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Leadership Thought #464 – Embrace What Makes You Special

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to be what you are not. There are a lot of books out there that tell you that you can be anything you want to be, but this simply is not true. No matter how hard I try, there are certain things I just can’t do or won’t be able to do well. It has saddened me to watch so many people regularly set themselves up for failure with unrealistic expectations about what is possible for them and others. Instead of trying to force yourself into a role/career/opportunity that isn’t right for you, why not embrace who you are and what makes you special and tap into that?

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Leadership Thought #462 – The Need To Step Back and Reflect

In our society that rewards constant action, it is often hard to step back and reflect about where you have been, what you have learned, and where you should be going. However, leadership requires thinking and reflection as much as it is supposed to stimulate action. Many people I know are busy at doing the wrong things. They are working hard but not smart. Every day is just one more attempt to push the boulder up the hill and hope that at some point positive sustained momentum will push them over the top. Unfortunately as the slope of their climb increases the weight of their responsibilities also increases and the path they are treading becomes less predictable and stable. You can’t push forward into unchartered territory and not expect to learn some tough lessons along the way. If you are not careful, you may slip or fall and the boulder will roll right back over you.

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Leadership Thought #461 – Success Must Be Earned

I’ve witnessed a disturbing trend lately amongst many entrepreneurs. They want to work the hours of a successful person without yet attaining actual business success. I think all this talk of work-life balance has people a bit confused. It you want to run a business that supports a flexible lifestyle, you can certainly choose working for yourself as an option, but financial success usually requires very hard work especially at the beginning. You can’t enjoy the experience of having climbed the mountain without having done the hard work to climb it in the first place. You can’t be all things to all people including yourself; you must make some tough choices about how you spend your time.

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    Recommended Reading

  • 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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  • How To Be A Leader: An Ancient Guide To Wise Leadership

    Plutarch (translated by Jeffrey Beneker)

    Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Book ReviewView the Book

    The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch thought deeply about the leadership qualities of the eminent Greeks and Romans he profiled in his famous―and massive―Lives, including politicians and generals such as Pericles, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony. Luckily for us, Plutarch distilled what he learned about wise leadership in a handful of essays, […]

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    Favorite Articles

  • 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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  • Why Do Some People Succeed after Failing, While Others Continue to Flounder?

    In a new paper published in the 150th anniversary issue of Nature, Wang and colleagues developed a mathematical model to pinpoint what separates those who succeed from those who merely try, try again. Along with PhD student Yian Yin and postdoctoral researcher Yang Wang at CSSI, and James A. Evans of the University of Chicago, Wang found that […]

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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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    Video Favorites

  • Virtuous Leadership Part 2: The Four Basic Virtues – Alex Havard

    Alex Havard explains the concept of “virtuous leadership.” In Part 2, he begins to describe the four basic virtues: prudence, courage, self-control, and justice.

  • The Importance of Character in Leadership | Jordan Peterson

    Here is a brief excerpt from a Jordan Peterson lecture on the importance of personal character in becoming a good (noble) leader and the weakness in a society formed when there are not enough examples of admirable leadership qualities.  He uses a few biblical examples.

  • Five Tips for Better One-on-One Meetings

    One-on-one meetings are among the best opportunities for relationship-building that we’re afforded at work. But when run badly, they can feel like an unproductive use of people’s time. Mistake No. 1: viewing these check-ins as another task list item to check off. With planning and forethought, you can take your one-on-one meetings to the next […]

    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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