Five Ways Leaders Lose Credibility

In The Leadership Challenge, researchers and authors, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner claim that the most important leadership characteristic is credibility. Based on extensive research over two decades, they write that “more than anything, we want leaders who are credible. People must be able to believe in their leaders.” Without credibility a “leader” won’t be […]

Three Indicators Your Meeting Should Have Been an Email

Last week I gave indicators that your email should have been a meeting. There are times when a push for efficiency via email backfires and actually creates more work. In those times, a meeting would have been more effective and more efficient. However… there are times when a meeting is really a waste of time. […]

Five Reasons a Team Lacks Joy

Being on a team that is filled with joy, passion, and purpose is invigorating. Being on a team where the collective soul lacks joy adversely impacts everyone. A joyless team harms the people on the team and those the team serves. Here are five common reasons joy eludes a team: 1. An unclear mission When […]

Three Indicators Your Email Should Have Been a Meeting

Some meetings could have been an email, but some emails should be meetings. There are times that people, in attempts to handle things efficiently, resort to an email when a meeting would have been more effective. Just because communication is efficient does not mean it has been effective. Sometimes a longing for efficiency can lead […]

Five Reasons Leaders Must Constantly Clarify and Communicate Mission

Strong teams, ministries, and organizations are filled with a clear sense of mission. You won’t have a strong culture without a strong sense of mission. A healthy culture is cultivated, in part, by a clear sense of “here is what we are going to do together.” Jim Collins wrote that when an “organization has a […]

Two Key Communication Benefits From the “Buy-In Bullseye”

It is hard to overstate the importance of communication when unveiling a new initiative or introducing change. The communication of a change is as critical as the strategic thinking behind the change. The communication of a new initiative is often as important as the initiative itself. A leadership team may have an incredible strategy, but […]

Three Ways Lateral Leadership Develops (and Proves) Your Leadership

When people speak, write, or think about leadership, they often are thinking about “downward leadership” and influencing people they oversee. “Upward leadership,” or effectively communicating to and fostering a great relationship with one’s leader, is just as critical and has crushed many talented leaders. Much more challenging than both “downward” and “upward” leadership is “self […]

Three Ways Leaders Must Communicate Vision

If you have not gotten tired of speaking about your team’s mission, the team does not yet know it. If you have not articulated the current vision over and over again, the team vaguely knows what is important. Most leaders fail to understand how long it takes for organizational direction to be understood and embraced. […]

Four Practical Ways to Change Organizational Culture

Changing the culture of an organization is extremely difficult, and it is not something that can be done with a new logo, a purpose statement, a white board session, and a few media slides. In fact, Tom Peters has accurately stated, “It is easier to kill an organization than it is to change it.” And […]

You Are Wasting Your Weekly Staff Meeting If…

Most people struggle with meetings, unless they are leading them—and they think those are awesome! The truth is that meetings are important. Without meetings, teams can move in a plethora of directions, communication gaps can grow, and execution can suffer. But weekly meetings, if not led well, can be an absolute waste of time. And […]