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Leadership

Vulnerable Leadership

“The kind of trust that is necessary to build a great team is what I call vulnerability-based trust. This is what happens when members get to a point where they are completely comfortable being transparent, honest, and naked with one another, where they say and genuinely mean things like “I screwed up,” I need help,” “Your idea is better than mine,” “I wish I could learn to do that as well as you do,” and even, “I’m sorry.”

The quote above is from Patrick Lencioni’s book The Advantage, and it reminded me of something from thirty years ago.

D’Aun …

Leadership,

Leadership Lessons From Sudoku

Everyday I play 2-3 games of Sudoku. It’s a way to relax while also giving me a mental challenge. The only competition is against myself with a goal to have my best time. Simple. One would think that would be the end of it, right?

Well, there’s a trick in the game: when I’m stuck there’s a button for hints. You can use it to complete one square, or check your work, or just give you a clue on what to look for.

This is what is interesting to me: when I’m stuck it can take a few minutes to …

Leadership, Random Thoughts,

Declaration of Independence

Since we are celebrating Independence Day this week, it seemed appropriate to post the Declaration of Independence here. Have you ever read it from start to finish? Perhaps you did as a student once, but have you since? Since it is easy to forget the principles this nation was built upon, I encourage you to read it once a year. And so here it is….

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That …

Family, Leadership,

Working the Angles

It’s County Fair season around here, and I’m reminded how carnival games can teach you to work the angles. Hang with me for a moment…there really is a fun lesson here.

There are lots of childhood memories of tossing darts to pop balloons, throwing rings over hooks, or shooting a basketball. More recently I laughed when my adult children visited a local amusement park and sent pictures of themselves throwing balls at bottles to win a prize.

All of which reminded me of the time my parents took me to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The place is famous for …

Book Reviews, Leadership,

The Advantage

On a recent trip to Belize with the PathLight board, one of the board members suggested I read The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni. Most of Lencioni’s books are in my library but for whatever reason this one got past me.

My mistake. This might be his best ever.

The subtitle of the book sums it up nicely, “Why organizational health trumps everything else in business.” Think about that for a moment — Lencioni is saying organizational health trumps strategy, product, marketing, service, hard work and talent.

Anyone who has run any kind of organization will intuitively sense the truth in …

Junkyard Management, Leadership,

Please, Shut Up and Listen

The little voice in the back of my head kept whispering, “Tell this guy to shut up and listen!” It was yet another business meeting, late in the day, and the self-righteous leader condescendingly lectured me and my team about all the foolish things we were doing. He was partially right, largely wrong, but so convinced of his correct position he didn’t even take the time to hear my perspective. Thankfully I had the sense to keep my mouth shut. But boy was I tempted to unload on the guy.

One reason I didn’t go ballistic is because, honestly, what …

Leadership, Salvaged,

Race Track Leadership

Ever hear of Race Track Leadership (RTL)? Probably not because I just made it up. But don’t tune me out just yet. It’s a pretty cool leadership concept.

A few years ago in a meeting with the executive team of an organization, strategic plans were being made for a new endeavor. As with most new endeavors, nobody knew if the plan would work. The big question in the room was, “How are we going to shift gears if this starts to fail?”

Good question! My suggestion was to think of this like a race car driver. A long time ago …

Belize, Leadership, PathLight, Salvaged,

Buy a Book, Build a Leader

An acquaintance of mine asked if we are using my book Salvaged to help the new Leadership Institute at PathLight. As it turns out they are using it, and we had a fun conversation about how young leaders from a different culture might read my book.

All of which led to an exciting promotion idea this acquaintance is supporting: buy a copy of Salvaged and $50 will be donated to the PathLight Leadership Initiative. All you need to do is buy a copy of the book and forward the receipt to salvaged@pathlight.org. Then a $50 donation will be …