What can two musicians teach us about leadership… even from the grave? Within a week of each other, two great musicians died. As musicians, they couldn’t have been more different: one, a lyricist with a banjo who wrote songs that swayed his generation with lyrics and melodies so simple and compelling that successive generations embraced them … and the other, … Read More
Leadership Development: Reaching New Heights
Great leadership is attainable. It isn’t reserved for a select few, sprinkled with some magic dust. It is within the grasp of each one of us. The resources are there. It just requires effort and commitment. Let me illustrate with an unlikely but useful example: elevators (lifts, for our British readers). Until recently, building a mile-high building has been technologically … Read More
Essential Leadership Trait Character
Character is an essential leadership trait. What is the cost to leadership when character is absent? Six Leaders Who Lacked Character In fact there isn’t a single character who has, well, character… no one has a moral framework that guides their choices. Character in leadership is under siege. Governor Mike Morris (played by George Clooney), Governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic … Read More
Great Leadership In Tough Times?
There’s no getting around it: these are tough times to lead in. But tough times are great times for leaders who embrace the challenges. Great leaders shine for two reasons: (1) they confront the toughness in all its reality, and (2) they don’t let that reality derail them. They use a framework in their pursuit of great leadership (see an … Read More
Eight Reasons Leaders Need A Framework
I have sometimes been told that in an age of sound bites and short attention spans, it’s hard to get leaders to think. That’s not been my experience, but here is the key: when leaders are given a framework to think about leadership, they think well and deeply—and very practically. Henri Bergson put it well and succinctly: “Think like a … Read More