September, 2012

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The 8 Strengths of Humility

Leadership Freak

I ask G.J. Hart, when he was CEO of Texas Roadhouse, if he could spot emerging leaders. He didn’t rule out talent, education, or leadership presence, but he replied, “I can usually tell if they have the humility to make it.” Hart’s statement so deeply impacted me that I wrote about humility in, “The Character Based Leader.” [.].

Education 280
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Sharing Responsibility – Why We Don’t Want To, and How to Do it Anyway

Kevin Eikenberry

As a child one of the first things we are taught to do is to share. We don’t do it naturally; and we may learn this habit grudgingly (you probably don’t remember this for yourself, but if you have kids, you’ve seen the pattern repeated, haven’t you?). Some things don’t change much as we grow [.].

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Caring Criticism

Eric Jacobsen Blog

Negative feedback is part of growing as a leader -- both delivering that feedback and sometimes receiving that type of feedback. Keith Ferrazzi , CEO of Ferazzi Greenlight , a research-based consulting and training company, suggests practicing " caring criticism ," as he recently explained it in the Harvard Business Review. "Negative feedback can hurt, but usually it's a gift aimed at helping the recipient improve performance or avoid mistakes.

Manager 58
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To Succeed, Forget Self-Esteem

Harvard Business Review

If you look under the Self-Help heading on Amazon, you'll find roughly 5,000 books listed under the subhead Self-Esteem. The vast majority of these books aim to not only tell you why your self-esteem might be low, but to show you how to get your hands on some more of it. It's a thriving business because self-esteem is, at least in Western cultures, considered the bedrock of individual success.

Manager 22
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Is Your Background Screening Policy Built For 2025? What HR Leaders Need To Know Now

Speaker: Liz Charron

From evolving legislation to shifting workforce expectations, background screening is undergoing major transformation and HR is in the driver’s seat. With new compliance requirements and growing scrutiny, today’s HR leaders must build programs that are not only audit-ready, but outcome-driven. HR Management and Employee Relations Expert, Liz Charron, will delve into how HR teams can navigate the latest legal changes, connect screening to workforce ROI, and embed these practices into the very fab

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16 Things Successful Leaders Never Do

Leadership Freak

Not doing is one side of finding success. Never let the bottom line be the bottom line. Never pretend things are ok when they aren’t. Never let what you’ve never done be the reason not to try. Never get ahead by resenting those who get ahead. Never let those who aren’t doing something prevent you [.].

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Top 15 Strategies for Leadership Success

Leadership Freak

The first thing you need to know is: Success is a result not an end in itself. Five organizational strategies: Always create more harmony than discord. Build up more than you tear down, much more. Long-term views build stability. Short-term views produce quick results. Make life easier for those over you. Three relationship strategies: Friends [.].

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Those who Discourage Destroy

Leadership Freak

It’s shockingly easy to discourage others. It takes no skill to knock people down. It’s the joy of fools to drag down. Leaders encourage – losers discourage. Discouragement comes quickly, easily, and without thought. Encouragement – positive momentum – is a fragile flame that requires fuel, protection, and repetition. Encouragement fuels success; discouragement destroys it. [.].

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20 Commitments that Enhance Leadership

Leadership Freak

Leaders without commitments frantically bounce like balls in pinball machines with no clear direction. Commitments are stabilizing stakes in the ground that guide behaviors and inform decisions. Commitments are decisions you don’t reconsider. Top leadership commitments include: Care. Serve. Clarify. Clarity drives success. Know where you’re going and tell others, often.

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Secrets to Leadership Development

Leadership Freak

The more time you dedicate to developing leaders the more successful you’ll become. Successful leaders develop leaders. You may think your job is explained in a list of responsibilities that include oversee financials, cast vision, hire and fire, etc. That’s only half the picture. If you plan to do great things you must develop great [.].

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10 Essentials for Dynamic Candor

Leadership Freak

Inept leaders block uncomfortable topics from the discussion. It’s pathetic. Weak, fearful leaders need agreement to confirmation their leadership. On the other hand, I recently spent time with five members of an executive team who displayed the power of candor. They brought themselves and their perspective to the discussion. In some organizations it would have been [.].

