Category: Leadership

Understanding and developing leadership skills that benefit others.

How Your Shoe Selection Can Change Your Career

Mrs. fromthebachrow.com encourages me to tell stories in my blog to plug my message in a more entertaining way. She’s also a good editor for me.
I came across the FB page of the person that I worked with at one time. She was one of my peers when I was carrying the sales bag. Laure was a West Coast sales rep and by far the most colorful, expressive and flamboyant person I ever had to sit through within training and meetings. She also dressed professionally and to the nines, so to say, and had some wild designer eyeglasses as well.  She was fun and entertaining to be around especially when we had some product issues that affected “Her Customers”. The way she would carry on sometimes with her thick French accent would bring a smile to anyone.  Continue reading “How Your Shoe Selection Can Change Your Career”

The Leadership Roster

Unveiling Leadership Wisdom: 40 Years, 20 Mentors, Countless Lessons

Over the years, I made notes on what I learned from people I reported to or provided some much-needed guidance. There were plenty of leaders, managers, and “supervisors” over the forty years some worth remembering, some not, but they all had made some contributions, good, bad, or indifferent. I came up with a summary list of people who had left enough of an impact which helped create an ever-evolving leadership style and capacity for growth. In chronological order, is a brief description of what I learned from fifteen highly effective leaders, three nice yet, ineffective supervisors, and two truly horrible, douchebag bosses. I no longer wonder how a couple of dimwit nincompoops got their jobs, but I keep them on the list for amusement purposes only.

A big heartfelt thank you to all of the highly effective leaders that I worked with. You all made a tremendous difference that has lasted a career cycle and a lifetime. Even more,  as I passed some of your leadership practices and lessons to my direct reports over the years.

There’s a story behind each that might someday make it in a possible book in the future. Some readers might recognize the distinct names and unique and endearing characters and I request for the sake of discretion please consider that your comments are in the public domain.

It’s been an interesting exercise and highly recommend that you give it a try to discover a few of the origins of your your habits and patterns. Visit your list on occasion or when someone triggers a forgotten memory and write it down.

Lessons From the Masters In My Working Career

Continue reading “The Leadership Roster”

Don’t Quit

Goal setting is a continuous process and now that you have some goals or dusted off some forgotten ones, it’s time to start creating enough runway to get these goals off the ground.  I’m talking about execution by taking the small steps and a few easy wins to get the momentum up.   Come around the end of February, goals start to lose their shine because we get busy doing other things.  As John Lennon once said:

“Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans.”  

The Poem below is something I found in a Dominick’s Food Store Newsletter where I was working during my freshman year in college.   As you can see, it’s the original and getting tattered, and torn and has a nice 40+ year patina.  At one time it had the author’s name on the lower right-hand corner, Ziegler.  I’ve kept this with me over the years and now and then, when I get stuck, I pull it out and to read it.   When the internet became popular, I found a few different versions of it.  I like this one the best.

What does this have to do with goals, planning, and execution?  It’s a piece of “history” that will help you get back on track when you come across some bumps in the road or lose your focus.  It has a great line about giving you permission to take a rest and then get back to it.   Print it out or take a photo of it and keep it handy.  It can help provide a different perspective without losing sight of the runway.

Bottom Line: It’s the last two lines of this poem.

Annual performance reviews: Who likes to receive them?

We’re nearing the end of the annual performance review season and I always question their value on the receiving end. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are valuable when they are done well, especially in an ongoing manner throughout the year. It’s called feedback throughout the year. I for one enjoy writing the reviews and spend a great deal of time preparing them throughout the year. These reviews have a perceived value because I make it a point that adds value for the recipients. The final written reviews are chocked full of good feedback and positive and constructive action items to work on. They provide some guidance for the upcoming year. Continue reading “Annual performance reviews: Who likes to receive them?”