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performance Resources

Leadership Thought #334 – We All Need to Get Our Performance Edge Back

I don’t know when the shift started to happen in my lifetime, but we have changed from a nation that gets results to one that seems to accept a lack of performance and then bemoans our lack of progress. You see evidence of this everywhere you turn: 1) structural economic issues that never get fully addressed; 2) traffic problems that never get solved; 3) infrastructure needs that are constantly put off until there is a crisis; 4) schools that turn out less than stellar results; 5) a widening gap between the wealthy and everyone else; 6) a health care system that is broken and too costly to maintain; and 7) wars that are started but never end, etc. Each group of leaders claims they are doing their best given the circumstances and/or blames their opponents for not doing their part. They then have the gall to rant on about our “exceptionalism.” It is a vicious non-productive and self-deluding cycle.

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Leadership Thought #293 – Set People Up For Success

One of my least favorite sayings I hear from business owners is that “we throw people into the deep end of the pool and see if they can swim.” What a bunch of nonsense! As a leader it is incumbent upon you to make sure your people have the job clarity, tools, resources and training to be successful. You are supposed to set people up for success not push them towards failure. Darwinian logic misapplied to the work environment is professional malpractice.

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Leadership Thought #275 – Leaders Lead!

There is no such thing as passive leadership. Leaders lead – it really is that simple. Instead of shying away from a challenge, leaders embrace it. When others are hesitant to take action, leaders step up and seize the initiative. Instead of folding under pressure, leaders thrive under the spotlight and find the harder parts of their job the most rewarding. Leaders intuitively know that everything important begins and ends with them, but the middle part is a team effort and they allow others to step up and share their individual and collective strengths as needed. The best leaders only say “I” when it involves shouldering the blame, but say “we” when it means sharing the credit.

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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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