Daring Decisions in Crisis
“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 or any institution in the […]
Leaders — stewards or owners?
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, owning shares in the company […]
A Positive Work Experience – is it possible?
Reading a newsfeed on my iPad last month, a headline captured my attention. “The World Took a Negative Turn in 2017.” The news story? The Gallup organization measures the emotional state of most countries in the world each year. The 2017 survey results show a sharp increase in negative emotions – stress, anxiety, and sadness to name […]
Cheryl Shares Three New Lessons
I am excited to be back in the blogosphere talking to you about leadership. The second edition of Dare to Serve hits the market in just a couple of weeks, and I can’t wait for you to see the new chapters. You can jump on Amazon today and pre-order your copy by clicking here. Many […]
Humility Isn’t Easy
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others I was once being interviewed for a leadership job in a restaurant company. The interviewer, a senior executive at the company, asked me about my approach to leadership. I said that I developed teams of highly competent people with their egos in […]
Deliberate Dignity
Last week I was getting ready to board a flight at Newark airport. The arriving plane was late and the gate crew was rushing around to quickly get that plane ready to go. The gate agent called the first group of passengers to board, but as they got down the ramp to the door of […]
Knowing Your Gifts
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others About ten years ago, I developed a bit of an obsession. Of everyone I met, I started asking this question: “Why do you work?” You could see them trying to figure out what answer I was looking for. Because that is what […]
Go Big or Go Home
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others I have a weird personality. I only want to work on big, huge, hard things. Maybe it is my wiring of being an idea person. Maybe it is my love of turnaround opportunities. Maybe it reflects my total lack of patience for […]
How Could Service Change You as a Leader?
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others I began studying different approaches to leadership several years ago and that’s when I first encountered the idea of servant leadership. Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept of the servant leader in the late seventies – one who leads by putting the well-being […]
How Are You Coaching Your People?
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others It’s no secret people matter to me. I consider the most important aspect of my career the opportunity to coach and develop people. Coaching and developing people is a signature trait of a servant leader and servant leadership. When I began working […]