[December 8, 2017] In 1784, Robert Burns wrote in a poem1 that “Man’s inhumanity to man causes countless thousands to mourn.” His inspiration was based on his own poverty in which he lived. It is poetic, in a sense, that we use his words to describe the horrific genocide perpetrated against the Armenian peoples in the early 20th… Read More »
[October 11, 2017] Fundamental traits of what constitutes a great leader never changes. Those characteristics that stand out as key component of greatness will remain the same as long as people remain humans and just as our wants and desires remain unchanged. One of those important traits that cannot go without mentioning here is generosity; a universal leader… Read More »
[September 26, 2017] There is no denying that all leaders live in a bubble to some extent where accurate and timely information struggles to get to them. A big leadership challenge is whether they are taking effective steps to overcome the disadvantages associated with it. When leaders fail, often spectacularly, it can be often traced back to their… Read More »
[September 25, 2017] I’m writing this after just returning from a three-day campout in a local state park with a Boy Scout troop. It is always easy to be optimistic after spending a few days with the boys and getting to understand how much they know (or don’t know) about leadership. I can honestly conclude that even the… Read More »
[August 18, 2017] It has been more than a year since I added a “characteristic” for senior leaders. How I overlooked this one – an important one at that – is still a mystery. Being consistent as a leader is crucial for a number of reasons that I will address below. In the Deep South back in the… Read More »
[August 2, 2017] I’ve written before, here in theLeaderMaker.com that the most important leadership characteristic is “caring” about others (see link here). While I believe that is true, there are many who make the argument that the most important leader trait is having a good moral foundation. Without a moral foundation, the argument states, there is no other… Read More »
[August 1, 2017] It’s easy to tell the difference in leadership priorities. One of my favorites, and where I’ve had personal experience, is where the leader has a laser-like focus on the core mission (go figure!). U.S. Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) James Mattis is a great example of this approach and one who is known to gets things… Read More »
[July 31, 2017] Identifying talent has always been one of the markers of successful leadership. Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Richard the Lionheart all had this one thing in common; they surrounded themselves with intelligent, wise, and experienced people. In short, they had the ability to identify and hold onto good talent among leaders. This… Read More »
[July 29, 2017] This article has been a long time in development. It took me nearly a year to get results back from over 250 soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and coastguard personnel and then “rack and stack” the results on their best advice.1 I asked them a simple question; “If you were to give one piece of advice… Read More »
[May 26, 2017] Get er done is an American colloquial phrase and philosophy that tells leaders to do the right things to succeed in life. There always seems to be too much to do and not enough time. Get er done helps push us to get what needs to be done and done without procrastination, hesitation, or excuses.… Read More »