream clear
Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in lots of discussions about compensation for business leaders. Perhaps the most common thesis for motivating executives is “make them feel like owners.” That typically leads to a discussion of bonuses and stock awards — that are paid when goals are met. No doubt,
At a business lunch last week, my colleague said, “You can’t ask someone if they have integrity.” Isn’t that the truth? You cannot evaluate a person’s integrity by asking them about it. In fact, in my experience, asking them almost guarantees an inaccurate answer. The word integrity means “a firm
If you know me well, you know how much I love big ideas – those inspired daring destinations. I love innovation in every aspect of the business – new products, new advertising, new technology, new designs, new distribution systems. The bolder, the more innovative, the better. You also know my
Whew. The election is over. The campaign advertising has stopped. Back to work we go… Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful to live in the United States – a republic where the people elect their leaders. I have never seen a better system of government in my travels
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