Posted: February 8, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

“This is not a disciplined football team!”  Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has been known to say that often.  When I hear that, it reminds me of three key components I find in every championship team:
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Posted: December 28, 2011 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

Have you ever known someone who just seemed to attract people like a magnet?  Even to complete strangers, this individual has a way of instantly pulling forth friendliness from people, and bringing out their best.  In leadership, this is referred to as approachability.
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Posted: December 28, 2011 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

 Q. “Why didn’t you tell us at the board meeting that day?”

 A. “ Well…no one was going to listen to someone like me…I mean…you can bend the rules plenty when you get upstairs, but if you’re someone like me, you can’t get there without bending the rules”

                                                                                           –From the movie, “Working Girl”

I hope you are as excited about 2012 as I am.  Challenge and opportunity will abound.  Planning with clarity and following through with focus and resolve will put the odds in our favor.  As we look to execute our plan, let’s consider the magical ingredient of “boldness”.
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Posted: December 7, 2011 | Categories: Leadership

Daryl F. Zanuck was a famed movie producer of the ’50s and ’60s.  He was known for demanding input and perspective from his team.  His most renowned saying was, “Don’t say yes until I’m finished talking!”

For years, I facilitated a 12-week leadership course involving selected key people from various companies.  Ideally, the best strategy was to start with the top leadership of the company and work down through the ranks.  There were occasional exceptions to this strategy.  Here is one I will never forget:
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Posted: December 3, 2011 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

Teamwork:  Trust, respect…and like?

Championship teams operate at the highest level of interdependency.  Here is a comment you will rarely hear from a fully functioning team:  “He/she doesn’t like me”.  Along the same line, you almost never hear someone ask, “Do you think he or she likes me?”
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