taking risks Resources

Blog Posts

Leadership Thought #377 – Put Yourself Out There

June 27, 2012

When you opt to assume a leadership role you need to put yourself out there. Like it or not, you job requires ongoing personal and professional development under the gaze of various levels of public scrutiny. Most people shy away from the spotlight but leaders don’t have that choice. You need become comfortable with being uncomfortable. The good news is that courage is often rewarded in life. It’s probably why you have your leadership role in the first place.

Leadership Thought #302 – Making Mistakes Is Critical To Your Success

February 21, 2012

Fear can be a destabilizing emotion in organizations. It limits risk taking, inhibits action and worst of all creates a cover your a** (CYA) mentality which results in countless hours of wasted energy. One the biggest fears we all grapple with is the fear of being wrong and/or making mistakes. Far too many employees would rather do nothing or rigorously defend the status quo instead of going out a limb and trying something new or different. As a result of these fears, most organizations are stuck in a survival mode because success almost always involves having courage and taking risks.

Life Design Workbook

Peggy and James Vaughan

Please click on this link for a Summary of the Life Design Workbook. The Life Design Workbook is a comprehensive guide that empowers you to take control of your life by making intentional choices that reflect your true values and aspirations. Written by Peggy Vaughan and James Vaughan, Ph.D., this workbook serves as a transformative […]
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Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

Joseph Campbell - Selected and Edited by Diane K. Osbon
Listen to Book Review Audio View the Book
Please click on this link for the Reflections on the Art of Living – A Joseph Campbell Companion Book Summary “Reflections on the Art of Living” offers a transformative perspective on the human experience. Campbell’s unique blend of scholarly knowledge and practical wisdom provides a framework for understanding personal experiences and finding meaning in […]
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Managing Oneself

Please click on this link for the Managing Oneself Book Summary. We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: with ambition, drive, and talent, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession regardless of where you started out. But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren’t managing their knowledge workers careers. Instead, you […]
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Favorite Articles

9 Management Styles Used by Leaders

A management style refers to a leader’s distinctive approach to overseeing and guiding a team toward organizational goals. When a leader utilizes the right management style for their team or organization, it can greatly impact productivity, performance and workplace morale. Effectively motivating a team is at the core of successful management and being a good […]
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A Self-Care Checklist for Leaders

Research has long shown the importance of self-care — yet many leaders still struggle to put self-care into practice in their own work lives. Before a leader can sustainably practice self-care, several important mindset shifts are necessary to ensure leaders set themselves up for success. This five-part checklist can help leaders make self-care a reality, […]
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Leading under pressure

To control the anxiety produced by moments of intense pressure, first step back and analyze the stakes. The secret is to understand that how you perceive the stakes in any given situation can be controlled. “When you get into peak pressure moments, all you can think about is how important [the stakes are], what you […]
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Leadership Interviews

Jason Lee, CEO of Lee Building Maintenance

Helpful Websites

KPI.org

KPI.org is an online resource for KPI practitioners sponsored by the Balanced Scorecard Institute (BSI), a Strategy Management Group company. BSI provides consulting, training, and professional certification services to commercial, government, and non-profit organizations worldwide. BSI specializes in helping organizations: Become a high-performance organization Increase focus on strategy and results Improve organizational performance by measuring what matters Align the […]
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Center for Creative Leadership

Ever since our founding in 1970, our mission has been to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. Driven to serve with purpose for nearly 6 decades, we’ve shaped the industry and partnered with leaders globally to take on their most pressing challenges. By expanding human potential, we invest […]
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McKinsey & Company – 100 Articles on Generative AI

Since generative AI (gen AI) burst onto the scene in late 2022, it’s captivated business leaders and society at large. The excitement is well deserved: McKinsey research indicates that gen AI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion of value annually—and redefine the way people work and live. Over this period, McKinsey […]
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Video Favorites

Powerful and Instructive Leadership Scenes From The Movie Invictus

This is a presentation on leadership skills that can be taught through movies. This can be used in classrooms, corporate leadership training, etc. In the Clint Eastwood directed movie, Invictus, Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, who navigates South Africa through the transition away from Apartheid towards reconciliation. The movie is full of leadership examples, and […]
The Eight Rules of The School of Life

The School of Life has produced 500 films and written 5 million words. This is an enormous problem. To stand any hope of remaining in anyone’s mind, ideas – even very good ideas – need to be brief and reduced to an essence. That’s why, for the sake of our followers, we’ve summarised everything we […]
Paulo Coelho’s Quotes I Learned in Youth to Avoid Regrets in Old Age

Reading Excerpts

Principles By Ray Dalio

Principles Book Summary Part 1: Chapter 1 Over the course of our lives, we make millions of decisions that are essentially bets, some large and some small. It pays to think about how we make them because they are what ultimately determines the quality of our lives… We are all born with different thinking […]
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A Sense of Urgency – John Kotter

Click on this link for the A Sense of Urgency Book Summary 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), […]
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The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

Please click mon this link for The Truth About Leadership Book Summary. 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 […]
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Interested in learning more about leadership?

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taking risks Resources

Blog Posts

Leadership Thought #377 – Put Yourself Out There

Leadership Thought #302 – Making Mistakes Is Critical To Your Success

Recommended Reading

Life Design Workbook

Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

Managing Oneself

Favorite Articles

9 Management Styles Used by Leaders

A Self-Care Checklist for Leaders

Leading under pressure

Leadership Interviews

Jason Lee, CEO of Lee Building Maintenance

Helpful Websites

KPI.org

Center for Creative Leadership

McKinsey & Company – 100 Articles on Generative AI

Video Favorites

Powerful and Instructive Leadership Scenes From The Movie Invictus

The Eight Rules of The School of Life

Paulo Coelho’s Quotes I Learned in Youth to Avoid Regrets in Old Age

Reading Excerpts

Principles By Ray Dalio

A Sense of Urgency – John Kotter

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

Interested in learning more about leadership?

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