Leadership And Life Tips

Here are some of my favorite leadership and life tips and advice from William Arthur Ward, one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational maxims:

Do more than belong: participate.
Do more than care: help.
Do more than believe: practice.
Do more than be fair: be kind.
Do more than forgive: forget.
Do more than dream: work.

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10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

How to Be a Leader – 9 Principles from Dale Carnegie

Today, I welcome thought-leader Nathan Magnuson as guest blogger... Nathan writes : This is it, your first day in a formal leadership role. You’ve worked hard as an individual contributor at one or possibly several organizations. Now management has finally seen fit to promote you into a position as one of their own: a supervisor. You don’t care if your new team is only one person or ten, you’re just excited that now – finally – you will be in charge! Unfortunately the euphoria is short-lived. Almost immediately, you are not only overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a team, but you quickly find that your team members are not as experienced or adroit as you. Some aren’t even as committed. You find yourself having to repeat yourself, send their work back for corrections, and staying late to fill the gap. If something doesn’t change soon, you might just run yourself into the ground. How did something that looked so easy ...

The Psychology Of Leadership

I read many books about leadership and this book is one of my favorites. It’s The Psychology of Leadership by Sebastien Page . It offers a fresh take on leadership through the lens of groundbreaking research in positive, sports, and personality psychology. “Like exercise strengthens your body, practicing positive, sports, and personality psychology will make you a better leader,” says Page. The book blends research, fascinating true stories, humor, and self-improvement advice to deliver simple yet powerful principles to master the mental game of leadership. Page reveals timeless strategies for achieving lasting impact, fostering growth, and promoting well-being. He demonstrates how leaders and individuals can balance measurable goals with practical approaches to maximize performance and fulfillment. “Effective leadership is not merely about achieving measurable outcomes. It requires aligning goals with intrinsic motivations and psychological ins...

70 New Year's Resolutions For Leaders

With 2026 fast approaching, it's a good time to identify your New Year's Resolutions for next year. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of the following 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and January 1, think about which couple you want to work on during 2026. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after each deci...

The Many Times You Should Thank Customers

In your leadership role, it's vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor Ann Thomas and Jill Applegate would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You". Thomas and Applegate recommend telling your customers "Thank You" during at least these nine situations : When they do business with you...every time. When they compliment you (or your company) When they offer you comments or suggestions When they try one of your new products or services When they recommend you to a friend When they are patient...and even when they are not so patient When they help you to serve them better When they complain to you When they make you smile You and your team members can say "Thank You" : Verbally In writing (and don't underestimate the power of perso...

Leadership Lessons From A Serial Entrepreneur

Brad Jacobs’ new book provides you a treasure trove of leadership lessons from a man with more than four decades of CEO and serial entrepreneur experience. So, even if you don’t envision yourself wanting to earn a billion dollars, don’t pass up reading Jacob’s, How To Make A Few Billion Dollars . In the book, Jacobs defines the mindset that drives his remarkable success in corporate America – and distills a lifetime of business brilliance into a tactical road map. And he shares his techniques for: Turning a healthy fear of failure to your advantage. Building an outrageously talented team. Catalyzing electric meetings. Transforming a company into a superorganism that beats the competition. “This book is about what I’ve learned from my blunders, and how you can replicate our successes,” says Jacobs. He shares his candid account of the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Jacobs has founded seven billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar businesse...

40 Timeless Lessons From Southwest Airlines

A few years ago, Southwest Airlines celebrated its 40th year and was kind enough to share in its in-flight magazine 40 lessons it learned since 1971. The lessons provide good tips for business leaders. If you missed the full list, here are some of the highlights of timeless lessons: Invent your own culture and put a top person in charge of it . A crisis can contain the germ of a big idea . Simplicity has value . For Southwest, simplicity means using 737s for most of its fleet, which makes maintenance more cost-effective and allows more efficient training for flight crews and ground crews. Remember your chief mission . Take your business, not yourself, seriously. Put the worker first . For Southwest, that meant being the first U.S. airline to offer a profit-sharing plan, in 1974. Employees now own 13 percent of the airline. The web ain't cool, it's a tool . Southwest was the first U.S. airline to establish a home page. By 2010, ...

8 Tips For Leaders New To Blogging

Here are eight tips for leaders new to blogging or for leaders who want to ensure their company's Blog is the most effective it can be: Use keywords for your business in your Blog posting headlines. Write about the pain points of your target reader. Be sure your Blog covers topics where you or your company is truly an expert. Keep your Blog postings short. Keep paragraphs and sentences short. Use bullets. Include a call to action. Perhaps you ask a question or offer a downloadable white paper. Or, ask readers to sign up for your company's e-newsletter. Publish a list that is likely to be shared by your Blog's readers. Include and quote industry experts in your Blog postings. Use free metrics and analytical tools to measure which of your postings are best read and shared. Use the tool to track the sources that drive the most traffic to your Blog.

6 Ways To Seek Feedback To Improve Your Performance In The Workplace

Getting feedback is an important way to improve performance at work. But sometimes, it can be hard to seek out, and even harder to hear. “Feedback is all around you. Your job is to find it, both through asking directly and observing it,” says David L. Van Rooy, author of the new book, Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be . As today's guest post, Van Rooy offers these six tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve performance at work . Guest Post By David L. Van Rooy 1. Don’t forget to as k : One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming things are going perfectly (until they make a catastrophic mistake). By not asking, you’re missing out on opportunities for deep feedback: the difficult, critical feedback that gives you constructive ways to improve. 2. Make sure you listen : Remember, getting fee...

70 New Year's Resolutions For Leaders

With 2024 fast approaching, it's a good time to identify your New Year's Resolutions for next year. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of these 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and January 1, think about which couple you want to work on during 2024. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after each decision point...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

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