[January 30, 2014] Part 2: The Pentagon. In Robert Gates new book, he addresses both the good and the bad (lots of both) of our nation’s senior leadership during his time a Secretary of Defense under Presidents Bush and Obama. My goal is to provide this series for readers about every other day. Part 1 (link here) discussed… Read More »
[January 29, 2014] Leadership is neither linear, nor is it one-dimensional. It is not linear because critical skills of leaders are not gained at a consistent or predictable pace; if at all. And, leadership is not one-dimensional because it is complex, multifaceted, requires focused effort to learn, and those skills can be lost. We have all read books… Read More »
[January 28, 2014] Robert Gates, past U.S. Secretary of Defense for both Presidents Bush and Obama, has written a tell all book that directly and significantly addresses senior leadership, both civilian and military, at its highest levels in Washington D.C. For that reason and that this blog focuses on the same subject, I will devote a three-part blog… Read More »
[January 27, 2014] There is a small town in central Pennsylvania of townsfolk that demonstrate what leadership and having the right core values is all about. Now for 26 years, they have created a one-day celebration of their town and in doing so, made themselves happy without any recognition of their hard work. From what I see, the… Read More »
[January 26, 2014] Nearly everyone I know filling any leadership position will say that knowing one’s self is a requirement for a good leader. What they will not say is that many do not believe it. This may come as a shock to many but the vast majority of leaders do not truly know themselves or are actively… Read More »
[January 25, 2014] Two exceptional books this week to recommend. Both address issues with senior executive leadership. The first book by a retired U.S. Army brigadier general is about leading yourself and the problems that a military leader faces day to day. The second book, one which has become controversial, by past Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is… Read More »
[January 24, 2014] Leadership is difficult under any circumstance, but distance between humans makes it that much harder. It is well known that face-to-face social interaction brings us the best communications. Distance is a form of barrier or obstacle that acts to prevent understanding. The “tyranny of distance” means that we do not see others (figuratively) in an… Read More »
[January 23, 2014] Senior leadership requires the special skills inherent in what is referred to as “diplomacy.” This means that senior executive leaders have the ability to advance important ideas and to do so with tact and decorum. For the purposes of this article, diplomacy is practiced at the organizational level. I’ll leave statesmanship for another time. A… Read More »
[January 22, 2014] Just yesterday a good friend of mine said that the reason so many people act with disrespect (without regard to others), is the lack of “shame” in our society. Leadership today means, he stated, that we must go out of our way to ensure that the guilty are not in any way publically embarrassed (shamed)… Read More »
[January 21, 2014] Senior leaders improve leadership and effectiveness in their organizations in a variety of ways. One of the most useful techniques is to draw upon the expertise of “red teams” to discover and recommend improvements. A “red team” is usually a small, independent group with the mission to directly target the failures and inefficiencies of a… Read More »