Friends, Oh, did I screw up last week! I’ll tell you what I did, how I made it worse, and what I’m still learning about it. I turned in my grades for my awesome undergrad leadership students. A frustrated email quickly arrived from a student, saying there must have been a mistake. Then a second … Continued
Friends, On Wednesday, I had one of the most fun times I have ever had presenting to a group. Nate Butki invited me to speak on a panel in L.A. at the Great Places to Work Conference. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re the brains (and the heart) behind Fortune magazine’s January issue which features … Continued
Friends, In Sunday’s New York Times, the great novelist Elmore Leonard (University of Detroit High School, 1943) imagines what his father would say to Elmore’s mother about the current situation at the Vatican: “You see, we’re gonna have two popes at the same time — both infallible — and you don’t think there’s gonna … Continued
Friends, He was 79 when he fell from his bike on a steep road this past spring. Although he lost consciousness, there didn’t appear to be lasting damage. But he fell ill at a family gathering in Idaho and died peacefully — a week ago today — surrounded by his wife and nine children. I … Continued
Trust Matters – Be Careful What They Trust You For Friends, One of my two partners asked me, “How did your program go?” She was inquiring about the year-long leadership course I had kicked off the day before with thirty school principals. Her tone was unusually serious. “Great,” I said. “They’re a super group, and the … Continued
Friends, I finish every column with the line “lead with your best self.” This week I begin a mini-series with boundary-pushing ideas about doing that. They’re harder ideas, because they’re new – at least stuff I haven’t read much elsewhere – and hard because they demand more of you and me than I often suggest. … Continued
Friends, I was with a friend of mine this week who is a lifelong educator. He was working with his fourth grader on her homework, and his daughter was getting frustrated and nervous that she couldn’t figure out a couple of problems. His advice to his daughter took me off guard. “It’s okay to leave … Continued
Not Just a Follower Friends, Today, I share outrage and a quick refresher. The outrage: Here’s what happens: the Detroit Tigers lose, and we blame the authorities. I’m guilty of this. I didn’t see why the Tigers manager Jim Leyland put Schlereth in for Scherzer. But hey, take your pick: from an owner, president, GM, … Continued
Sibling Rivalry – Sibling Leadership Friends, I was talking to my sister Sheila a trained social worker, about the cover of this week’s TIME: “Why Mom Liked You Best: The Science of Favoritism.” I asked her what she thought it meant for leadership. “Everything,” she said. “I think it’s present in every workplace, as people … Continued
Friends, As Fathers Day approaches I’m wondering where father leadership is these days. In my home, we have watched my wife play most of what used to be considered male roles; many of you have witnessed the obvious – Jennifer as primary breadwinner, public face of the family. In our house too, roles were flipped … Continued