Leading Everyone Well: Equality and Equity
In our current culture, there’s a lot of conversation about equality. Whether it’s a discussion about race, gender, or other cultural divides, over the past few months news events have forced us to reconsider the way we interact with others. It’s pushed many leaders to take a long hard look in the mirror, and that’s…
Read MoreMark Cole: What Every Leader Needs to Know
The foundation for every leader is his or her ethical standards. That’s why one of the most helpful books I know of for any leader is Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs To Know. I have recommended it countless times because it’s imperative for leaders to know and understand ethical standards. In the book, John…
Read MoreThe Cheetah Mentality: Learning How to Leadershift
Do me a favor. Take just a moment and watch this video. Isn’t that amazing? I love what they say at the end of the video about the cheetah’s legs and feet—it’s almost an afterthought, but it’s such a good lesson. “These modifications provide the cheetah with increased traction and fast, sharp turns.” When we…
Read MoreMark Cole: Listen with Your Leadership
In The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, I read that “the average person suffers from three delusions: 1) that he/she is a good driver, 2) that he/she has a good sense of humor, and 3) that he/she is a good listener.” Although that is mostly true, it is meant to make light of a very real…
Read MoreA Day of Service
What does it mean to serve? It’s a question worth asking yourself, especially if you’re a leader. Recent research has revealed that the younger generation of workers wants to work at a company with high potential AND a high purpose. They want to make as much of a difference to profit margins as they do…
Read MoreMark Cole: Keeping a Fresh Perspective
There is nothing more challenging than following a leader who feels stale. Have you experienced this? Maybe you follow a leader who feels like his/her best days are behind them and there is nothing exciting about the future. Or maybe you have felt this in yourself at times. Keeping a fresh perspective is absolutely necessary…
Read MoreThe Greatest Sign of Conflict and How to Address It
In my previous blog post, I wrote about the difference between conflict and tension, and how many leaders fail to grasp the difference. This week, I want to help make the distinction a little clearer. Tension is something leaders and teams live with every day. It’s the daily challenge of working with a diverse group…
Read MoreConflict vs. Tension: Do You Know the Difference?
Conflict. It’s one of the most requested subjects for the John Maxwell Company to address, and it’s something familiar to every leader. In fact, if you’re not familiar with the subject, chances are you’re not leading very well. No matter where you go or what team you assemble, you’re inevitably going to have to lead…
Read More‘Tis the Season to Reflect on Returns
Well, here we are, the final blog for this year. I hope that if you celebrated the Christmas holiday, it was merry and bright. I also hope you got the greatest Christmas gift in the world: something you liked. Why is that the greatest Christmas gift? Because if you like it, it means you don’t…
Read More‘Tis the Season to Reflect on Responsibilities
Do you know anyone who likes being busy? Someone who enjoys nothing more than juggling items on their to-do list? I’ve met people like that before, people who connect their self-worth to the number of items in their calendar or the different hats they may wear. And while all of them were busy, not all…
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