Tag Archives: leadership training and development

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Upcoming Leadership Events

Below are links to several leadership events that Jason Pankau and I will be speaking at or participating in.

On January 27, I’ll join Dean Homer Erekson of the Neeley School of Business at TCU where we will discuss leadership and employee engagement as part of the Tandy Leadership Speakers Series.

On February 10-11, I’ll be in London participating in the HTB Leadership Conference.

On March 4-6, I’ll be in at the Homestead resort in Virginia where my colleague Jason Pankau will speak at the New Canaan Society Annual Retreat.

On March 7-9, I’ll be speaking about leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation at the National Human Capital Summit in Atlanta.  I hope you’ll check it out and consider attending.

On March 10-11, Jason Pankau and I will be speaking about Connection Cultures, leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation at the Learning for Life Conference in Reno, Nevada.

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How Solitude Shapes Great Leaders

Take time to read this thoughtful speech entitled Solitude and Leadership by William Deresiewicz given to this year’s plebe class at West Point. He describes how great leaders develop the courage of their convictions, which includes moral courage. Reflection, time alone with one’s thoughts, interactions with trusted friends and reading great books, as Deresiewicz says, are part of the mix.  What he didn’t adequately include is the impact of one’s experiences in life including one’s family of origin and periods of adversity and suffering that breed humility.  Despite its shortcomings, it’s a fine speech and well worth taking time to read.

Many thanks to David Books of The New York Times for bringing this thoughtful speech to my attention.  Brook’s recognized Deresiewicz’s speech as one of the best pieces of long journalism written in 2010.

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Motivate Employees Now

Fired_Up_or_Burned_Out_Book_CoverThis morning appeared as a guest on my friend Jim Blasingame’s nationally-syndicated “Small Business Advocate” radio program where we talked about leadership, employee engagement and productivity.  During the program, Jim and I discussed how the three core elements of a Connection Culture — Vision, Value and Voice — motivate employees to give their best efforts and align their behavior with organizational goals.  One of the ideas I shared was to bring employees together to read and discuss a management book including how it applies to their business.  To get them started,  I offered a free download of the digital version of Fired Up or Burned Out to listeners who sign up for my email newsletter.  To sign up for the newsletter and access the free book download click on this link.

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Best Posts on Leadership from Top Bloggers

Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership hosted this month’s leadership carnival that features best blog posts of top bloggers on leadership. Here’s what Dan wrote about it:

Welcome to the September 5th, 2010 Leadership Development Carnival Back to Football edition! Yes, Fall is in the air, and the NFL kicks off it’s season this Thursday with a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game – the Saints and the Vikings.

To get in the spirit of the season, this month’s Carnival is set up as if you’re watching the big game, from tailgating to post game highlights. So grab your favorite snack and beverage and get ready for some championship caliber leadership development advice and opinions from some of the best bloggers in the league.

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To Impart Your Values

How do you impart values to the people you are responsible for leading, including your children? Recently I had the opportunity to watch a leader who does this well. I’d like to share three critical actions that I believe are necessary to impart your values and I think you will be inspired by and learn from his example.

1. Communicate Your Values, Upfront and Often

Leaders need to lead courageously by telling people what they believe. Ted (not his real name) has developed a small, pocket-sized, laminated card that describes his values and has given the card to all of the employees of his company.  The contents on the card define what behavior Ted expects of himself and of the people he is responsible for leading. Each morning a one-page sheet entitled “Connect” is circulated throughout Ted’s company that includes a story about employees living out one of the values.  Work groups meet briefly each morning to review the Connect sheet.

One morning I attended a session that Ted holds each week with his leadership team and a select number of potential leaders.  There were about 30 people in attendance. Ted stood upfront where he spoke and facilitated the session.  During the time the group discussed one chapter in a leadership book they were reading together. About one-third of the 60-90 minutes session is set aside for small group deliberations.  The material they covered the day of my visit was on the value that is most important to Ted: caring about people.  Studying great books is an ideal way to learn and grow, and to bring the team together.  This shared practice also helps maintain awareness of and reinforce the importance of Ted’s values.

2. Live Your Values Daily

It is said that values are caught not taught.  I don’t agree.  Values are taught and caught.  Both are critical.

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US Navy and U2: What Connection?

The US Navy and U2 in the same article! Huh?

That’s right.  It’s true. Check it out for yourself.

The Leader to Leader Institute just posted an article on its website that Jason Pankau and I wrote for the Summer edition of the Leader to Leader Journal. The article features the stories of the US Navy’s former Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Vern Clark, and Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2.  The article is about the topic of connecting with “core employees” to boost strategic alignment, employee engagement, productivity and innovation.  Here is a link to the article entitled “To Boost Performance, Connect with the Core.”

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July’s Leadership Carnival

Every month I participate in a leadership carnival with several bloggers whose work I respect. Each blogger selects one of their best blog posts over the course of the  prior month and submits it for inclusion in the carnival.   Below are links to the blog posts for the July leadership carnival.