June, 2013

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13 Behaviors that Forge Resilient Organizations

Leadership Freak

'Weak organizations have weak relationships internally with each other and externally with customers. Forging resilient organizations means building strong relationships. All strong relationships require trust. All wise leaders build relationships because organizational success depends on it. If trust is something “they” do, you are the problem. But, how can you build strong relationships that forge […].

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The Truth About Attitude

Kevin Eikenberry

'Most everyone would say that attitude is important – even those who would admit theirs isn’t as positive as it could be. And most people who know me would say that I am a pretty upbeat, and positive person. In fact, some have said I was as positive as anyone they’ve known (and I was [.].

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Lousy Leaders Coddle

Leadership Freak

'Coddling leaders are safe; compassionate leaders dangerous. Coddling, like all leadership behaviors, reflects attitudes about yourself and others. Coddling isn’t compassionate it’s needy, misguided, self-important, and self-propagating. The more you coddle the more you need to coddle. Coddlers can’t stand to see others stressed or struggling, but growth and development require both.

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How Peter Drucker Mentored

Leadership Freak

'A life of influence is always a choice never an accident. Bob Buford, founder of Halftime, was mentored by Peter Drucker for over twenty years. Yesterday, Bob told me the four contributions Drucker made to him as a mentor. Before: Before sharing the four contributions, Bob reminded me that Drucker was the consummate question asker. […].

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How to Make The Best Benefits Decisions for 2025's Workforce: An HR and Total Rewards Guide

Speaker: Kaitlin Ruby Carroll

Retaining top talent in 2025 means rethinking benefits. In a competitive job market, fertility benefits are more than just offerings - they are a commitment to your team’s well-being. Gain critical insights into the latest fertility benefits strategies that can help position your organization as an industry leader. Our expert will explore the unique advantages and challenges of each model, share success stories from top organizations, and offer practical strategies to make benefits decisions tha

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A Life Less Frustrating

Leadership Freak

'The way you deal with today’s frustration reflects the leader you’ll become tomorrow. Frustration is an alarm clock; a spotlight pointing: a match burned too long. Frustration is a gift that says pay attention. Don’t get frustrated with frustration. Frustration is feedback on decisions and relationships. Frustration’s goal: The singular message of frustration is change.

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Ten Ways to Complain Successfully

Leadership Freak

'Image source Complainers, within organizations, are swamps of despair that drag down and demotivate. They feel good pointing out bad. Lazy bums point fingers and pull down. Building up is courageous, hard work. I’m complaining about complainers. Fearful: Some complainers are cowards who complain around issues. Fix their complaint and they have another.

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When Trying Harder Doesn’t Help

Leadership Freak

'The worst thing forward-facing leaders face is not making progress – feeling stuck. The solution for most is trying harder. Stepping on the gas feels right, but it’s wrong, when there’s no traction. Spinning your wheels, when you’re stuck, results in more stuck. The problem: The problem isn’t getting stuck. The problem is trying harder […].

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If You Aren’t Dumb You’re Stupid

Leadership Freak

'Fearful leaders keep people in their place with fear. Fear leads with fear. On the other hand, confident leaders build self-confident followers. Build-up others: Ask for advice. Most leaders say they believe in hiring people smarter than they are. Well, if they’re so smart, why aren’t you seeking their advice? Hiring people that is smarter […].

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The Most Powerful Way to Enhance Influence

Leadership Freak

'At least once in a while, forget about controlling outcomes. Build human connections. Set aside the things leaders hide behind. Turn off: Results. Strategies. Respect. Vision casting. Authority. Planning. Power. Timelines. Job titles. S.M.A.R.T. goals. Yield: Take a deep breath and let go of doing, at least once in awhile. Connect by gently stepping toward […].

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Quickly and Simply Transform All Meetings

Leadership Freak

'Image source If you could only get back the time you gave to boring, ineffective, useless meetings! Meetings give the impression something’s getting done when usually it isn’t. There’s too much talking in meeting because people aren’t focused on doing. One rule transforms every meeting from ineffective to effective. Rule one: Mercilessly cut everything that […].

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The Diversity Reckoning: Can HR Survive Without New Perspectives?

Speaker: Jeremy York

2024 has tested every organization, and 2025 promises no less - the warning signs are everywhere. If you’re relying on superficial approaches to diversity, you might find yourself scrambling to catch up. Thought diversity - the fuel for new ideas, fresh perspectives, and disruptive innovation - is more than a buzzword. It's a survival strategy. And if you’re not building it into your workplace culture right now , you’re heading for trouble.

