Embracing your inherent "extraordinary" nature can be difficult. If it wasn't, there would be no conversations around the questioning of confidence and esteem, and there would be no short supply of brazen and bold individuals who are fearless and ready to do something that's outside of the realm of ordinary. The act of embracing “extraordinary,” daring oneself to be something or do something outside of one's comfort zone can be revolutionary, ... Continue Reading »
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4 leadership lessons we can learn from sports
I recently watched a high school state track and field championship. At the beginning of the evening, the excitement among the athletes was palpable. Each athlete and team had such determination and grit — but, of course, not all of them were going to win their races or the meet. At the end of the evening, I watched as one coach brought his female and male athletes together. Some had won their events, others had placed, and others did not. The ... Continue Reading »
For great teamwork, start with a social contract
To turn groups of employees into great teams, a powerful first step is to form a social contract — an explicit agreement that lays out the ground rules for team members’ behaviors. A contract can cover territory such as how members will work together, make decisions, communicate, share information, and support each other. Social contracts clearly outline norms for how members will and should interact with one another. Team norms exist whether ... Continue Reading »
Foster a culture of gratitude
This post was first published in Harvard Business Review. In the movie Remember the Titans, Coach Herman Boone takes his high school football team to the battleground of Gettysburg. Having inherited a fractured and divided squad, Coach Boone implores the players to “take a lesson from the dead. If we don’t come together, right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were.” Coach Boone then establishes the primacy ... Continue Reading »
The value you create: Your raison d’être
This post was first published by SmartBrief. Value creation is the raison d’être of any business entity. How do you accurately assess the value of a company? What dimensions are the most important for determining company value? How do you calculate a company’s long-term prospects for success? Many analysts use a broad definition of value creation, and they include in it the calculation financial factors (e.g. financial statement analysis, ... Continue Reading »
How to Use Optimism to Defeat Adversity
This post was first published in Forbes. I asked executives, in a series of interviews, about the most difficult professional situations they had faced as leaders. One chief executive discussed the effect of 9/11 on the operation of his airline company. Another told of taking his company into bankruptcy. A former CEO reviewed how his company’s stock price had plunged from a high of $48 dollars to mere pennies in less than a year. Other ... Continue Reading »