By Michael Holland - I've asked the question countless times and more often than not I get the same basic answer. The question: who in your past has been a great leader, someone you can visualize and model your leadership behavior after? A few moments of staring off into space ensues while they think back [...]
By Michael Holland - I recently read about a company where the owner and leadership team decided they wanted to live out their cultural values in a radical way: They would provide employees with a guarantee of lifetime employment. That decision had profound impacts on so many aspects of leadership. Here are a few. How [...]
By Michael Holland - I needed to re-set my clock in my not-so-new car and had forgotten which buttons to push in sequence to get the clock flashing and ready for change. Rumbling through my glove box I pulled out the thick, black canvass bag which contained the owner’s manual. Well, actually it contained one [...]
by Michael Holland - A leader can often feel quite lonely as the day passes into the evening. The "to do" list is still too long and emails await responses. A recent employee issue weighs heavily on the mind. Tomorrow’s calendar is already full with back-to-back meetings. Creating and cultivating a network of peer leaders [...]
By Michael Holland - Great leaders are life long learners consuming blog posts, podcasts, articles, videos and books to gain perspective and increase knowledge. Leverage that driving or flying time – or get away from the in-laws time – this holiday with a good book! Here are 4 books I've read and recommend for this [...]
by Michael Holland - In life, as in sports, we do well when we practice like we play. In other words, if we practice desired behaviors in ways that mimic how we’d behave in real situations, we will prepared to fully activate those behaviors at game time. We will have created muscle memory. As we [...]
By Michael Holland - Recently we had a large tree fall in woods behind our house. It’s huge and I wondered how could this tree fall when others around it were fine. Some leaders are like strong trees with deep healthy root systems. They had nutrient rich soils that helped promote growth. They had their [...]
By Michael Holland - While on your way to a meeting, you get word that the meeting is being rescheduled. You now have 45 minutes of found time. Found time is like winning a small lottery. You smile like when you walk outside on the first really nice day of spring. Great leaders are prepared [...]
By Michael Holland - Recently I saw a commercial where a young couple throws a dart at a map and then take off for their weekend adventure to wherever the dart landed. How spontaneous and fun. Your employees are hoping you’re less adventurous. In the rush of work and the ever-changing whims of senior leadership, [...]
By Michael Holland - Golfing is one of my favorite hobbies. A few years ago, I started looking at my scoring in 3 hole increments providing a look-back at 3 holes to see how I scored and a motivation and plan for the next 3 holes. With this rhythm, I was able to celebrate success [...]
