“Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.” ~Mwai Kibaki I am often asked about whether leaders are born or trained. I personally dislike the use of the word training when it comes to developing leaders. I believe we train animals…we educate leaders.…
“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,…
“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr (This is Chapter 19 in its entirety from my most recent book, Extraordinary Results For Life, it will guide you on how to get extraordinary insight in yourself! GO TO THE MIRROR, BOY! I might be dating myself here, and yet…
“Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity.” ~Warren Bennis At different times and with different clients when I ask them if they believe they are achieving excellence, too often I hear… No, I wouldn’t say excellence, BUT we’re better than we were 2 years ago! Each time I hear this my first thought is this,…
“The most difficult matter is not so much to change the world as yourself.” ~ Nelson Mandela It is amazing to me, that in this time where there are countless videos, seminars, workshops, books, and podcasts on how to be an extraordinary leader, we continue to hear story after story and see example after…
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” ~Lao Tzu These words spoken by the 6th Century Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu, really captures the heart of leadership for me. Unlike many of the current leaders of today…
“We all have blind-spots, but if we are willing to open our ears to feedback and our eyes to how others react to us, we can improve our impact as leaders ten-fold” ~Joe Contrera People always ask me, “What can I do to increase my impact as a leader?” That said, everyone has a…
“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…
“Extraordinary leaders are those who continuously push beyond their comfort zones of what is common, known, and safe, while inspiring others to do the same!” ~ Joe Contrera The difference between a good leader and an extraordinary leader is very clear in the minds of their people. Sometimes it is not so clear in the…
Resentment is like swallowing a poisonous pill and waiting for the other guy to die!” ~ St. Augustine In the world of business and finance, when we refer to the phrase poisonous pill, we are referring to a strategy to fight an unwanted takeover. The purpose is to protect the company from being taken…