Are You Using the Information Pipeline for Good or Evil?
by Michael Holland Part of the art of leadership is the give and take of that information which is not common knowledge. There's a barter of sorts which occurs between leaders as they share bits and pieces of information they know, or sort of know, or are conjuring up as they piece together [...]
Pray for Me: The Silencing of 100,000 Onlookers
by Michael Holland Historically analyzing transformational change allows us to see the moments in time when leaders have articulated profoundly simple visions, and the resulting behavioral change that occurred over time within an organization or group after the proclamation. JFK’s “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth” speech [...]
Where Does The Boss Spend His Time?
by Michael Holland In a moment, the perception of how President Barrack Obama spends his time was vastly changed. The raid and killing of the infamous terrorist Bin Laden revealed the depth and breadth of critical and non-critical activities the President was involved in over the last several months. The juggling of information, [...]
Are You an Honorable Leader?
by Michael Holland There are times in your life as a leader when you will need to make a decision regarding doing the right thing, and treating people the right way. We could discuss the pros and cons with various approaches to doing the right thing and the varied scales of defining right, [...]
Blah, Blah, Blah . . . Reorg Coming . . . Blah, Blah, Blah
by Michael Holland From a recent CEO: "We have a lot to do. The most pressing thing I heard from our town hall meetings is the desire to clearly define our vision and strategy. I promise you we will be transparent and plan to articulate this in the coming weeks." What employees hear: “Blah, blah, [...]
Leaders: Always Take Things by Their Smooth Handle
by Michael Holland “Take things always by their smooth handle” Thomas Jefferson There is a civil and respectable way to deal with people and situational conflict. Seeking a smooth path, a path of least resistance for all parties involved, can produce greater outcomes. As a leader, you make choices every day regarding how [...]
Wearing Multiple Hats
by Michael Holland In a recent discussion with a CEO regarding her career path up through the finance function of an organization, it was revealed that she still maintained full functional responsibility for finance and accounting since she had chosen to not replace herself as CFO nor had she replaced her prior role of Controller. [...]
The Shallow Leader
by Michael Holland What makes a leader great? They know why they lead. Seems simple, really, that if you truly know your purpose in leading and the value system which resonates those beliefs, then your behaviors will reveal your leadership principles. The difficulty for many leaders is that their “why” of leading is shallow. They [...]
How Great Leaders Grow Their Leadeship Capability
by Michael Holland Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller released a new book in February 2012. You might remember Blanchard, who wrote the now classic, The One Minute Manager, which was extremely impactful, given it’s easy to read format and 3 practical management techniques. The new book, Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is an [...]