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Leadership Thought #440 – Avoid Being Put On A Pedestal

Avoid being put on a pedestal by yourself or by others. I’ve seen good people get too full of themselves when they begin to view themselves as extra special and different from everyone else. In happens in all industries and in all sectors. Nonprofit leaders certainly aren’t excluded. It is never good for any of us to be surrounded by people who are too deferential. Success without humility typically leads to ego issues. I’m not saying we shouldn’t value or respect accomplishment, but we shouldn’t put a disproportionate emphasis on the attributes of the person. Superlative outcomes are usually the result of good timing, hard work and specialized focus not generic ability. In addition, doing good work that taps into your unique talents makes a positive difference in the lives of others should be enough of a reward. Don’t get too caught up with celebrating YOU.

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Leadership Thought #415 – Know When To Stand Your Ground

There is alot of talk about compromise in the media lately especially as it pertains to our federal government. There is this general sense that if political leaders would just be reasonable then there is an easy pathway to finding common ground. While I am certainly a fan of win-win negotiations, I don’t always believe that compromise is the best course of action. Sometimes you have to stand on principle and do what you believe is right instead of what may be politically expedient. Courage can be a lonely place at times, but going against your core values/beliefs usually has much worse consequences. Some things should be non-negotiable.

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Leadership Thought #401 – Your Pride Can Get You In Trouble

Imagine if someone was rushed to the Emergency Room of a hospital with severe symptoms of something wrong and then decided to tell the doctor that that it was no big deal and then selectively shared information about their true physical state. You would think this person was being irresponsible with their health. This happens all the time in business. Leaders let their pride and ego get in the way and it prevents them form being forthright and honest at the very time they need to be. I’ve seen many a business go down the tubes that didn’t have to because the leader was slow to act, slow to ask for help and unwilling to face reality. Avoidance rarely works in business or life.

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    Recommended Reading

  • The Slight Edge

    Jeff Olson

    Book SummaryView the Book

    Why is it that some people make dream after dream come true, while others just continue dreaming and spend their lives building dreams for someone else? One simple reason, those that are “successful” have found their SLIGHT EDGE! This book is not just another self-help, motivation tool of methods you must learn in order to […]

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  • How To Be A Leader

    Martin Bjergegaard and Cosmina Popa

    Book SummaryView the Book

    This book is an insightful guide that delves into the essential aspects of leadership. The book emphasizes that leadership is not merely a position but a choice that individuals make in their everyday lives. The authors argue that leadership starts with personal development, self-awareness, and aligning one’s actions with their purpose. The book is divided […]

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  • Leading with Questions: How Leaders Discover Powerful Answers by Knowing How and What to Ask

    Michael J. Marquardt and Bob Tiede

    Book ReviewView the Book

    In this newly revised third edition of Leading with Questions, renowned global leadership consultants Michael Marquardt and Bob Tiede describe how to ask powerful questions that generate short-term and long-term results and success. They show you how effective leaders use questions to encourage participation and teamwork, foster creative thinking, empower others, create relationships with customers, and […]

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    Favorite Articles

  • How to Talk to an Employee Who Isn’t Meeting Expectations

    Approaching a conversation about improving an employee’s performance requires preparation, empathy, and a focus on collaboration. Even though hearing the truth about their current performance will be tough and potentially hurtful, it’s a teaching moment managers must embrace to help them become more resilient and adept at problem-solving and developing professional relationships. The author offers […]

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  • Four Pillars of Decision-driven Analytics

    In a new book titled Decision-Driven Analytics: Leveraging Human Intelligence to Unlock the Power of Data, professors and behavioral scientists Bart De Langhe and Stefano Puntoni challenge the idea that our decisions should be driven by data. Rather, they argue that the power of data can only be realized by putting data in the background. In this excerpt from their book, […]

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  • Are Your Individual Contributors Feeling Isolated?

    The autonomy that many knowledge workers have in the workplace can come with the drawback of professional and personal isolation. This can have a negative impact on projects that require collaboration and creativity. One way organizations can mitigate this is by creating a “lab setting” in which employees agree to regular meetings where they share […]

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    Helpful Websites

  • Claude

    Claude.ai is a fascinating AI-powered tool that can help you generate human-like text based on the input you provide. Imagine having a super-smart writing assistant that can help you craft compelling content, summarize long documents, or even create entire articles for you! With its advanced language processing capabilities, Claude.ai can help you: Summarize long documents […]

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  • Groq

    Groq is an artificial intelligence (AI) company that specializes in developing and providing advanced AI-powered search and analytics solutions. Their technology is designed to help organizations quickly and accurately find relevant information within large datasets, making it easier to make informed decisions and drive business outcomes. Benefits: Scalability: Groq’s solutions can handle massive amounts of […]

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  • ITR Fed Watch

    Each week, ITR Economics CEO and Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu provides an update on the Federal Reserve Board’s latest actions. Our use of factual rather than emotional inputs is key to our data-driven approach to economic forecasting. Our vigilant watch for Federal Reserve decisions is part of this approach. Catch up on ITR Economics’ latest analysis of […]

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    Reading Excerpts

  • A Sense of Urgency – John Kotter

    A Sense of Urgency – Book Excerpt (Click on this link for the Word document)   Chapter 1 – It All Starts With A Sense of Urgency …Go check, then you find people running, and they are stressed out. But this man (leader), and almost everyone else around him, is mistaking the enormous amount of […]

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  • The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

    The Truth About Leadership – Book Excerpts   The Truth About Leadership By James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner Book Excerpts   Introduction – The Ten Truths The first truth is that you make a difference. It is the most fundamental truth of all. Before you can lead, you have to believe that you […]

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  • High Performance: Lessons From The Best on Becoming Your Best

    Please click on link to download a copy of this summary   SECTION 1 – HIGH-PERFORMANCE MINDSET  Lesson 1: Take Responsibility He (Albert Badura) speculated that when people don’t believe they have what it takes to complete a task successfully, they would see little point in making an initial effort. When these people did attempt […]

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