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Seize Your Most Powerful Leadership Moment

Leadership Freak

'Image source The most powerful leadership moment occurs when someone is vulnerable. Leadership is influence. Vulnerability is the channel of influence. Vulnerability is the moment when others are crushed, lifted, inspired, or demotivated. Additionally, the more authority you have the greater your opportunity to use or abuse vulnerability. Vulnerability is the greatest gift leaders receive. […].

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How to Dig Out of Holes You’ve Dug

Leadership Freak

'New dreams call for new behaviors. What worked in the past only digs holes in the present. Start again, but don’t resort to default behaviors, imagine new. Past behaviors worked in the past, but you’ve changed and so has the world. Old strategies and methods won’t fulfill new dreams. Old bag: During stressful situation you […].

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Why Our Smartphones Make Us Dumb

Kevin Eikenberry

'One of the sites I read regularly is Business Insider. Recently they posted an image showing how often the average person looks at their cell phone each day. You can see that image here. Their post was about an entirely different topic than you are about to read about – and with all due respect, [.].

Manager 88
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Fuel for the Journey

Leadership Freak

'Leading drains. Obligations weigh down. Expectations from others deplete. Dissatisfaction with yourself – the worst downer of all – saps energy. Add the problem of critics with personal agendas and you have a vigor-draining vortex. Neglected obligation: Your vitality is your responsibility. Think of leading as serving. Serving – being useful to others – energizes. […].

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Recognition Powers High-Performance — If You Do it Right

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg

Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.

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Who Not What

Leadership Freak

'Stop teaching leaders what to do. Teach them who to be. Four steps toward character based leadership First, determine who you want to be as an organization. Forget about what you do. That comes later. Determine if you want to be innovative or “steady as she goes,” for example. Identify words that describe the best […].

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10 Steps to Solve Tension Between Team Mates

Leadership Freak

'I tend to hold back too long when team mates have tension. Let them work it out. Perhaps you intervene quickly. If we aren’t careful, we become the problem. Tension and diversity: Tension between team mates is the unrealized potential of diversity. No tension means everyone thinks the same. Diversity invites volatility. Successful leaders connect […].

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How Hard Work got Chris Fired

Leadership Freak

'Image source Heads down hard work lands you out the door, eventually. Hard work is essential, but not enough, to keep earning promotions. Fired not promoted: The board fired the CEO of Callidus Software (NASDAQ: CALD) and Chris Cabrera assumed he was in line for the job. It made sense. Chris was the successful senior […].

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Rubbing the Genie

Leadership Freak

'Rub the genie to get three wishes. In organizations, rubbing the genie includes telling leaders what they want to hear. It’s an act of foolishness or profound friendship to speak the truth to power. Subordinates seldom speak hard truths to leaders who have power to assign projects, dispense raises, and give promotions. Everyone loves everything […].

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HR Meets AI: The New Way of Keeping Large Workforces Connected and Engaged

Speaker: Miriam Connaughton and Donald Knight

As organizations scale, keeping employees connected, engaged, and productive can seem like a monumental task. But what if AI could help you do all of this and more? AI has the power to help, but the key is implementing it in a way that enhances, rather than replaces, human connection. Join us for an exploration into how industry trailblazers are using AI to transform employee experience at scale while addressing both the potential and the pitfalls.

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Who’s Your Daddy

Leadership Freak

'We sit at the feet of successful leaders like children being cared for by parents. Our childishness speaks to lack of power, fear of failure, and the false hope that someone will take care of us. Adoration and need for nurture speak to lack, not sufficiency, when leaders are viewed as parents. Leader as parent: […].

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Whining in the Workplace

Leadership Freak

'Leaders hear whining about teammates and other leaders. Reminds me of kids in the backseat. “He touched me!” “Bob spoke harshly to me.” “Mary’s clothing is too casual.” “Bill Doesn’t like me.” “Mary plays favorites.” You ask, “Did you say something?” They say, “No. I couldn’t do that.” Big issue: Whining may seem small but […].

Energy 87
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How to Generate Enthusiasm with Assessments

Leadership Freak

'Those who don’t enjoy measuring results, don’t enjoy achievement. Unmeasured results don’t matter. Hitting baseballs reminded me that effective assessments increase enthusiasm, concentration, and satisfaction. The visit: Dahliah, Asher, and Abram, three of our grandkids, are spending the week with us. Asher, our seven year old grandson, is a sports fanatic.

