Category Archives: Leadership

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Does Business Need a Heart Change?

An Interview with Bob Hasson, co-author of The Business of Honor

businessWhat words do you think of when you think of business? Do you think of words like money, performance, results, control, and fear? Or do you think of words like honor, team, relationship, connection, and fun? Most likely you associate business with the first list of words. But if Bob Hasson and Danny Silk have their way, you will link business with the second list of words.

Hasson and Silk have co-written a seminal work with The Business of Honor. As soon as I saw the promotional information his publicist sent me about the book, I knew that I had to read it. I had high expectations about this book, and I was not disappointed. Whether you are a business leader, a ministry leader, or a leader in your home, you will benefit from reading this book.

After reading The Business of Honor, I had the opportunity to interview Bob Hasson. Here are excerpts from the interview, complemented by my thoughts.

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How Do You Lead in Turbulent Times?

Three Keys to Handling Disruption in Your World

It’s no fun to have to lead in turbulent times. But if you haven’t had to do it yet, most likely you will have to do it at some point in your life. It may happen to you in your workplace where you have to navigate disruption in your company from outside—or inside—forces. It may happen to you at home if you have to deal with family transition or disintegration. No matter where you encounter it, it will likely not be fun. But it will make you reach deep within to lean on leadership abilities that you didn’t know you had.

Turbulent Times

In 1 Samuel 30, David had to reach deep within to lead in turbulent times. David and his crew came back to his home base at Ziklag, only to find that the Amalekites burned the city with fire, stole their goods, and took all their families captive. David’s men were inconsolable, and David was greatly concerned when his men talked about stoning him (1 Samuel 30:1-6a).

While you may never have to face something as dire as David did, you will likely think that you are—at least at the time. As a result, it is worth your while to know how to lead yourself and others in turbulent times. Here are three keys to remember when you are going through trials of your leadership abilities.

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5 Things You Need to “Get” to Communicate Better

Your Relationship with Your Team Requires You “Get” These 5 Things

Communication is the single biggest problem area in any organization. Many times people do not think through their communications with others. As a result, communication breakdowns are common. But they can be overcome. It requires that you be intentional in design and consistent in implementation. And you can learn how to communicate better.

communicate better

If you’ve ever played the game of telephone you know how information can’t get scrambled going from one person to the next. If you multiply that one-way communication into a one-to-many relationship—and then allow communication from receiving parties to other receiving parties—you have the makings of a complete communication breakdown.

There are five things you need to “get” to communicate better and improve your relationship with your team.

On June 14, ABC7 News Anchor Melanie Hastings and Molly Cochran interviewed me on “Let’s Talk LIVE” on News Channel 8, the D.C. metro area’s only 24-hour cable news channel, devoted to the latest in the District, Maryland and Virginia. They asked me questions about my book, Dear Boss: What Your Employees Wish You Knew, and about ways to improve the workplace.

The “Let’s Talk LIVE” interview lasts a quick six minutes (6:16). I hope you enjoy it. And I’d love to know your thoughts about it!

Date: June 14, 2018
Appearance: Boss Improvement Tips on WJLA-TV
Outlet: WJLA (ABC7)
Location: Washington, DC
Format: Television
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Don’t Blame the Team If They Don’t Know the Rules

What do you assume and don’t say?

My family recently hosted a foreign exchange student at our house for about a month. When he arrived at our house, his first question to me was “What are the rules at your house?” Not wanting to sound like some kind of ogre, I said, “We don’t have too many rules at our house.” And I told him a couple of rules that we had in our house. And I thought that was that.

rules

Over time, I noticed that he did some things that annoyed me. And my thought was “That’s really rude. Why doesn’t he know any better?”

I told him that I was disappointed with what he was doing. Later he told me, “You didn’t tell me what all the rules were.” Then I realized I couldn’t hold him accountable for something I didn’t tell him. He had asked to know what the rules were, but I didn’t tell him what they all were.

This same thing applies to your employees at your workplace, but they won’t necessarily ask you what the rules of your culture are. That’s incumbent on you to tell them. They won’t know how to operate in your organizational culture if you don’t tell them.

Here are the things you need to tell your people so they know how to follow the rules of your culture.

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Put Others First to Win Respect from Others

Be Respectful of Your Team to be Respected by Your Team

The best way to win respect from your team is to put them before yourself.  In order to be respected by your team, be respectful of your team.

win respect

When you are willing to respect your team for who they are—not for what they can do for you—they will appreciate you for who are.  People don’t care how much you know until they know much you care.

Here are three practical ways to show respect to your team—and win respect from your team in the process.

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Self-Awareness Is Key to Good Leadership

You Cannot Lead Well If You Do Not Know Yourself Well

If you are to become a good leader, self-awareness is something you must develop. In fact, self-awareness is one of the key fundamental building blocks of good leadership.

self-awareness

There are many powerful and wealthy heads of companies in the world who are not good leaders. They are driven by ego and are blind to their own weaknesses. As a result, they do not know themselves well.

As Polonius said in Hamlet,

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

To be true to yourself, you must know yourself. Developing self-awareness will help you in all areas of your life—not just with your team at work, but with your family relationships at home.

Here are three levels of self-awareness to develop as you progress as a leader.

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Who Gets the Credit on Your Team?

How to Create a Team Culture by Creating a Team Environment

Harry Truman said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” If it’s all about you, then you won’t get much done. But if you are willing to share the credit with others, then you will end up getting a lot done.

credit

People want to be part of something larger than themselves. When they feel like they are contributing and seeing progress, then they are more likely to want to stay at it. But a leader who doesn’t see the team’s need to be recognized will lose their team very quickly.

Here are three things to implement a team culture by focusing on giving credit to others on the team.

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How to Have the Perspective to Guide Your Business

Leadership Starts with Seeing Clearly

Leadership starts with understanding your starting point and your ending point. By having a proper perspective, you can chart your course. Otherwise, you will end up like Alice taking directions from the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland.

perspective

Too many business leaders set their course like the way Alice asked for guidance from the Cheshire Cat.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

In effect, the Cheshire Cat says that if you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will get you there. And too many businesses function in that environment.

If you don’t have a good perspective of where you are and you are going, then you won’t be able to get there. While that sounds obvious, too many businesses don’t have a process for getting to where they want to go.

Here’s a three-step process to determine the perspective needed for seeing clearly enough to chart the course for your business.

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The Road to True Success is Lonely

Most Don’t Want to Do What True Success Requires

True success in the workplace doesn’t look like what most people expect it to look like. They think it means occupying the corner office. Having lots of money. Being a powerful individual. But that’s not true success looks like.

True Success

Jesus said that the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). That model of leadership applies not only to the realm of faith, but also to the realm of business.

Here’s what true success looks like in the workplace.