When You Don’t Get the Promotion

You’ve been preparing for this moment. You have worked hard for a long time to prove yourself worthy, giving it your all. Then, one day the call finally comes, but it wasn’t the one you were expecting. The promotion was given to someone else. You feel disappointed, confused, even angry! This was the job you had spent years preparing for, and now it’s gone.

So now what? Let’s start with what NOT to do. (more…)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – performance review time! The company l lead is conducting employee reviews for all employees over the next two months. Many people think I’m crazy when I say this, but I really do love conducting performance reviews! I love having growth conversations and discussing employees’ goals and looking toward the future.

Of course, not all growth conversations are about what teammates are doing right. Sometimes these growth conversations must focus on a performance issue that must be addressed (though leaders should never wait until the annual performance review to address an issue that has been going on for some time). (more…)

What is job security? Most of us would probably define it as feeling quite safe and secure with our position within our company. Factors that give us a sense of job security include being good at what we do, being the only one who knows how to do the job, our  tenure, or maybe even our strong relationship with the boss.

Here’s what I know: No matter how smart, connected, tenured or knowledgeable you are, you can always be replaced. (more…)

“Talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling.” -Unknown

Yesterday marked national signing day for college football. That’s the day when hundreds of the nation’s most talented high school seniors make their official commitment by signing a national letter of intent to play football at the university of their choice. Many of these players were vied for by numerous top schools for their superior athletic abilities.

Their talent is known. Their character will quickly be revealed. (more…)

“But character counts, and it counts mightily.” – General Martin Dempsey

One role of a leader is to be able to flex their leadership abilities to the demands of reality. Last week on an episode of Rock Center with Brian Williams, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was addressing the issue of General Petraeus and his career-ending affair, and in doing so he touched on two of the most critical characteristics of a leader: competence and character.

In referencing what they’ve learned from that situation, he said:

We had a conversation about competence and character. I think over the last ten years when you’re at war, you tend to value competence above all else. Naturally, the nation’s well-being is hanging in the balance. So the first lesson I think would be not that we’ve neglected the character side of this equation, but we probably are at a point where we ought to reemphasize it. (more…)

Leaders, how do you determine if your teammate needs more coaching, or if the issue at hand goes much deeper, involving the individual’s character?

  • Remember, every student learns differently from different leaders, so avoid jumping to quick conclusions. While one leader may cast a challenge off as a character issue, another may be able to motivate and inspire performance. Err to the positive. You may lose a few times and be disappointed, but you will have far more wins in your career by not judging too early in the game. (more…)

Imagine a workplace with no more rigid rules or stringent policies! What if we didn’t have to consult an inch-thick employee manual before taking time off, using the company car, or submitting expense reports. Some of you might be thinking, “That’s insane and impossible!” But in reality, a policy-free (or at least policy-few) workplace should be a completely rational idea.

Policies are only created due to someone not having Character, Common Sense or Care for others. (more…)

I was going through some old leadership material the other day when I came across an article I had saved by Patrick Lencioni on The Financial Crisis. It was published back in 2008 at the beginning of the housing and banking crisis that shook our economy so badly that we still haven’t fully recovered.

In the article Pat asserts that responsibility of our nation’s financial free fall doesn’t lie at the feet of greedy lenders or lax regulators but rather with board members, executives, and quite frankly, leaders at many levels who knew their companies were making poor or downright irresponsible decisions and failed to stand up and say anything about it. (more…)

This year I’m moving away from the traditional New Year’s resolution. I’m going to look at it differently. Instead of declaring my resolution, I’m going to dedicate my decision to habits I want to form.

Resolutions seem to be all talk. They are a proclamation, an announcement, or a declaration. New Year resolutions are fun to make but are often broken during the transition from declaration to action. “What’s your New Year’s resolution?” This question is asked a thousand times within a two-day window, then it is rarely asked or reported on again! Ha-ha, we’ve made it popular to have a statement of resolution but the accountability seems to stop there. (more…)

Early on in our careers, each of us has probably worked for an outside-in leader. We’ve all known them. They’re the ones who believe that their position and their power determine their strengths and their abilities as leaders.

They’re the Privilege Takers, those who enjoy reserved, front-row parking spots while fellow employees trudge in from the back lot through the snow. They’re the Supreme Rulers, leaders who equate their employees to servants who should only do what they are told. They’re the Micromanagers, individuals who cannot trust their team to make competent decisions.

The problem is that outside-in leaders are only fooling themselves! (more…)