Speaking of Leadership^® Blog

Reading Time: 2 minutesIt is interesting to view leadership of projects through the standard leadership lens and figure out if it is different (and perhaps more difficult) than leading in a functional organization. Leaders are used to functional organizations like sales and marketing, engineering, manufacturing, operations, finance, and human resource departments. Projects, by

Reading Time: 2 minutesFor many, goal setting seems to be a waste of time. Why do we need to plan where we are going when we know where we want to end up? Just think about it. Would you ever embark on a cross-country car trip without laying out a map and marking

Reading Time: 2 minutesThis is the time of year when “I sharpen my saw” as Stephen Covey says. This is the time to step back, reflect upon what is going on in our lives, and recommit to our life’s work. As leaders in our respective vocations, our followers often will take pot shots

Reading Time: 3 minutesI can just hear my readers now. Oh, you stole the Nike phrase; you’ll have a problem. Having the ethical values I do, I went to the Nike web site and explored throughout, looking for the phrase “Just Do It” with a copyright. Nope, but I did see a phrase

Reading Time: 2 minutesThis business environment is certainly teaching us the meaning of the word humility—the antonym of arrogance. How often do we see the quality of arrogance in our business leaders? Some might call this confidence. Being confident is a good quality, but being arrogant is not, particularly when you are leading

Reading Time: 2 minutesManagers are expected to ensure that employees complete tasks and reach corporate objectives. But, what about your employees’ personal growth and goals? Are you watching out for them as well? It’s easiest to support your employees when you view them as people and not merely as subordinates. Taking an interest

Reading Time: 3 minutesEvery time I am in a meeting and my mind begins to wander, I have to kick myself to get back into the game. Sometimes, I also find myself filtering what is being said and applying my own belief system to what is being communicated. I know these are weaknesses

Reading Time: 3 minutesIn this uncertain economic environment, I find myself running faster and faster just to keep up. Do you feel that way? My days at the office get longer and longer and therefore the time at home—with family and friends—gets shorter and shorter. If you are anything like me, when you

Reading Time: 2 minutesEvery time I pick up the business page of a newspaper, I read about another corporate ethical situation, albeit carried over form the heydays of the late 1990s. The latest one is the additional indictment of other individuals associated with Enron. While moving through my alphabet of topics, I couldn’t

Reading Time: 2 minutesMany business leaders indicate that their success is based upon their ability to focus “in the moment.” Recently, I have been interviewing business leaders in the Boston area for an article that I am writing and to learn from their experiences. To a person, they have all communicated that a