I sometimes describe the calendar and the competing demands we face as a dragon that must be slain every day. On the days we prevail our influence increases. But the truth is, despite our best efforts, some days the dragon wins. Fortunately for us and those we lead, we have the opportunity to start fresh every day… but so does the dragon.
Tag: Reality
As organizations grow, it is increasingly difficult for leaders to stay in touch with the real world. Many leaders understand this unintended consequence of growth and battle against it. Others, less attentive, can gradually lose site of reality. Today’s Challenge: How does a leader stay grounded in reality?
Leaders generally know where they are trying to go – it’s called vision. The best leaders also have a good sense of where they are today – it’s called being grounded in reality. However, the challenge is often the how. How will you move from here to there? Today’s Challenge is a question about that journey: I know where I want to go as a leader, how do I get there?
Categories
What's Your Picture of the Future?
As we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of The Secret, I thought I’d write about each of the five practices Ken and I outlined in the book. Although the practices were never intended to represent the steps or process of becoming a leader, the first practice is where leadership begins. Great leaders See the Future.
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How To Revive A Culture
Every year, I attend the Global Leadership Summit. Over the last two decades, it has been a constant source of challenge, inspiration and encouragement. This year was no different. In the opening session, Bill Hybels shared some of his Hard Fought Leadership Lessons. Today, I want to recap one of those: How do you turnaround a culture?
I’ve written several posts over the last few years about change. Based on the enormity of the task we face as leaders, I probably have not written enough on this important topic. So, I’ve decided to devote five posts to the primary levers of change.
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A New Heart
For the last few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about the heart. My most recent book, The Heart of Leadership, is focused on addressing the issues of the heart that impede our leadership. In the last week, my mind has once again returned to the importance of the heart as I’ve waited with my dad for his heart surgery.
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Big Questions Leaders Ask (Part 2)
One of the most valuable activities I’ve done in recent years has been unannounced market visits. On more than one occasion, our leadership team has visited 20+ restaurants in 48 hours – about a third of the stops were at our restaurants and the balance were visits to our competitors. Never in my 35-year career have I been more grounded in reality.
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One Word… Vision (Part 3)
After more than 300 posts, this is the first one that I felt compelled to turn into three! When I started writing this, it was only going to be one – The importance of vision. Then, it turned into two – How to create a compelling vision. And now, what I believe to be the final installment – Why do so many leaders fail to turn vision into reality?
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One Word… Vision (Part 2)
Last week, I began a post on Vision. I shared my working definition and my case for why it matters. Realizing you probably already know it matters, I wanted to follow up with a few ideas on how to create one.