Year: 2018

Cowardly Leadership Can Help [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Facade Leadership: Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic[/caption] To be accurate, cowardly leadership can't help anyone who has a sincere interest in being a Real Leader.  But for all of you have been reading these over the past 15 months or so, you've been introduced to a number of cowardly leaders.  Some I have worked with personally, and therefore experienced the lessons first-hand.  Some I have known personally, and have seen the insincerity and facade leadership up close. What Not To Do There is tremendous information included within the almost one hundred articles in the archives of Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal.  Most of that information highlights examples of what cowardly leaders do.  By definition and process of elimination, those examples are What Not To Do.  For Real Leaders, at least.…

Servant Leadership Servant Leadership is roughly defined as taking care of your employees first with the expectation that they will follow your lead and take care of the customers and citizens your organization serves.   This isn't a new concept.  I remember reading a best-selling leadership and organization book entitled The Customer Comes Second, which was published soon after 9/11.  Rosenbluth Travel was headquartered in one of the Twin Towers, and Hal Rosenbluth wrote about how they were able to re-build the company by focusing on the employees. Actually, Servant Leadership has been around since the New Testament and teachings of Islam. In layman's terms, it's pretty simple, and, what should be, obvious:  listening to employees, and treating them as equals and with respect. [caption id="attachment_680" align="alignnone" width="188"] A Servant Leader[/caption] Cowardly leadership Cowardly…

Courageous Leaders are Confident "Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible."            -Aristotle There are some common themes I have discovered as I've researched and written these Cowardly Leadership blogs.  One theme that reoccurs often is:  Fear vs. Confidence.  The more confident a leader is, the more likely and comfortable he/she is in asking questions, asking for help, realizing there is a lot of knowledge out there he needs to know.  A common management truism taught in Business School 101 is to surround yourself with the best, smartest, most capable people possible.  It's common sense for any good, solid, capable leader operating from a standpoint of confidence.  This is true because: They make you look good They make your job easier, and the more…

  Real Leaders Wish Everyone Happy Valentines Day! Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last, stated this in a recent post: "Success always takes help.  Failure stands alone."  Let that sink in. Success. ALWAYS. Takes. Help. In one of John F. Kennedy's campaign speeches in 1960, he says, "Give me your help, and your hand, and your voice..."  President Kennedy explicitly asked for help.  Cowardly leaders, on the other hand, are all knowing - that is why they were elected, or appointed to their position.  They become omniscient by virtue of being where they are, as if that position brings instant expertise. Success always takes help There are some common themes I have discovered as I've researched and written these Cowardly Leadership blogs.  One recurring theme is:  Fear vs. confidence.  The more confident a leader is,…

Most of the Cowardly Leadership posts discuss various traits and commonalities that cowards who are in positions of authority possess.  We have talked about abdication of their duties, being right simply because they are in power, inability to tell the truth, refusal to speak truth to power, and many others. Managing Through Power [caption id="attachment_667" align="alignnone" width="300"] Leading through humiliation[/caption] Many of you know I am a retired Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.  I was fortunate enough to read an article recently by Commander Kevin Duffy, USCG, in the United States Naval Institutes Proceedings, entitled Character Has Real Consequence Commander  Duffy relates a time when he was an Ensign (the Coast Guard and Navy's initial officer rank, in other words, he was really new at being an officer and really new at about any…

Thanks to Sergeant Major David Auwen, USMC, a patriot and friend I served with while at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, for posting this about Leadership and Garbage Trucks.  I borrowed it and adapted it for Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal. Not "all" People, Just Cowardly leaders The video shows the driver talking about how people are full of anger and frustration.  I don't think most people are angry and frustrated.  In fact, I believe very few, especially in positions of authority, are consistently like that.  At least, that's been my experience. I talk about cowardly leadership because the cowardly leaders I've run across are so memorable.  But I've also stated on many occasions that the great majority of leaders I've worked for, and with, have been Real Leaders.  Only a very few…

Sooner or later you probably will work in an environment that is toxic.  If and when that happens, it likely will rank last of all the jobs you've ever had.  Following are considerations for when your job sucks. Studies show that the average American will work for seven different employers over the course of his or her career.  Odds are that not all of those will be pleasant experiences.  You will take a job for money, or convenience, or because your spouse took a new job, or necessity, or some reason other than desire- hoping that it will work out and not be too bad. That hope rarely turns out. [The post below has affiliate links.  If  you see a book you've been wanting to read and decide to purchase it, I…

I enjoy the art of debate.  Tell me why you think what you think.  I’ll tell you why I think what I think.  Not always, but usually, when I’ve found someone who has the same starting point, we will agree.  Not on everything, not even on most things.  But on some things.  There are points I will make that will resonate with my counterpointed individual, and points that he or she will make that make sense to me. But cowardly leaders know no reason. As long as two or more logical, rational people start from a place of reason, and not emotion, some agreement and understanding of the other position  usually is an end result. This is what happened during the debates of the Continental Congress.  Even during the founding period…