Leading Out of Fear

I had a great conversation with a leader last week. He was discussing his successes as well as his challenges in business, and he shared a great insight that he’d come to realize: for quite some time, he’d been leading out of fear.

I understood what he was talking about. I’ve been there. Maybe you have too. (more…)

Last week I wrapped up my leader performance/growth reviews. I had some great conversations with my leaders, and in addition to discussing their growth, I thoroughly appreciate their feedback on where they see opportunity for me to grow.

One of the questions I ask each of my leaders to answer about me is, “What three areas do you feel I should improve on?”

The topic of defensiveness came from one of my key leaders in response to this question. She said that I needed to do better at listening and not being so defensive. Well, I have to admit that my first thought was, “Defensive?! How am I defensive???” Haha. Just kidding! I really tried hard to shut up and listen. (more…)