I’ve been chewing on the concept of leadership a lot lately. I think leadership is more a property of a group process than a characteristic of a person. I acknowledge that personal characteristics might make some more likely to engage in the process, or more likely to be perceived as successful once engaged in the [...]
In contractual relationships, our primary concern is holding others accountable for high standards of performance. Effective contractual relationships require what we deal with others in good faith and that we assume full responsibility for performing our part of the arrangement. That is absolutely essential, but the normative trust and commitment of contractual relationships will never [...]
I’ve written a lot about purpose on my blog, because I love it. Purpose is why we do what we do, and I think it is the missing ingredient in many businesses. Many businesses go to great lengths to produce statements that describe what they do, how they do it, where they do it, and [...]
I’d like to share with you one of my favorite descriptions of meaningful work. Don’t miss the fact that the leader in this example learned the power of purpose from her employee. This passage can be found in Richard Daft’s textbook “The Leadership Experience”: Servant leadership can mean something as simple as encouraging others in [...]
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I am speaking this morning to a group of leaders at Truckee Meadows Community College. It’s not often that I get a chance to speak to colleagues in education about leadership so I am looking forward to it. These folks have been participating in leadership development and my talk will be the final session. I [...]
Crappy Systems – The Reason Why Good Service Is So Elusive
Why is it so hard to get good service in a coffee shop in Reno at 7:30 am on a Friday morning? Last week I had an unacceptable service encounter at Starbucks. This morning I once again was near that same Starbucks, and instead of going for the convenient experience, I drove out of my [...]
