As I prepared some space on her desk yesterday for the memorial that we knew would spring up today, I noticed several quotes taped to her desk, tucked away just behind her keyboard.  When I saw the one below, I immediately thought of sharing it through today’s Tuesday Tidbit.

“Lead people to their own greatness.”  Through these words, she’s leading us still; let’s honor her memory by rising to the challenge.

Rest in peace, Leslie.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Preparing for the move has included some tough decisions.  Do we really need to keep the faded print that we won’t hang on the wall anymore…just because my parents gave it to us? (No.) Do we need to keep the big clunky, chunky 10 year old TV….just because it still has a clear picture? (No.)  Should we hold on to my grandmother’s porcelein coffee and dessert sets…even though we just display them but don’t use them?  (Yes!)

Taking our teams into the future requires the same examination and, sometimes, very tough questions and answers.

Are you retaining people on your team who were once team leaders but aren’t willing to learn new skills for continued success?  Are you tolerating less than good productivity because a team member is a really nice person and great at organizing pot lucks?  Are you hanging on to processes that don’t work, just because that’s the way we’ve always done it?  Are you investing too much time trying to ‘save’ someone, when they have proven to be unwilling to save themselves?  Are you asking people to follow you, but you aren’t being a good follower yourself?

The right questions today can set the stage for a bright future.  I’m keeping that in mind with every item I’m choosing to take with me to our new home.  We all need to consider that as we take our teams to our new future.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Integrity has no need of rules. - Albert Camus

The glue that holds all relationships together — including the relationship between the leader and the led — is trust, and trust is based on integrity. – Brian Tracy

Your reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions. - Maria Razumich-Zec

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Take seashells, for example.

These three jars of shells are in my office, reminders of favorite vacations at the shore and various other beaches. 

You can probably tell that the shells are not all the same.  Some are large, some are small.  Some are plain, some are a little fancier.  There are all different colors in the jars, too.  That’s about all you can see when you look at such a large number of shells at once. 

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Imagine, though, what you might see if you took the time to step a little closer to the jars and really look at the shells individually.  The deep orange, pink, and gold; the light brown, gray, and off white.  Some shells swirl, some fan wide, some are ridged.  Some are round while others are long and thin.  Each one is unique.  Each one is beautiful in its own way.

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Taking the time to really look at the shells also provides the opportunity to look past obvious chips, cracks and even gaping holes and focus more on the beauty that is there.  Below are two pictures of the same shell.  When I found it, it was lying on the beach with the hole on top.  Not really the most attractive thing.  I stopped, picked it up, turned it over and marvelled at the beauty of nature’s colors  inside.

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What does this all have to do with diversity and leadership and teamwork? 

Think about your team members.  Do you just see them as a group?  Or, do you take the time to see the unique gifts of each person?  Do you see them as a single unit,”my team,” or have you discovered what makes each individual different from the rest?  Do you turn away from that one person who perhaps doesn’t make a good first impression or have you taken the time to find the beauty that might be hidden deep inside?

Whether seashells or people; richness and beauty lies in diversity.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

No matter how much a leader might benefit from observing another leader’s actions, or contemplating another’s philosophies, the leader will never BE that other person.  So stop trying.  Instead, use the lessons from others, such as the life and times of Steve Jobs, to strengthen your skills, hone your ideas, develop your approach and live your life.  Remember, YOU are the leader your followers are inspired by.  You.

Today’s newslink is to an interesting commentary on this subject, written by Steve Tobak and published April 10 on CBSNews.com.  Click HERE to read the full article.

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.

The clip below is just under two minutes, but provokes a meaningful activity to assess your ability to make other people powerful -  known in our leadership model as the “enable others to act” practice. On The Leadership Challenge website, this practice includes this description, “Leaders…build spirited teams.”

I love that description…spirited teams.  Dictionary.com defines spirited as “having or showing mettle, courage, vigor, liveliness, etc.”  Imagine the possibilities if we all built spirited teams!

How can you judge the spirit of your team?  One way is to look in their eyes. 

As you move from desk to desk and speak to your team members today, or perhaps the next time they gather around a table for a team meeting, look into their eyes.

What do you see?

As Zander suggested, if their eyes are not shining, ask yourself, “Who am I being that my team members eyes are not shining?”

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Is leadership irrelevant?  Is the real “power” today in the hands of followers?  Has social media and the resulting perceived lack of privacy completely changed the way leaders and followers are viewed?  Is the “leadership industry” dead?  The End of Leadership, a new book written by Barbara Kellerman asks these intriguing questions.

Today’s newslink is to a book review written by Philip Delves Broughton and published April 4th in Financial Times.  Click here to read it and then consider this: What do you think about leadership today?  Hope you’ll leave a comment and let me know!

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.

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In honor of the start of the major league baseball season, this week’s Tuesday Tidbit post included several baseball quotes that can also be applied to the workplace.  After reading the message at work, one of my team members sent me the following email:

You are just a wonder, El.  This one really sums up the Client Services ‘world’ you created/maintained here at (the office), and it really can’t be stated much better:

“Be on time. Bust your butt. Play smart. And have some laughs along the way.” -Whitey Herzog

You know what?  I’m thankful to be described that way!

What sports quote would describe your leadership style?  Or, maybe a sports movie title?

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In honor of the day, here are some quotes by people named Joe:

A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example. -Joe DiMaggio

Life is a matter of some really tough choices. -Joe Biden

To be a leader, you have to make people want to follow you, and nobody wants to follow someone who doesn’t know where he is going. -Joe Namath

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls. -Joseph Campbell

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

For example, consider these:

Let People Know You Care  (Chapter 4)

Keep Your Word Every Time  (Chapter 6)

Decide What Is Not Necessary  (Chapter 16)

Remember to Notice Things Today (Chapter 24)

Rise To The Occasion Often  (Chapter 28)

Thank Others For Their Efforts (Chapter 29)

Discover What Makes Other People Tick  (Chapter 37)

Listen With Your Whole Heart  (Chapter 41)

And one of my personal favorites…Build Yourself A Small Library!  (Chapter 21)

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.