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The Hidden Skills That Separate Good Leaders from Great Ones

Speaker: Chandra McCormack, CPA, MBA, NACD.DC

Technical degrees might open doors—but it’s the soft skills that keep them open. In the face of disruption, evolving workplace dynamics, and rising expectations of leadership, soft skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and presence have become core business essentials—not nice-to-haves. Inspired by stories from her father coupled with her own career journey, seasoned executive Chandra McCormack breaks down how to lead with impact, connect with purpose, and cultivate a workplace cult

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The Secrets of Imperfection

Leadership Freak

You might think it’s awkward but I asked anyway. “What makes me think you can be a leader?” The person I asked is in their early 20’s with many leadership accomplishments. Maybe it was part humility, part fear of saying the “wrong” thing, or part sincerely not knowing, eventually they said, “I don’t know.” I [.].

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13 New-Leader Screw Ups

Leadership Freak

Mistakes matter more when you’re the new kid on the block. Long-term relationships contextualize and soften occasional screw ups. 13 mistakes new leaders make: Forgetting your arrival stresses others, including those who hired you. The stress you feel, others feel too. Proving technical skill. You don’t need to prove what you know. You did that [.].

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How Managers Get in the Way

Leadership Freak

“Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.” Peter Drucker Four ways managers get in the way: Meddling – Managers that roadblock work stay too close and talk too much. Your people want you to let them work. Stop by to encourage and ask questions, briefly. Express [.].

Manager 268
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The Word I Don’t Hear Much

Leadership Freak

“We have a crisis in leadership. Confidence in leaders continues to decline. At the same time, our current financial situation says we are in disparate need of leaders.” “Would you trust your leaders to babysit your children?” John Baldoni. Leadership begins with trust. Acting in the best interest of others builds trust. Self-interest, at the [.].

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4 HR Priorities for 2025 to Supercharge Your Employee Experience

Speaker: Carolyn Clark and Miriam Connaughton

Forget predictions, let’s focus on priorities for the year and explore how to supercharge your employee experience. Join Miriam Connaughton and Carolyn Clark as they discuss key HR trends for 2025—and how to turn them into actionable strategies for your organization. In this dynamic webinar, our esteemed speakers will share expert insights and practical tips to help your employee experience adapt and thrive.

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Who Pulled the Trigger on bin Laden

Leadership Freak

Mark Owen (Not his real name) explained his firsthand view of the raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistan compound on 60 minutes Sunday night. Scott Pelley interviewed the former Navy SEAL who gave a blow by blow of the operation, even his visit to Taco Bell after he arrived home. Owen is under fire from [.].

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Making the First Move

Leadership Freak

If you don’t move first you aren’t leading. But, don’t move first every time. Passion, vision, and compassion propel leadership-action. Leaders step in where others step back. All leaders move toward: Opportunity. Challenge. Change. Achievement. Wise leaders move toward: People over opportunities. People are leadership’s greatest opportunity, period.

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Defeating the Demon of Leadership Loneliness

Leadership Freak

Leading sets you apart from others. Being out in front means you may walk alone. Additionally, you work to understand others but do others understand you? If you feel alone, you aren’t alone. Leadership’s “A” game: Leaders bring their “A” game every day. You direct, guide, manage, decide, counsel, encourage, challenge, … You think of [.].

Manager 259
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Today’s Essential Management Skill

Leadership Freak

Managing is more than processes and procedures; it’s people. Successful managers bring out the best in others. “Management and leadership are about coaching around performance.” John Baldoni My conversation with author, speaker, and executive coach, John Baldoni, covered everything from what’s wrong with leadership to the good side of office politics.

Manager 259
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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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The Rest of the David-Goliath Story

Leadership Freak

David versus Goliath is the quintessential story of winning in the face of insurmountable challenges. Most know the story of the shepherd boy, with a sling and stone, who defeated the mighty warrior. You may not know the rest of the story. When David – the shepherd boy – arrived in military camp he was [.].

