November, 2011

Leadership Freak

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Five Techniques That Make You Matter Most

Leadership Freak

The need to tell others you’re important suggests you don’t feel important. Insecure leaders need to build, protect, and validate themselves. They spend their days like male peacocks fluffing their tail feathers. “Look at me, I’m beautify; I’m important.” Fluffing activities suggest people don’t believe they matter. You must believe you matter: “Everything you will [.].

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The Top Ten Lies Leaders Believe

Leadership Freak

The truth is we tell ourselves lies. Lies seem to make life better, they make us feel more useful and in control. I can always tell when I touch the lies people believe about themselves. They deny the obvious and defend the ridiculous. It reminds me of the time one of our children denied stomping up [.].

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8 Ways to Overcome Fear and Find Courage

Leadership Freak

Gutless leaders aren’t leaders. Separated from courage the other components of leadership like decision making, problem solving, and vision casting are meaningless drivel. Cowardly Leaders: Closes their ears to criticism. Attack critics. Using anger to fuel action. Make excuses. Refuse to change their minds. Change their mind too quickly. Defend poor choices.

Politics 214
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The Top 25 Temptations of Leadership

Leadership Freak

Using position to intimidate or manipulate. Believing talent, experience, or skills compensate for preparation. Choosing the easy way for you rather than the best way for them. Overlooking the destructive behaviors of high performers. Withholding benefits or resources as punishment. Avoiding tough issues. Staying the same. Pretending you know when you don’t.

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The Secret to Powerful Leadership

Leadership Freak

It’s the morning after and it wasn’t what I heard but what I saw that matters most. I’m home from the two-day Elite Leadership Program in New York City. The drive home gave me time to think about what I heard. Believe me, A.G. Lafley, Calvin Klein, and Jack Welch hit home runs. Lafley led [.].

Welch 206
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The One and Only Reason to Help

Leadership Freak

Competent people are insulted when you try to help them do their job. They think, “You don’t trust me.” Managers must know when to step in or stay out. Help too quickly and you’re a smothering meddler; delay too long and you don’t care. When it comes to helping others, their confidence levels matter. Overconfident [.].

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15 Potent Strategies for Fighting Confusion

Leadership Freak

Confusion is common. Clarity is rare. Confusion and chaos inevitably rule unless someone intervenes. Any fool can create confusing complexity. Successful leaders always fight confusion and find clarity. Clarity is leadership’s secret and most powerful weapon. Clarity allows followers to know where they’re going and how to get there. Without it everyone flounders.

Strategy 205