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.
Defining Leadership … I’m an Excellent Driver Defining leadership is about as easy as trying to describe the experience of tasting chocolate to someone who has never experienced sweets. Why? Because everyone has a vastly different opinion about how to define leadership. I once heard a so-called expert on everything define driving in traffic and not…
Leadership, Influence & Communication: The Power of Story Your ability to lead others is directly tied to your ability to influence them. One of the tools you can use to more powerfully influence others is the use of story in your interactions. Stories can magnify a point or grab an audiences attention during a presentation.…
Why Leadership Development Fails or When Ads Subtract Yesterday, I sat down at my computer to catch up on the latest news, I opened up my web browser and clicked on an article. In less than a nanosecond my screen was filled so many ads that I could not decipher article from the ads. So…
Voltaire was a Pretty Smart Guy – (Part I of a 4 Part Series) François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was a prolific writer, historian, and philosopher. He was a staunch believer in freedom of religion and freedom of speech, so I find it ironic that the words he spoke some 300 years ago can set…
When Corporate Headquarters and the Field Are Not Connected Over the years I have had the opportunity to work for organizations who have multiple locations all over the world and a centrally located corporate headquarters located 1000’s of miles away from where the actual work is being done. I experienced this situation early on in…
The Single Biggest Cause of All Leadership Failures … Nearly 46 years ago, Kellogg’s released the first television commercial for Eggo® brand frozen waffles. The commercial shows an Eggo® waffle popping out of a toaster which is immediately grabbed by a father and son simultaneously while they both repeat the phrase “Let go of my Eggo!”…
Leading Others is a Privilege I am often asked about whether leaders are born or trained. I personally despise the use of the word training when it comes to developing leaders. I think we train animals … we educate leaders. Yes, leaders can be developed. However, if a leader has the skills but doesn’t understand…
The following is an excerpt from Joe’s newest book, Extraordinary Results: Mastering the Art of Leading, Coaching & Influencing Others -Available April 2018. People have been studying, analyzing, and attempting to define what characteristics and attributes make a great leader for thousands of years.
Have you ever received top-secret, exclusive, special offer because you are a very special person? No? That’s funny, I get them all the time, I must be more special than you! I received another offer from a publication because I am a “Professional” and that entitles me to the “Professional Rate!”
A while back, a friend of mind and I were discussing the topic of commitment. I was sharing a situation where I felt that I needed to be ‘all in’ or not. Sitting on a fence for too long can become uncomfortable. My friend was telling me about a television show he watched where they asked a guy if he knew how to swim. The guy replied, “Sure, I watched videos on the internet and practiced on the kitchen floor!”