Tag: leadership

Leadership Development Strategies

I help many people try to figure out better organizational and personal leadership strategies. One of the many things that I teach my students is that there is no difference between life and leadership and that if you can master one, you can probably master the other. Of course, I also teach them that every […]

Validation Exchange Theory – Organizational Currency

Validation Exchange: Validation Exchange can be an amazing tool for communication, goal traction, engagement, performance management, quality control, and relationship/team building (among others). An Example of Validation Exchange in Play: A leader asks a worker to put together a report on (X, Y, and Z) and have that report available before the end of the […]

Essential Theories and Concepts in Leadership

There is no doubt that leadership can be a complicated topic. There seems to be no end to the theories and concepts about leadership and how to practice or teach it. It can be especially tough for those just getting started. The truth is that there is no magic key or guide. Leadership is like […]

Organizational Development

Organizational Development is a complex endeavor, even for the smallest organizations. This is because there is much to consider as the organization grows and because new perspectives and considerations arise with each new change. Ultimately, there are several specific strengths and weaknesses that I feel an organization should be on the lookout for. The following […]

Do Leaders Really Make a Difference?

I was recently asked, “Do you think that leaders really make a difference?” This is a great question, and while I would suggest that they do, I would challenge anyone to examine the why or why not before answering the original question. I think you might be surprised by what you discover, and doing so, […]

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is currently the most popular perspective of leadership. It is defined as a leadership approach that causes a change in individuals and social systems. Ideally, transformational leaders create positive change in their followers and ultimately develop their followers into leaders. However, don’t confuse this with pseudo-transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is fairly easy to identify. […]

Coaching and Mentorship

When I applied for the job, I had no idea I would be standing face-to-face with the man who would ultimately turn my life around by providing me with the mentorship I so desperately needed. I was surprised I even got the job. I was young, cocky, and extremely inexperienced. I got the call, though, […]

Beware of Self-Serving Bias

Self-serving bias is a cognitive or perceptual process distorted by the need to maintain and enhance self-esteem or the tendency to perceive oneself in an overly favorable manner. Unfortunately, it is all too common. Regarding Organizational leadership, it can be detrimental. From a leadership point of view, self-serving bias is when a person or organization […]

Can Leadership Development Really Work?

Executives continually rank leadership development as a top priority. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that many leadership development programs out there simply fail in their promise of actually developing leaders. So what’s really going on? The sad truth is that too many programs only focus on leadership theory alone and usually only in an organizational […]

The GrassFire Proposal Model

The GrassFire Proposal Model (GF Proposal Model) is a suggestion that I provide to my students regarding organizational communication, problem identification and evaluation, and resolution exploration. Follow your organization’s formatting expectations and norms regarding layout. Step 1: Provide your proposal to leadership in a typed format. This is to ensure professionalism, legibility, and conciseness. Additionally, […]