Leadership

An Easy, No-Pressure and Super Powerful Way to Grow Your Professional Network

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The Informational Interview

You’re crazy if you don’t take this meeting… When someone offers you an opportunity for an informational interview. Or when someone asks if you can hold an informational interview as a favor to a friend or colleague. This is networking at its essence! Professional development is most profound outside of the four walls of whatever organization you’re in at the moment. Get outside. Meet people. You will learn way more than you will inside the walls of your small world. Information and a Whole Lot More It may be called an “informational interview” or go by some other name. It’s the one-on-one networking opportunity … Read more

The Game-Changing (and Simple) Secret to Your Best Year Ever

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New Year Strategy

Now is a great time to open up a whole new world of possibilities for yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more possibilities? Well, you can. Because science has actually proven that you can create your own luck. I’ve experienced it first-hand. It works. Opportunities appear for those who are ready for them. Those who can see them. Those who can seize them. The secret to finding new opportunities is believing that you will. The best way to do that is to develop a habit of trying new things. The more you see, the more you will believe that … Read more

Preparing to lead

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Frequently, we think of leadership as a heat of the moment endeavor. A situation has developed to a point where decisiveness is needed. A clear need for action exists. It may be a crisis, or it may be an opportunity. Leadership is called for, and great leaders rise to the challenge. These moments crystalize the story of leadership. And while they are authentic, they are incomplete. The moments are built upon a foundation established gradually over time. Good leaders understand this and go about that foundation building very intentionally. This deliberate effort is not at all glamorous. Progress is slow. … Read more

Change your little corner of the universe

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Big, systemic change doesn’t happen in on fell swoop. Nor does it happen overnight. Nor can you do it alone. Rather, little change is the path to big change. And “my boss won’t let me” is no excuse. Take a few minutes to watch this video clip from an interview with Seth Godin entitled “How do you change the system when you don’t have the power?” The video is embedded below. You can also get to it via this link.

A Leader Sees Greatness in Other People

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Leadership is not about you, it’s about them. And it’s not about them being led by you. It’s about them being great. A leader sees greatness in other people. You can’t be much of a leader if all you see is yourself. -Maya Angelou Leadership is about possibilities. It’s about a better future, built together by using everyone’s best effort. A great leader will bring to the table a compelling vision of the future that serves a greater good and inspire others to help make it a reality.

Situational Awareness

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Leadership is not linear. It’s not what they teach you in school. Case studies are artificially neat and clean. Rather, good leaders have honed situational awareness skills that constantly absorb, process, and adjust to changing dynamics and variables. They recognize the complex system of politics, individual motivations, group dynamics, external forces, and technical matters as well as their ability to react to and influence those variables as situations develop. We bring clarity to things by setting goals, understanding and communicating objectives, and laying out a logical path forward – project plans with milestones, dates, and resources assigned. That’s all crucial, … Read more

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