Advisors Advise — Directors Direct

Jan 24, 2012 | Leadership Development

Once and for all, let’s clarify the difference between Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors. People often believe they are one-in-the-same and use the terms interchangeably. When, in reality, they are very different entities. And although they are both important, they wield very different levels of power. The shareholders or members typically elect the people who will serve on the board of directors. In a small firm, the board of directors is usually comprised of the business’ owners and...

Are Your Biases Blocking the Message?

Jan 17, 2012 | Leadership Development

In recent client planning sessions, I've noticed a troubling trend: many leaders don't listen. Oh don't get me wrong, the leaders hear words. They hear the initial few words uttered by one or two planning team members, but they don't grasp the members' intended messages. Why? It's not because the team members don't speak clearly and it's not because the team members don't know what they're talking about. It's because the leaders aren't listening. The leaders aren't listening to the team...

I Want My Life Back!

Jan 10, 2012 | Leadership Development

Yep, I heard it again. A new client, a CEO, told my team prior to our first work session, "I want my life back. I love working, but I've got to stop working 80-hour weeks. Something needs to change around here." Sounds logical and completely reasonable to me, but how do you get your life back if you are the only person who knows your job? Worse yet—how do you do that if you are the owner, CEO, or another member of the C-Suite? Who can do your job? As I have observed over the years, being...

Guest Post: Shep Hyken

Jan 6, 2012 | Guest Post

We have a special guest on the blog today. Shep Hyken, Shepard Presentations, LLC, has written a terrific article that we'd like to share with you. Are You the Owner? By Shep Hyken At many of my presentations, I’ll leave time at the end for the audience to brainstorm the ideas and take-aways they plan to implement as a result of what they heard in the speech. At a recent presentation for the Vail Valley Partnership in Vail, CO, Clark Walsh an employee at Old Forge Pizza made a great comment:...

Fear of Difficult Conversations

Jan 3, 2012 | Leadership Development

It's been happening more and more. Clients are complaining about their managers' inappropriate behaviors, lack of management skills, and inability to take on greater responsibilities. Yet, when I ask if they have discussed the problem areas with their managers, they say, "It won't do any good. I talked to them about this years ago and they never changed." Why do so many of us fear having difficult conversations with our managers and other members of our staffs? Why do we choose to not...