Leadership

We tend not to think of humility having much to do with leadership. Leaders, after all, are people who seek opportunities to lead, which might be the opposite of humility. We see humility as being a little insecure. We believe that people with humility shy away from the spotlight, avoid becoming the center of attention. We see leaders […]

No, not by strutting around while you let everyone else do all the real work. No, not by gobbling up all the credit or recognition within reach. Not even because Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the wild turkey the national bird rather than the eagle. Turkeys inspire our leadership a little later in their life stories. It is

Like determined detectives, leaders are sparked by curiosity. Relying on a combination of rational analysis and intuition, leaders search for deep truths. Leadership is motivating people toward common goals. Some people look like they are trying to motivate the people around them through fear and brute force. They do not seem interested in inspiring people,

The things that surprise me are the people and situations outside my expectations. I have worked with people who believe leaders should never be surprised. They think planning and preparation allow leaders to anticipate every possible challenge. For them, leadership is about foreseeing and being ready for any eventuality. The leaders who inspire me recognize

Some people understand leadership to be like an article of clothing. They believe they can put leadership on or take it off as they need it. Some of us see a quality or skill in a window and decide to add it to our leadership ensemble. They may add a scarf or shoes to their leadership wardrobe

Yes, there are treats and tricks. Yes, there are masks and costumes. The truths go deeper than that. Halloween has strong cultural, historic, and spiritual roots entwined with some of our deepest fears. When I was a child, I understood Halloween as the day for collecting candy. As I grew up, I focused more on deciding what costume

There are times when we just want to sit and be comfortable for a while. We want things to be normal, typical, predictable. We have our own perspective on what life should be like and how to deal with the way we like it. We see life in ways that make sense to us, and just want

Some people believe that leadership is all about knowing things. They expect leaders to be experts, to have all the information they need at their fingertips. They believe leaders should know things, or at least be able to find answers quickly. Not only facts and information, leaders really ought to know what is going to happen

Some leadership is like winter; everything is under the surface, hidden by cold layers of ice and snow. Some leadership is like spring; plowing new ground and planting seeds. Some leadership is like summer; tending, watering, helping people grow and produce. Some leadership is like autumn; sparking explosions of color and harvesting rich crops. Autumn is the time of reaping

We spend a lot of energy and time thinking about leadership. We try to understand it, to put it to work for ourselves. We wonder how people become leaders, whether they are born leaders or are made along the way. We identify and evaluate leadership styles, assessing which are the most effective. We analyze the