Welcome to the The Extraordinary Leadership Blog

Joe Contrera is the president and founder of ALIVE @ WORK ® LLC. He helps Extraordinary Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results. Joe is the author of four books, his latest book, Extraordinary Results for Life: Discover Your Path to be UN-ordinary, is the follow companion to his previous title, Extraordinary Results!

If you’re looking to dramatically change your life, both at work and at home, this series is a must read for you or those you lead!

We hope you enjoy the blog, and please be sure to share these blogs with your friends and colleagues who want to have a more ALIVE @ WORK ® Mindset in the workplace!

The Values Paradox

Are Your Values a Paradox?

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got , till it’s gone.”  ~ Joni Mitchell   Sometimes it takes losing something or someone to help us gain clarity on what we value in life. One way to prevent this from happening is making sure our values are in alignment with…

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DON'T WAIT TO TAKE ACTION WHEN YOU HAVE AN IDEA

Got an Idea? Take Action

“Ideas without action are useless.”  ~ Helen Keller   This weeks’ topic is about ideas. After pondering the topic I had this realization: ideas are simply thoughts that when acted upon, materialize in the physical world. For example, the Empire State Building was just an idea that formed in someone’s mind. It took action and a…

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WANT TO EMPOWER YOURSELF

Want to Empower Yourself?

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”  ~ Henry Ford   Do you consistently make the choice to empower yourself? There is a saying, count it all joy, which is an interesting thought, especially if you feel like your sitting in a situation that feels like anything BUT joy. Most of…

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Your Leadership: Curiosity or Control?

“Be curious, not judgmental.”  ~Walt Whitman   Curiosity may have killed the cat, but a lack of curiosity could be killing your ability to lead your people. Why? Because in order to be a great leader you must have a general curiosity about the people you lead. You have to understand what makes them tick,…

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How NOT to Feel Good

How to NOT Feel Good?

“Resentment (anger) is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”  ~ Saint Augustine For awhile now, I have noticed more and more folks outwardly expressing anger and frustration towards one group or another, or one person or another. I am sure you have seen the same thing, you just have to…

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GOT LISTENING SKILLS

Got Listening Skills?

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.”  ~ Bryant H. McGill   The most important skill you can build on in your life is your listening skills. And yet…the single biggest issue negatively impacting most work environments and relationships is poor listening skills. Which begs…

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Finding Your Purpose

Finding Your Purpose

“Without the why, the how and the what don’t matter!” ~ Dr. Nido Qubein   More than 20 years ago, before anyone started talking about the importance of having a “Why,” an incredibly wise mentor of mine, Dr Nido Qubein of High Point University, told me, “Joe if you don’t have a why, the how…

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