Effective Accountability Requires 200%
When each party takes responsibility for clarifying expectations, fulfilling agreements and ensuring outcomes, high performance is the natural by product.
Category: Personal Effectiveness
4 Questions to Ask BEFORE Initiating a Difficult Conversation
Something happened at work that set off your alarm bells. Maybe you’re a nurse and the physician ordered a drug you believe may trigger an allergic reaction from the patient. Maybe your employee showed up late for the third time this month – and this time it caused you to…
6 Barriers to Achieving Your Dream Job
One of the highlights of last year was the time I spent hosting a webinar on dream jobs with my brother, U.S. Marine Harrier pilot Capt Cale “Rowdy” Magnuson. The concept of “dream jobs” has always fascinated me, so much so that I dedicated an entire chapter to it in…
All Hands on Deck Leadership
Who’s the real leader around here? It used to be that the leaders were the people in charge. As long as they did a good job, all was well. When they stumbled, the organization suffered until an adequate replacement could be found. That type of leadership doesn’t work any longer.…
4 Critical Skills for Leading People
4 Critical Skills for Leading People – 4 min I’ve been wanting to share these four foundational people leadership skills for quite a while now. In over a decade of working with thousands of leaders, I estimate that 80% of all people leadership challenges come down to one of these…
Overcome Your Fear and Lead
“Never take council of your fears.” That’s a quote attributed to many legendary leaders over the years. They knew what many of us are still discovering – that fear has the power to cower the best of us into making foolish decisions or taking irresponsible actions (or inaction). We all…
6 Questions To Foster Greater Team Resilience
No one has gone untouched in 2020. But it hasn’t just been the COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted each person, it’s the repercussions. Work instability, financial hardship, rapid pace of change, family lifestyle adjustments, isolation and loneliness. The stress, anxiety and pressure have reached new levels for many individuals. One…
5 Questions You MUST Ask Your Young Professionals if You Want to Engage Them
What’s the quality of your conversations with your young professionals? More specifically, what questions are you asking them? In my new book Stand Out!, I share that young professionals today are the leaders of tomorrow. The reason is a matter of simple mathematics. When the Baby Boomers retire, there won’t…
What I Believe About Leadership
Several years ago I interviewed with a large leadership development consulting firm. Things were going as expected until the office president threw me a curve ball by asking for my point-of-view on leadership. I was stumped. I had many ideas on what good leadership looked like but I didn’t have…
7 People Every Young Professional Needs to Get Ahead
My colleague Ann challenged my thinking recently. As she transitioned into a new CEO role, she reflected, “Other people have paved a way for us to succeed in ways we probably don’t realize.” I bristled at first because I wanted to believe most of my success was self-made. (This despite…
Easy Button Leadership (EBL)
In my book Ignite Your Leadership Expertise, I wrote that leaders make life easier, less complicated and more fun for those around them. When I first drafted those words several years ago, I’ll admit they felt a little cheesy. But over the years, I’ve come to realize their merit all…
Leadership Lessons from My Time in the Military
It’s been over a decade since I returned from a year-long Army deployment to Iraq. It’s been over six years since I finished my military obligations altogether. Even though I’ve all but forgotten my initial trip to the recruiter’s office, some things will stick with me for life. From time…