The Leaders' Ladder

Creating Accountability

In a Positive Discipline seminar, one participant asked me; "How do I create accountability? You see, I've hired somebody whom I thought has good potential. That was 6 months ago and until now I can sense he's not giving his best. While he does his job as expected, the quality is awful and it's causing a lot of delays in his department." I've been asked this type of concern a lot of times, only in different settings and varying degrees. In all those questions, I gave 3 options for the concerned leaders to ponder and perhaps come up with their own ...

Your Best Investment

Leadership Development "A lot of people want too fast and too high of returns on their investment, instead of just letting the investment work itself." - John Maxwell How do you compare leadership development to planting a seed? In my elementary years, I almost failed in one subject - agriculture. You see, when I plant something I want the seed to grow ASAP. To make it happen, I dig it up every day and see if it has grown. I also make sure the surrounding is spotless clean. To ensure no grass grows, I take out the seed and till the soil again, ...

Lead by (Right) Example

Leaders Must Lead . . . by (Right) Example! What you are doing speaks so loud I can’t hear what you say. - Emerson One of the most remarkable statements said by Ford to his leaders is this; “I don’t care what time you come in as long as it’s before 8 AM, and I don’t care what time you go home as long as it’s after 6 PM.” It’s his way of saying “lead by right example.” Tardiness is one of the most common violations committed by ordinary leaders. For them, not coming on time is a “perk” that comes with the position ...

Who Moved My Cheese?

Leaders . . . Learn! Change is the only permanent thing in life . . . While attending seminar for COOP leaders, I learned an important lesson which moved me forward to do something very important. During that training, the speaker was kind enough to share a slideshow of the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” If you haven’t read it, I strongly suggest that you do. I’m certain it would make a difference in your life as it did mine and many leaders just like you (I’m not an endorser, just a happy “user”). Leaders . . . Prepare to Learn! The story tells ...

Leadership Position

Leadership Development Is a Must! “The position does not make the leader, but the leader makes the position.” - John Maxwell During a leadership development seminar, a newly promoted supervisor asked me, “How do I get people to respect me as their leader?” To this I replied, “You don’t get their respect. You have to earn their respect.” Leadership and respect does not necessarily go together. Many leaders thought that the title supervisor or manager automatically brings power and authority. To a certain degree, yes it does. People respect you because you’re the boss, or else . . . This is called “positional power” which ...

Reflections of A Leader

Leadership Matters! What is leadership? How are leaders developed? Upon hiring people, management universally hopes that their new employees develop leadership qualities . . . and they don’t know how. They know that leaders are people who are effective in what they do, are respected by others, and typically rewarded for those skills in a variety of ways . . . and they don’t know who. During the early days, weeks and months of employment, they see their hopes crumble . . . and fall . . . and they don’t know why. Leadership Matters As new employees look up to people around them, ...

When Leaders Fail

Leaders fail, sometimes . . . When Leaders Fail, Who's To Blame? One time I was invited as guest speaker to a Rotary Club luncheon meeting, and gladly obliged. I delivered the talk entitled Reflections of a Leader, which I believe was well-accepted by the attendees, especially those who are leaders of their organizations. The talk was followed by an open forum and a healthy discussion on leadership issues. One particular question came from a former CEO of a multinational firm, and goes this way: “Leaders (managers) of the organization are provided training to equip themselves in handling their responsibilities. There are quite a good ...