If you had bad breath before an important meeting, wouldn’t you want to be told so you can pop a mint in your mouth before you walk in? If you made a delicious pie for a holiday dinner, wouldn’t you want to be told that it was delicious?

If you had bad breath before an important meeting, wouldn’t you want to be told so you can pop a mint in your mouth before you walk in? If you made a delicious pie for a holiday dinner, wouldn’t you want to be told that it was delicious?

Have you ever walked by a painting or portrait on the wall that wasn’t straight? Sometimes it’s all you can focus on, no matter how beautiful the artwork or picture might be.

“If you have to hold it to have it, then you didn’t hire the right people.”
As a leader, these words from author, pastor, and filmmaker TD Jakes should resonate. As a leader, you should be able to touch many projects, responsibilities, and teams, but you should never have to hold anything for longer than you need to.

Much like a builder needs tools for each unique project, leaders need tools to lead unique people. The current workforce is full of diversity: Different generations, different cultures, different personalities, different socioeconomic levels, different skill sets and abilities, different lifestyles, different wants/needs from an employer.

A leader needs a good set of tools. No, I don’t mean that all leaders should have a hammer and a rachet set behind their desks. I mean metaphorical tools to utilize when the timing is right.

A leader needs a good set of tools. No, I don’t mean that all leaders should have a hammer and a rachet set behind their desks. I mean metaphorical tools to utilize when the timing is right.

Low retention. High turnover. Young, talented employees hopping from one job to the next. High costs of retraining after these talented individuals leave. These are realities every company is dealing with in 2019, especially with such a hot job market and so much opportunity to be had.

As I gave a lesson for juniors and seniors at Indiana University yesterday, we did an exercise to discover each student’s core values. I was amazed that roughly 60% of the class had “Balance” in their top 3 from a selection of over 40 options.

We all love receiving a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. But what if our leadership abilities were represented by a box of chocolates?