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How to be a SAGE without being a Snob

Leadership Freak

'Leave a comment on today’s post and become eligible for one of twenty-five complimentary copies of, “Managers as Mentors,” by Chip Bell and Marshall Goldsmith. You can’t be great if you don’t grow. Growth requires learning. We learn and grow in relationship. Helping others learn moves them toward their greatness. Learning is pivotal to […].

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The Upskilling Advantage: Transforming Your Workforce For Future Growth

Speaker: Brian Richardson

With a staggering 92% of CEOs prioritizing skill development, and 84% struggling with transformation, mastering upskilling is now more critical than ever. Drawing on extensive research and collaboration with hundreds of leading organizations, discover key hurdles and innovative best practices in workforce upskilling. You'll walk away with a deep understanding of how to build a culture of continuous learning, expert insights into assessing the current skills of your employees, and a strategic too

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Overcoming the Disempowerment of HR

Leadership Freak

'Leave a comment on today’s post and become eligible for one of twenty-five copies of, “Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest,” by Peter Block. Human Resource Departments that are dedicated to serving upper management and controlling front-line employees are a sad waste of human resources. Peter Block complains, “We have separated the management of the […].

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When Passion Makes Fools of Leaders

Leadership Freak

'Passion drives blinded leaders to repeat self-defeating behaviors. The danger of passion is it blinds sincere leaders. Passion for their strengths blinds you to their weaknesses. If you could just get them doing what you think they should do, their weaknesses or immaturity won’t matter. Sadly, some weaknesses destroy strengths. Great vision; crummy planning ability. […].

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Leadership and Juggling – the Unlikely Lessons

Kevin Eikenberry

'I taught myself how to juggle when I was in college. I don’t remember why I did, but I am glad I did. I can juggle different types of balls, cups, small boxes, eggs and combinations of those. And no, I haven’t juggled fire sticks or chainsaws (which people always seem to ask. What do [.].

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Choosing Heat

Leadership Freak

'Image source Life grows cold when you feel alone. Find someone who keeps you warm. Relationships make or break us. Everyone grows, develops, and succeeds in the context of relationship. Why alone: Feeling alone comes from choosing the cold. Devaluing the centrality of relationships. Refusing to help or support others. Stop expecting everyone to adapt […].

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Mastering Remote Onboarding: Proven Strategies for Seamless New Hire Integration

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

Join this brand new webinar with Tim Buteyn to learn how you can master the art of remote onboarding! By the end of this session, you'll understand how to: Craft a Tailored Onboarding Checklist 📝 Develop a comprehensive, customized checklist that ensures every new hire has a smooth transition into your company, no matter where they are in the world.

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On Apples and Oranges

Leadership Freak

'Understand leadership roles by comparing leadership to something else. Leader as: Glue: connecting people to each other’s dreams. Curious monkey: seeking and creating clarity with courageous questions. Bulldozer: pushing through barriers by exploring resistance. Prognosticator: predicting the future by seeing patterns in the past. Coach: building winning teams.

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The Reason Empowerment is Smoke and Mirrors

Leadership Freak

'Two groups don’t have power to make the same decision, at the same time, in the same way. Power to decide is an either/or proposition. Empowerment is smoke and mirrors until management loses power. When managers and front-line employees “pretend-collaborate,” for example, the group that makes the decision has the power. Collaboration only occurs between […].

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Five Ways to “Romance” Your Long Term Customers

Kevin Eikenberry

'Last week, I gave you a metaphor to consider – the idea that we romance Clients or Customers to get them (like a first few dates), but after they are Clients, we tend to focus less attention on them (like 10 years after the wedding). If you want to avoid this tendency, both personally and [.].

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Tapping the Radical Power of Firsts

Leadership Freak

'I married my high school sweetheart. I remember leaning over the back of a green rocking chair, in 1969, and kissing her upside down. We were 13. It was my first stolen kiss. I remember learning to ride a bike, drive a car, and the first time, at sixteen, I gave a public presentation.

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How To Empower Your Workforce With Modern Fertility Benefits

Speaker: Andrea Wuchiski

In an era where a workforce spans multiple generations, HR managers and Total Rewards leaders face the unique challenge of designing benefits packages that cater to diverse employee needs. This session will delve into how comprehensive fertility benefits can bridge generational gaps, support employees’ health, and enhance workplace satisfaction. Join us for an insightful session that highlights the strategic importance of fertility benefits in today’s competitive job market.