Joe Contrera is the Founder and President of ALIVE @ WORK LLC, a leadership development company dedicated to helping Extraordinary Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results. He is the author of three books. His latest, Extraordinary Results: Mastering the Art of Leading, Coaching, & Influencing Others, is quickly becoming a must-have resource for leaders in organizations across the country. It will not only change what you believe about leading, it will help you build your leadership skills so that you can successfully influence others.

LACK OF FOCUS

Leadership Faux Pas #5 – Lack of Focus

“When you don’t know your why, you don’t have purpose, when you don’t have purpose, you don’t have clarity, when you don’t have clarity you don’t have focus, and without focus you can’t accomplish a damn thing!” ~ Joe Contrera   A lack of focus will make you highly ineffective as a leader. Sometimes a lack…

ARE YOU TURNING A BLIND EYE

Leadership Faux Pas #4 – Are You Turning a Blind Eye?

“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.” ~ Bill Watterson Are you turning a blind eye to an issue in your business? What a leader chooses to see or more importantly, what not to see, can have a devastating impact on their business. Being aware of an issue and not taking…

IT'S NOT PERSONAL

Leadership Faux Pas #1 – Taking Things Personally

Are You Taking Things Personally? In his ground-breaking book, The Four Agreements, author Don Miguel Ruiz wrote that taking things personally along with making assumptions was the equivalent of “a personal hell on earth!” As a leader taking things personally is a path to creating a personal hell for everyone in the office…including yourself! Why?…

THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

The Law of Unintended Consequences

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” ~ Margaret J. Wheatley The Law of Unintended Consequences A short time ago I was working with a team of senior leaders. We were discussing the overall purpose of the organization and the bottom-line goal that was driving…

ARE YOU A LEADER

Are You a Leader or a Glorified Individual Contributor (GIC)?

No one ever said that being a leader was going to be easy. In fact, I believe that being an effective leader is one of the greatest challenges one can face in their lifetime. Why? Because it requires a fundamental shift in how you perceive your work and how you go about getting things done. As…