High Impact Leaders

If you want to know how to improve employee engagement at your company, you are not alone. Most HR directors and executives know engagement is a problem. They just are not sure what is actually causing it or what to do about it. The good news is that experts around the world have researched this topic extensively. As a result, we know what drives engagement and what kills it. We know what moves th...

Poor leadership skills can ruin team morale. As a manager, you hold more power than you might think. Obviously, you can hire and fire your subordinates. You can also promote them… or not promote them. You may also have the ability to approve a raise. If not, you at least have the ability to conduct the annual review. In essence, your leadership skills and moral compass have a direct impact on thei...

If you’ve ever worked on a team that had a crazy amount of chemistry, you already know the answer. Everything they touched was gold, they produced more than any other team combined, and they had fun doing it. Unfortunately, you know that that is not the norm. Most teams have people you don’t like, that one person that doesn’t do anything, one person who shows up always talking about their personal...

Looking for the best way to deliver an effective impromptu speech? You will want to master two components. First, you want to reduce your nervousness so your audience sees your response as credible. Then, you want to deliver a credible response so your audience sees you as the expert. If you are new to public speaking, an impromptu speech is one where you have to speak on short notice. So you won’...

Last week I introduced the first 5 skills that every single leader needs to have to be effective, and some of them were probably surprises. I'm sure after taking the survey you realized that a lot of those skills are often overlooked. Things that really are make or breaks for a good team leader that for one reason or another are never developed either do to not knowing what they are, not know...

Leadership is not a singular skill. You're not a good leader if you just know how to discipline well, or delegate well, or coach well, or set goals well, you are only a good leader if you can fulfill all of these roles simultaneously. The problem is you can't grow as a leader if you don't even know all the roles you have to fill. So this week, that's what I'm covering.  I&...

The term “team-building” is thrown around quite often describing any type of activity that is likely to build some type of camaraderie or team environment. However, the specific activities and games that make up a good event can be lumped into a few types of categories. The success of your company depends on its foundation: customers, profit, and company culture. Team building exercises are a grea...

Welp, we're finally here, the last secret to building wealth. Maybe "secret" is the wrong word because, especially in this case, this is a tip that I'm sure you've heard before. It's almost universally known as the biggest factor in building substantial wealth. The great divider between "just getting by" and "being well off". Secondary sources of i...

Last week, on the first episode of this 3 part series, I went over how to develop the right mindset to start building personal wealth, and the pitfalls such a mindset brings with it. But just a way of thinking isn't enough to make money, it's the way in which you apply that mindset to your life that really is how the change comes.  This week we're gonna be covering how to apply that...

Get rich schemes are scams. I'm sure this is something we all know and looking at the title of this series may lead you to believe this is just another one, but I will tell you right now listening to this podcast won't make you rich overnight.  Accumulating wealth for most is a slow, arduous process with tons of ups, downs, risks, and failures. It's also something that's not gu...

Here are a few tips for new supervisors that can help you motivate your team and increase efficiency. This is a continuation of our “soft skills” series. In the first session, we talked about what soft skills are and why they are important in any role. Then, we divided these skills into four segments — leadership skills, management skills, supervisor skills, and interpersonal skills.  In this sess...

This week, Roma is filling in for Doug to talk about something she and everyone else has experienced in every workplace out there. Miscommunications! Speaking to different people, in different circles, doesn’t seem like a big deal. It’s just speaking. We do it all the time and some of us do it for our jobs, everyday.  However, think about it. How many times have you spoken to a family member, a co...

I remember going on an important job interview decades ago. The person interviewing me asked, “In this company, we like to hire strategic thinkers. How much time per week do you spend on strategic thinking?” I had been on a number of different job interviews by that point in my life. However, this question stunned me. I wasn’t sure exactly what the interviewer was asking. As a result, I wasn’t sur...

Who said that experience is the best teacher? Well, just about everyone who has ever taken a class on a subject and who later struggled to apply the content. In fact, one of the reasons why we attract so many people to our leadership classes is that we understand that people learn by doing. When a teacher or coach gives us instructions, their words are just theoretical knowledge. However, when we...

Looking for a way to get a group to solve challenging problems without coming to blows? In this session, I’m going to cover a few effective group problem solving techniques.  One of the more challenging leadership skills is getting a group to work together on a common problem. However, a group of individuals can be more creative and productive than any one person alone. Whether it's competing...

Want to create more a more effective team meeting for your group? Well first, let’s assess where your team meetings are right now. How would you describe meetings you have attended in the past? Better yet… How would your team describe your team meetings? Over the past 20 years, I have asked that question to over 1,200 audiences.  In this episode I'm going to tell you exactly what I've le...

 This week, we will focus on Management Skills. Managers have a slightly different skill set than leaders. Once the path is already created, the manager makes the movement along that path more efficient and effective. So the leader creates the plan. Then, the manager implements the plan in the most efficient way possible.  If you're a leader looking to get into management or just a manager lo...

Want a few tips about how to build team spirit when you hear words like “slow down,” recession, and uncertainty? You are not alone. In this episode, we go over several ways to keep heads up when times look low! Show Notes: Team Motivation: How to Motivate Your Team Members in Uncertain Times ( https://www.leadersinstitute.com/team-motivation-teams-learn-faster-when-theyre-having-fun/ )

Being a great manager does not mean you are a great leader. There is crossover and making yourself better at either will benefit both, but being able to lead a team and manage an operation is totally different. If you are a manager looking to grow your leadership abilities, this episode will tell you exactly what to focus on first! Show Notes: The Five C’s of Management ( https://www.leadersinstit...

For the last few weeks, I've been going through my list of the 25 absolute best Business Books of all time. And today, I finish up the list with a few of my favorite marketing books. Then, finally, I give you the best leadership book of all time. So, if you remember back to the first episode in this series, I told you that How to Win Friends was the book to start with. It is so entertaining a...

A couple of weeks ago, I explained how experience is NOT the best teacher. Someone else's experience is really the best teacher. When you can learn form someone else who has already done what you want to do, you shorten your learning curve. You can get to their success level much faster. That means that you can go even further. The first week, I gave you my best leadership books. Last week, w...

A couple of weeks ago, I explained how experience is NOT the best teacher. Someone else's experience is really the best teacher. When you can learn form someone else who has already done what you want to do, you shorten your learning curve. You can get to their success level much faster. That means that you can go even further. The first week, I gave you my best leadership books. Last week, w...

In today's digital world with AI at our fingertips and the answer to every question just a Google away, it's easy to feel like there is really no need to read, or attend seminars, or take a class. But the one, major constant that I have seen in the most successful people that I have interacted with is that every single one -- I mean every one -- is an avid reader. It's the way that...

Last week, I covered the different generations in the workplace. On that episode, we talked about how the different communication channels that each generation prefers depends a lot on the technology that was trendy during their formative years. That's why Gen X team members want you to just pick up the phone and call them and why Millennials will text each other on Slack even though they are...

A client recently asked me to do some research on the differences between the generations in the workplace. Specifically, she wanted to know about the different styles of communication between different ages. I like to think of myself as a communication expert. Granted, those who work around me will likely argue with that diagnosis. However, I have to admit, some of the things I uncovered while do...