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European Championships Are Here!

During the coming month 24 national soccer teams will compete to become the 2020/21 European Soccer Champions. From the first kickoff on June 11 to the finals a month later there will be a total of 51 games. All will be broadcasted on national and commercial tv stations across Europe and across the world.

Fascinating – Even for The Bookworm

As someone who was always more into books than sports, soccer and the fascination with soccer ha…

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A Paradigm Shift has Happened

Since the beginning of days, leading people meant telling them where to go and what to do and making sure they complied. For the many, who were “far away” from the power, compliance was brought about by fear. For the few whose work meant administering a share of the power, compliance was brought about by agreement or manipulation. 

This “Compliance Paradigm” Doesn’t Work Anymore

Maybe it’s the fact that illiteracy has been largely ab…

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Someone Popped a Question

Don’t you love it when someone asks you a truly great question? This happened to me just recently. The question was “Is your Direct Leadership® model a stewardship approach?”

Stewardship - a Familiar Term that has Re-emerged

The term stewardship in an organizational context was first launched around the turn of the milennium. At the time, it didn’t really catch on. I believe that it was simply too early. However, recently the term has be…

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The Difference is Obvious 

If you ask a kid in 4^th grade about the difference between competencies and deliverables, most will be able to give you a clear answer. A competence is when I can do something well, e.g. I’m good at reading or good at math. Deliverable is the homework that I hand in, my contribution in class or anything else that I produce using my competencies.

If I only have competencies, but don’t hand in homework or take the tests, I will flunk that topic…

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Same – But Different

When working with employees remotely, you are essentially required to deliver a timely and engaging day-to-day leadership just as you should if you were in proximity of your employees. But there is one big difference, that makes it more challenging. The communication channels are much narrower.

Since you won’t meet your employees at the coffee machine and in the hallway, you will be exposed to fewer informal cues from your employees about how they …

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Right now, Training & Development Staff Everywhere are Being Asked to Postpone and Cancel Training Programs

At the time of writing this blogpost, the Western World is fearful about the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic. And C-suites are tempted to reach for the auto-pilot from the finance crisis (and every crisis before that) and simply cancel training efforts. But this time it is appropriate to warn against wholesale cancellations of all training and development. …

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Prioritize to Meet with Your People

Starting in a new leadership position can be overwhelming. Everything and everybody fight for your attention, so what should you prioritize first? As a leader your success depends on the success of your team, so meeting with them and clarifying expectations must be your top priority.

Communicate What Your Employees Can Expect from You

Your employees will be wondering how you are going to support them in succeeding with their jobs. T…

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Do you Ever Stop Yourself from Discussing Day-to-Day Leadership with Colleagues?

From time to time, leaders inevitably find themselves wondering how to tackle a situation. But most leaders hesitate to talk with their peers about it. Even if a close colleague would be in a unique position to understand what the leader is up against. 

Discussing Leadership Challenges would be the Logical Thing to Do

Most people will agree that to discuss with a peer, a boss or another c…

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Some Employees Seem Immune to Leadership

It shows up in various ways. Some employees resist your leadership in a silent unspectacular way. They simply avoid contacting or engaging with you. Others are more openly rebellious and challenge you in various ways.

The Reasons May Vary

There is no single underlying reason why someone is leadership resistant. In fact there can be many reasons:

• Some people may have been poorly managed in the past.
• Others have experienced …

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Knowing the Craft of Leadership is Essential

Do outside pressures and demands on you as a leader seem to steal your attention?

Do you wonder if you’re paying enough attention to your staff?

If so, it’s useful to consider

1. the purpose of your leadership efforts
2. the fact that day-to-day leadership is really a craft aimed at that specific purpose

Knowing this craft and its nature will make it clear to you in what instances people need your leadership deliverables …