CEO Blog Archive - Page 142 of 162

Recent Articles

Toxic Words That Can Damage Relationships

Mark Merrill writes a blog about being a better husband and father. His topic Friday was on “toxic words.” You can read it here >> He advised there are five kinds of words that will poison your marriage. They are: Sarcastic words Unsupportive words Disrespectful words Comparing words Selfish words No question the use of such words is bad for marriages. As I read them, the images that came to mind were of managers I’ve

Howe Q. Wallace March 20, 2013

The Challenge of Leadership

Nick Saban, the Alabama football coach, dismissed four players from his football team last week. He made an interesting comment: “Some people learn by listening. Some people learn by consequences. Some never get it.” Saban’s words are a good description of the challenge of leadership. On one hand, we like to think if we teach it at orientation or show it to someone else that the learning is done. But it doesn’t always work that

Howe Q. Wallace March 7, 2013

A Well-Defined Safety Program and Culture

At the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) meeting, I listened to a presentation by an attorney who specializes in working with OSHA and businesses like ours. In her presentation, she describes the enforcement activities of OSHA and describes a variety of horror stories associated with those violations. As she described the various engagements she has had, it gratified me to know that, while OSHA has visited many of our plants in recent years,

Howe Q. Wallace February 21, 2013

NWPCA CEO’s Tenets for Success in Leading an Organization

The new CEO of the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) Brent McClendon visited our Bartow headquarters today. Brent just began his third week with the NWPCA. The first two were spent planning and attending the NWPCA Annual Leadership Conference. Thus, our Bartow plant was the first pallet plant he has visited since becoming our industry’s leader. At the meeting in Orlando, Brent shared his tenets for success in leading an organization. Here is

Howe Q. Wallace February 20, 2013

Effective Leadership Important to Our Lean Strategy

As you can tell by my notes this week, I value a great deal the coaching tips Folkman and Zenger provide to folks who are perceived by their team to be ineffective leaders. The key element to understand is that being the most effective leader you can be starts with the leader believing that there is a path to improvement and intending to behave in a way that is different than before. Communicate more. Be

Howe Q. Wallace February 15, 2013

Leaders Seek Ideas for Improvement

Continuing on the ways Folkman and Zenger saw leaders become more effective: They became “change agents” and they solicited teammates’ ideas to facilitate this change. This strategy fits right in to our company strategy of becoming leaner. Leaders who strive to maintain the status quo can lose respect. They tend to be stuck in their ways, resist suggestions and discourage creativity. When leaders adopt the strategy of finding a better way, push that out to

Howe Q. Wallace February 14, 2013

Good Leaders Walk the Talk

How does one become a better leader? Sharing the work of Zenger and Folkman, we have hit on several behaviors: Focus on communicating more Share more information and knowledge Encourage more Here’s a fourth: be a better role model. Many leaders receive poor marks from their team because they don’t walk the talk. They have high expectations but they don’t live up to those expectations themselves. When Folkman and Zenger were studying poor leaders, the

Howe Q. Wallace February 13, 2013

Encouragement Key to Effective Leadership

Yesterday we discussed what two researchers, Joseph Folkman and Jack Zenger, found that helped weak leaders become stronger. In addition to communicating more and sharing more knowledge and information, people deemed to become more effective leaders over time did so by encouraging others. A good way to think about encouragement is to stop now, rewind your day and see who you encouraged and how often you did so. Did you send any encouraging emails or

Howe Q. Wallace February 12, 2013

To be a Better Leader, Improve Communication

Some people will tell me that they would lead more if they were effective at leading. Some have tried to lead at times and it didn’t go well. Rather than try again, they give up on it. Researchers Joseph Folkman and Jack Zenger have studied leaders who were once deemed to be ineffective and changed. They have isolated the things that the leaders do to be more effective. The single thing that can change a

Howe Q. Wallace February 11, 2013

Finding the Leader Within

When most people are asked whether they are a leader, they say “no.” The reasons vary. Some associate leadership with “position.” Only those in a position should be called a leader. Some associate leadership with innate ability or qualities. In other words, they believe leaders are “born.” They have a picture of a leader and, if they don’t fit it, they don’t think they count. Some associate leadership with broader responsibility and greater accountability. They

Howe Q. Wallace February 8, 2013

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Articles About Leadership

FIVE ELEMENTS OF A WINNING TEAM

Some believe Paul “Bear” Bryant to have been the greatest college football coach of all time. He used to say that members of a winning team needed five things: Tell every member what you expect. Give every member an opportunity to contribute. Let them know how they are doing. Give them guidance when they need it. Express appreciation for performance. This is a good checklist for leaders and followers alike. If your team isn’t winning,

Howe Q. Wallace November 29, 2023

HUMBLE AND GRATEFUL

“My story is the average story. It’s just filled with special people. What am I without them?” – Pharrell Williams Williams is a singer, writer, and producer who had a big year in 2014. His song “Happy” was No. 1 in 24 countries. He attributes his success to the “alignment of the stars,” and says that achieving great success was the result of many factors for which he is “thankful.” His testimony reminds me how

Howe Q. Wallace November 25, 2023

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and with each year, my appreciation for it deepens. I have so much for which to be thankful: I live in America. Most people in the world would choose to live here if they could. I have been presented with many opportunities. Some I have seized. Others I have squandered. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for all of them. I am more grateful that they keep coming for all who are open

Howe Q. Wallace November 23, 2023