I hear many people (including myself) talk about how they want to make a difference, and I believe most of us are genuine when we make this statement; however, wanting to make a difference and making a difference are completely "different" things.

There is no argument that effective leadership requires a variety of competencies in the leader’s toolbelt. Some of these tools include effective communication, inspiring, directing, creating vision, strategic thinking, building relationships, adaptability, drive, execution and emotional intelligence. Coaching is a relatively new tool for the leadership toolbelt. Like all the other leadership competencies mentioned, coaching is not the only tool for leaders; however, it is an important one.

There are many misconceptions of what coaching is and even how to use it, and leaders often think they are coaching when they are not. For example, a leader meets with a team member to discuss a challenge, situation or area for improvement and basically tells the employee how to resolve the problem. He or she may tell a story of resolving a similar situation. Next, the leader encourages the team member to “get out there and make the changes.”

Does this scenario sound familiar? Although this approach may have a place in leadership (in fact, it’s more like mentoring), too often, it becomes overused. When a leadership competency is overused, it becomes a weakness.

Read the article in it's entirety here: http://www.trainingindustry.com/blog/blog-entries/add-coaching-to-the-leadership-toolbelt.aspx

Possibly, the most challenging is statement a leader hears is from their boss, stakeholder or board member is “You need to work on your executive presence”.  Unfortunately, this statement is elusive - leaders are left guessing what exactly needs improvement and/or creating their own conclusions.   

Perhaps their boss isn’t sure how to articulate what they need to do in order to improve.  Defining  just what “IT” is can be like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.  Often people will say, “you just know when someone has it….” or “that person really has presence – they must be born with it….”.  

Most leaders don’t think about their leadership legacy. They think a legacy is something for older people or something you leave when you die. A Legacy, however, is something more. A true Legacy is a living thing that is a gift to both the giver and recipient and as it is passed on, it adds to the leader’s reputation. It is possible a legacy is not “formally” recognized until after a person retires; however, just as a person begins building their financial legacy from the day the begin their career, so a leader begins building thier leadership legacy the day you begin leading. This means leaders who desire a meaningful legacy need to be proactive.

  "Man cannot live on bread alone, he must have peanut butter (James A. Garfield)!" Similarly leadership does not stand alone, it must get results, and that means achieving well formulated goals. By definition, a destination is inherent and you MUST know where your are going or, as oft quoted Yogi says, "If you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there." 

Possibly, the most challenging is statement a leader hears is from their boss, stakeholder or board member is “You need to work on your executive presence”.  Unfortunately, this statement is elusive - leaders are left guessing what exactly needs improvement and/or creating their own conclusions.   

Perhaps their boss isn’t sure how to articulate what they need to do in order to improve.  Defining  just what “IT” is can be like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.  Often people will say, “you just know when someone has it….” or “that person really has presence – they must be born with it….”.  

Most leadership programs miss the mark in developing leaders. They try to re-create the person or make them into someone else, possibly a specific leader that is revered and admired. Although it is beneficial to read and learn from others, it is crucial to your leadership confidence that you know yourself. In John Mason’s Book, An Enemy Called Average, he makes the statement, “All of us are born originals but most of us die carbon copies”. We do not need anymore “carbon copy” leaders. We need leaders who really know themselves, are self-managed and confident to move organizations forward.

Knowing yourself is self-awareness (the first component in Emotional Intelligence – for more information on Emotional Intelligence read “Leading with the Whole Brain”. What does it really mean to be self-aware and how does this affect your leadership confidence?

Controlling behaviors begin with self-awareness.

Self-Awareness is your ability to accurately read and understand your emotions, to be aware of your triggers, hot buttons and the responses that are provoked when they are pushed or tripped...



Have you ever noticed when you observe someone else doing something it usually looks easy? Or have you noticed, when you think of something that needs to be done, you think, “it’s not that big of a deal, it should not take them very long”? I am guilty of this on many occasions; although, at least now I am consciously aware of it.

It was the hottest week of the summer so far and the air conditioner in my condo stopped working. Hot and moody, I called in a repair request to my leasing agent. A day passed, and not hearing from them I decided to call again. Not only was the heat rising, so was my impatience. The receptionist for the leasing agent apologized and reassured me that a ticket would be placed for first thing the next morning. ‘First thing’ came and went, the temperature rose, and by now my impatience was growing to anger and frustration. I started to mistrust this company with whom I was doing business. I felt like I couldn’t rely on them to be true to their word, or to contact me if they would be unable to fulfil a request.

What causes a leader to fail?

The truth is, there are many things that cause failure at all levels of leadership. There is not a specific “formula” for leadership failure, just as there is not a specific “formula” for leadership success. There are however, actions or behaviors that drive a leader toward the path of success or failure.

Recently, I was coaching with a client and the topic of authentic leadership came up. The client was describing a former boss and said, “I think my previous boss was authentic – an authentic jerk – certifiable!”  The client went on to describe how the former boss was consistent and true to specific behaviors that gave him the title of “authentic jerk.”  Most of us would agree that this “boss” isn’t our definition of authentic leadership.  So, why do we use the word “authentic” to refer to leadership?