Leadership Tips

This episode is about reading a room by paying attention to what or who other people are looking at. This is an aspect of social awareness which is another part of emotional intelligence discussed in previous episodes

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a verbal attack that seemed too excessive for the situation? When that happens, it feels as if you have just been hit by a runaway bus careening out of control down the street. You didn’t see it coming and the impact has left you bruised and bloody with your own emotional storm.

Is right defined because of the context of my situation? At what point does our context redefine right and wrong? Should our context define right or is “right” an absolute concept? Check out this episode to find out.

If your boss asks you to do something, unless it is unethical or immoral, DO IT! Do whatever is asked of you with excellence and do it ahead of schedule. Let me repeat that: Do whatever is asked of you with excellence and do it ahead of schedule.

This is part four in a four part series dealing with learning how to practice self-management and gain better control of your emotions and your life. If you haven’t listened to the first three episodes in this series I encourage you to go back and check them before you listen to this episode.

This is part three in a four part series dealing with learning how to practice self-management and gain better control of your emotions and your life. In this episode I’m going to share with you two more techniques that are effective in giving you better self-management of your emotions.

What I’m going to cover in the next few episodes is how to manage yourself so that you will have a better chance at controlling your emotions before they hijack you and start controlling you. Not eliminate them, but control them so that they don't control you. So I'm going to share with you two methods for controlling your emotions in this episode.

In this episode, I'm going to build off the information I shared in previous episodes about self-awareness. If you haven’t listened to those episodes, I encourage you to go back and do so. Both self-awareness and self-management are part of Emotional Intelligence. Self-awareness is foundational to Emotional Intelligence and unless you are making progress in that area, what I will be sharing in abo...

Garbage in/Garbage out is an older phrase introduced in the early days of computers. It meant that if the data that was entered into a computer program was incorrect, then the final reports would be equally incorrect. “Fake News” falls into this category as well. In earlier days this was labeled propaganda and was intentionally used to manipulate whole populations. Sadly, that is still the case in...

: People with a teachable spirit are able to learn from their mistakes and grow to become better. People without a teachable spirit are always defending themselves, and blaming circumstances or others for their failures. If you do not have a teachable spirit, you will constantly wonder why you are being picked on, persecuted… or avoided. In fact, if you regularly feel picked on or persecuted, it c...

In 2011 Ed Fuller wrote a popular book titled: You Can’t Lead with Your Feet on the Desk.” As you can imagine, the central message of the book was the importance of actively engaging your employees where they are, not just from your office. You may not be a manager, yet, however, you should be aware that you could not truly lead or manage people, or lead an organization without being involved, aft...

In the last episode I discussed the first of four ways you can become more self-aware. If you didn’t listen to that episode, or the one before that on self-awareness, I encourage you to go back and give it a listen. In this episode I look at 3 more ways to become more self-aware.

In the last episode I walked you through using a SWOT analysis to begin exploring the concept of Self-Awareness. If you didn’t listen to that episode I encourage you to go back and give it a listen. So if the first question is “what does it mean to be self-aware?” The second question is, “how do I become self-aware?” Becoming self-aware is an intentional process that doesn't happen automatically....

I’ve mentioned the importance of self-awareness in previous episodes and would like to dive into that subject more deeply. What does it mean to be self aware? That's a really good question. If you are asking that question, you have already put yourself into a category of people that is beyond what most people actually consider. Being aware of oneself means having an understanding of what's going o...

Stress will ALWAYS find a way to express itself. Stress might show up in weight gain, weight loss, nail biting, teeth grinding, illness, headache, stomach issues, grouchy attitude, depression, yelling, crying, violence, etc. This is true no matter the type of stress you are experiencing: good or bad, short-term or long-term, or the source of stress

Really, everybody needs multiple mentors across their entire life. So make it your goal to get as many mentors as possible, in various areas of your life: professional, faith, parenting, recreational, etc. I have had a few that deeply influenced my life. All of my mentors taught me important lessons about what to do and how to live.

Newton’s law of inertia was directed at physical objects, however, there is a lesson here that applies to processes and people as well. I think the law of inertia also applies to people, perhaps even more so. Henry Ford is quoted as saying, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”

it is largely subconscious, you probably don’t even realize you are doing it, but be assured it is an inescapable part of our human nature. In fact it is this very human act which leads to racism and bigotry of all kinds.

Eventually, someone will confront you about some action you have taken or something you have said. In your mind, this may or may not seem to be to fair. Let me clarify something: your perception at this point is meaningless. I really can’t overstate this: your perception is meaningless until you understand the perspective of the one confronting you.

Quite a number of people will give themselves an excuse when it comes to remembering names, and they have all kinds of excuses, but the bottom line is that it isn’t a priority in their lives. They don’t see the value and can’t be bothered to put out the effort to remember someone else’s name. However, what we make a priority is what we make happen.

Most relationships fail because of poor communication. Poor communication is caused, primarily, because of our inability or unwillingness, to listen. In fact, one of the benefits of listening is strengthened relationships. When we listen more than we talk, our marriages improve, our work relationships are improved, our relationships with our children and parents are improved; quite literally learn...

Managing your life demands that sometimes you say NO. However, that can be difficult because of the three "P"s that tend to interfere. This episode takes a look at the barriers to saying no and how to overcome them.

Being content isn't easy. I know this because it has been true for me. Earlier in my life, I had resigned from my job for what I felt were moral reasons, that I was being asked to do something that was immoral, so I resigned. With a wife and three small children and literally no savings this was a problem. Trusting in God to sustain us during this time was one of the greatest challenges we had fac...

In fact, honesty is the ONLY policy! According to Kouzes and Posner in the Leadership Challenge, Honesty is the single most identified trait of Leaders that others want to follow. Everybody wants their supervisor, their Pastor, their CEO, their Mayor, their Senators and Congressmen, their President to be honest. But, of course, everyone also wants their spouse, their parents, their children, their...

I have to confess, this is an area where I struggle. I’m embarrassed to say I have a tendency to think more highly of myself than I should. Yet, on too many occasions to count I have been made aware of the truth of this proverb by having people much smarter than I am reveal that fact by their keen insight or superior presentation. So this lesson comes from hard earned experience. If you would like...