“The mind is slow in unlearning what it has been long in learning.” ~ Seneca “It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.” ~ Seneca I have always believed that growth as a person, a leader, or a professional meant that I needed to learn, whether it…
“Just because some people are fueled by drama doesn’t mean you have to attend the performance.” ~Cheryl Richardson. drama: /ˈdrɑː.mə/ˈdræm.ə/ – n. a) a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces. Origin – from the Greek word drāmat, which simply means to perform, or to act. Have…
“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…
“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,…
“Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing anyone can learn.” ~ Burt Bacharach Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with or present in front of 1000’s of leaders. On occasion, I have been asked, What makes a great leader? What are the traits of a great leader? Can…
“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…
“Leadership is influence.” ~ John C. Maxwell One of the biggest challenges facing a leader is the ability to step back and influence others to get results. The key is to get results without doing the work yourself or micromanaging your folks into becoming clones so they do the work the exact same way you would.…
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” ~Pablo Picasso This week we’re talking about success! After pondering the topic I had this realization, ideas are simply thoughts that when acted upon, materialize in the physical world and push us closer to success. For example, every building that was ever built began as a thought,…
“All creation is a mine, and every man is a miner.” ~ Abraham Lincoln A while back, I was working with a group of leaders from a gold mining company to help them strengthen their Coaching Skills. Towards the end of the week I had an opportunity to tour the mine. My guide Jesse…
“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…