trust – Nathan Magnuson

The Person on the Other End of Your Leadership

What comes to mind when you think about leadership responsibility? Taking charge? Casting vision? Setting strategy? Getting results? Every time I get to ask this question in a workshop setting, the list gets long very quickly. Let’s make it more personal with this sobering question: are the people you lead…

When Taking Too Much Initiative Hurts You

March 21, 2016 Organizational Effectiveness Personal Effectiveness

One of my all-time favorite leadership values is being proactive. It’s Stephen Covey’s first habit. Taking initiative (and accepting responsibility) is the characteristic that makes all the others possible. But can it be taken too far? Unfortunately, I’ve learned it can be – mostly because of the challenges I’ve noticed or inadvertently created for…

Getting the Most from the Human Element

February 16, 2015 Communication Culture Engagement Influence Organizational Effectiveness

If you’ve been responsible for delivering business results for any length of time, you’ve probably hit a wall once or twice with people. Someone’s feelings got hurt, another manager is difficult to work with, company politics create unseen landmines, some colleagues disagrees with you and a couple may be out…

Coach K: Mike Krzyzewski on Teamwork

February 2, 2015 Coaching Core Values Inspiration Leadership Teamwork

As a University of Kansas basketball fan, I’ve never rooted for Duke. But there is a Duke moment that stands out in my memory. It occurred probably 10 or 15 years ago. Duke was in the process of getting upset in the NCAA Tournament. They were playing hard that day…

How to Respond to a Mistake

August 4, 2014 Influence Personal Effectiveness

As an individual, it doesn’t take long to realize Alexander Pope’s timeless line “to err is human.” As a leader, it can be downright frustrating dealing with the errors of those we lead. But it’s how we respond to those mistakes that sets great leaders apart. If someone on your team…

What I Learned at Leadercast 2014

May 19, 2014 Inspiration Leadership

For the third year in a row I had the pleasure of attending the Leadercast leadership seminar at a local simulcast location. This year I attended in Daytona Beach, FL with about 80 other local leaders. The event was fantastic, as usual. I don’t get to attend as many leadership…

12 Takeaways from Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2013

May 13, 2013 Influence Leadership Learning Personal Effectiveness

My favorite annual leadership event takes place each May. It’s Chick-fil-A Leadercast. The seminar features some of the biggest names in all of leadership. This year’s theme was: “Simply Lead.” I hope you got to attend, but if not, I’ve included 12 of my greatest takeaways. Here they are:

Taming the Delegation Monster

August 13, 2012 Influence Leadership Personal Effectiveness

We all know intuitively that good leaders ought to delegate. So when push comes to shove, why do we have such a hard time with it, especially if we are relatively new at being in charge? I want to share with you five barriers that keep us from delegating successfully…