Tag Archives: Leadership

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4 Teamwork Lessons from the Iditarod

Iditarod

As seen on Fox Business

Saturday begins the Iditarod, a grueling dog sled race that spans nearly 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. Not only is the terrain challenging but wind chill temperatures have fallen to as low as 130 degrees below zero in past races. The winner of the first Iditarod in 1973 took almost three weeks to finish. Today racers can complete the “Super Bowl” of dog sled races in less than 10 days.

Adversity faced by sled dog teams racing in the Iditarod makes the event a stress test for teamwork and the cohesiveness of a team’s culture. Reading about it, I could see parallels between sled dog teams and teams of people in organizations.

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San Antonio Spurs’ Culture of Sustainable Superior Performance

Gregg Popovich

Image Source: Flickr Spurs-Magic080

As seen on Fox Business

Earlier this month, Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team, won his 1000th NBA basketball game, making him the 9th NBA coach in history to achieve this feat. Popovich adds this to a long list of achievements including five NBA titles with the Spurs and three NBA Coach of the Year honors.  This is his 16th season as the Spurs head coach.

How has he been so successful?

Like all great leaders, Popovich creates a culture that produces sustainable superior performance.  Here are four factors that contribute to making the Spurs’ culture a source of competitive advantage.

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To Connect, Reflect Before Offering Improvements

Reflect before offering improvements

#70 Reflect Before Offering Improvements

Author/executive coach Marshall Goldsmith recommends that when someone offers an idea, suggestion, opinion or plan, take time to reflect before offering a suggestion to improve it. Many people are in the habit of quickly adding their better idea by saying “but…” or “however…” Habitually doing this undermines connection, commitment and engagement. When it’s the other person’s idea, he/she will implement it with greater enthusiasm and energy so consider if your enhancement really matters before offering it.

This is the seventieth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Leaders Need to Walk the Halls

Visiting Employees in the Field

#69 Walk the Halls

Howard Behar, the secret weapon of Starbucks, tells leaders to “walk the halls.” Howard, former President of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International, played an instrumental role in growing Starbucks then came out of retirement to help turn Starbucks around when it went off course. “Walk the Halls” is similar to “Management by Wandering Around,” or “MBWA,” a term coined by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their book In Search of Excellence. Walking the Halls is all about getting out of your office, getting to know the people you are responsible for leading and listening to them.

This is the sixty-ninth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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What Corporate Culture is Best for Change?

FCB Has a Culture Suited for Change

Photo Courtesy of FCB

As seen on Fox Business and SmartBlog on Leadership

Consider this: few of the 500 largest corporations from 50 years ago exist today. They failed to change and became irrelevant, left behind by emerging competitors more in tune with the market.

How is it possible that so many top companies made this same fatal mistake? The answer may lie in a very simple explanation. Humans run corporations, and humans have a biological aversion to change.

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What Marcus Mariota Teaches Us About Success

Marcus_Mariota_v._Colorado_2014

Marcus Mariota throws a pass while playing against Colorado in 2014. Photo courtesy of Alex Thies.

As seen on Fox Business

Marcus Mariota’s list of accomplishments is impressive. Although his Oregon Ducks football team ultimately lost the national championship game to Ohio State, the young quarterback can still claim a Heisman Trophy, Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl victories, and numerous other awards earned in just a few short years. His success as a quarterback places him in an elite group of individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their fields.

But how do people like Mariota become so successful? Are there certain characteristics these people share that set them apart?

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How to Reconnect Your Team

Business Team Discussion to Reconnect Team

#66 Reconnect Your Team

On a monthly basis at the beginning of a meeting, ask your direct reports to share something on their mind. It can be anything they care to share with the team such as something they did outside of work that other team members might be interested in or something that’s going on at work that they want the team to know about. Give each person five minutes to share.

This is the sixty-sixth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Help People Get Into the Right Role

New Job Sign

#65 Help People Get Into the Right Role

Help your direct reports get into the right role that fits their interests and strengths, and provides the right degree of challenge. If you are not able to get them a role that is a perfect fit, consider responsibilities or projects you can assign them that fit well with their wiring.

This is the sixty-fifth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Provide Autonomy in Goal-Setting

Write Goals Down

#62 Provide Autonomy in Goal-Setting

As much as possible, let your direct reports establish their Top Five annual goals after communicating that their goals need to align with your Top Five. Talk through the goals with each employee to find SHARED goals that will advance your organization’s and the individual employee’s interests.

It may not be possible to find a perfect set of goals that meet the interests of all so make the effort to find the best possible set of goals and you will be rewarded by people who execute their tasks with greater energy and enthusiasm.

This is the sixty-second post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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December Leadership Development Carnival

Leadership Development Carnival Logo

I am honored to host the December installment of the Leadership Development Carnival, a collection of helpful leadership advice from top bloggers. This month’s carnival doesn’t adhere to any particular theme, but rather features content on a variety of leadership topics and issues.

Take a moment to click through each of the great submissions, and be sure to share this collection of posts with someone you believe would benefit from the advice.