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Setting Organizational Attitude and Tone

Leadership Freak

Circumstances don’t determine the atmosphere and tone of organizations, leaders do. Look around your office or leadership team. Is the tone positive or negative? Now, look at yourself. How are you perceived? Organizations reflect leadership. Thursday, I reconnected with Shirzad Chamine, author of, Positive Intelligence. He reminded me that our “Sage” is a joyful, curious, [.].

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Angry Leaders

Leadership Freak

Embrace the dark side. Don’t pretend it’s not there. Leaders are angry individuals. Think frustrated if it’s more comfortable. Not: I’m not talking about temper tantrums. Wisdom delays action when it comes to blow-ups. Rule anger never let it rule you. Ruling isn’t pretending it’s not there. Anger from leaders who feel powerless or trapped [.].

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Helping Others Begin Their Leadership Journey

Leadership Freak

When leadership is about making things better it’s inclusive not exclusive; functional not positional. Everyone who asks, “How can I help us make things better?” is on a leadership journey regardless of position. Three essentials: Everyone leads when they believe in their own voice, embrace a vision, and exercise change-making-skills and strategies.

Inclusion 251
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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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Failures Let People Fail

Leadership Freak

If you hear the train’s whistle and see the light in the tunnel you know the trains coming. If you let a train wreck happen without saying something, at best you’re foolish at worst you’re cruel. Letting people fail isn’t: Saying nothing when a wreck is around the corner. Standing on the sidelines gloating. Forgetting [.].

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Walking the Leadership Tightrope

Leadership Freak

I’m so committed to pressing into the future that it’s hard to enjoy the present. You can’t lead if you aren’t dissatisfied. How are you navigating the leadership tightrope between what is and what could be? Leadership tightropes include: Passion to improve and discouragement at progress. Pressing into the future and rejection of the present. [.].

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What Most Leaders Need Most

Leadership Freak

Don’t get so busy getting things done that you end up done yourself. Experience shows many leaders between 45 and 55 years old are so connected with business that they become disconnected with themselves. Don’t get so lost in business that you lose yourself. Gary Anzolone, CEO of CEO Clubs NYC, sat beside me for [.].

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Help them Grow or Watch them Go

Leadership Freak

What’s the point of staff development if career ladders look like traffic jams? Tough times end promotions and pay raises. Maybe it’s better to slow or stop staff development. What can you offer? Don’t raise hopes. However… The people you want on your team want to learn and grow. If they don’t want to grow, [.].

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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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Enabling Independent Action

Leadership Freak

“Life’s tipping points occur when we figure out who we are and who we want to be.” Peter Aceto, President and CEO of ING DIRECT Canada. Peter grew up in a strict household that powerfully affected his choices. Peter said, “I have a great dad but he was controlling and not always in a good [.].

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Overcoming the Danger of Taking Ownership

Leadership Freak

Ownership is dangerous when others are ruled out. “It’s mine! Don’t touch my things!” Individual owners do things themselves. That’s good unless it become exclusive, protective, and short-sighted. Individual contributors: The trouble with individual contributors is they create patterns and processes others don’t embrace or duplicate.

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Fixing Why Leaders Don’t Let Go of Decisions

Leadership Freak

Decisions should be made by those closest to the action. The trouble is those closest to the action may not see the big picture. They may act selfishly. Perhaps they’re great at their jobs but they’re fearful. Should I continue? You have a bag full of reasons why others shouldn’t have decision making authority. Most [.].

Manager 238
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Something’s Always Broken

Leadership Freak

Success always has failure in it. Weak leaders pretend and fearful leaders need everything to be okay. But, nothing works perfectly. You’re never successful without failure. Every initiative, program, event, or project has glitches, inefficiencies, and dropped balls. Improving and Fixing: The downside of improving is oppression. “Isn’t it ever good enough?

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Future of HR: Navigating Transformation in the Digital Age

Speaker: Jeremy York

Join us for a thought-provoking exploration of the rapidly evolving HR landscape as we examine how technological innovation, regulatory changes, talent strategies, and evolving diversity approaches are reshaping the profession. This webinar will provide HR professionals with practical insights on leveraging AI and emerging technologies while maintaining compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.