Leadership CEO Archives - Page 46 of 55

Recent Articles

When Leading a Change, Consider the Mindsets That Plague Us

Are you achieving what you want? Part three. First, what outcomes are you seeking? Second, what behaviors are keeping us from getting there? Third, what mindset has caused us to behave the way we’ve been behaving? Our mindsets are funny things. We acquire them as we go along in life. Frequently, we adopt a mindset without much thought. We do what we see and what we are exposed to without considering alternatives. If you go

Howe Q. Wallace February 25, 2014

When Leading a Change, Assess Current Behaviors

Are you achieving what you want? On Friday, I began sharing some learning about creating a change in a dysfunctional situation. The expert, Roger Schwarz, said that the smart leader starts with questions rather than answers. The first question is: What specific outcomes are we seeking? I shared some thoughts on that question Friday. You can read those here. The second question is: What are the behaviors that are prohibiting us from achieving the outcomes?

Howe Q. Wallace February 24, 2014

When Leading a Change, Clarify the Outcomes You Seek

Are you achieving what you want? I listened recently to a Harvard Business Review podcast about dysfunctional teams and how to fix them. The expert being interviewed was Roger Schwarz. He said that when leading a change, the leader is wise to start with questions rather than action. Here is the first question: What are the specific outcomes we are looking to accomplish? When I think about many issues we fight to resolve, it occurs

Howe Q. Wallace February 21, 2014

Leaders Must Demonstrate Care While Demanding Results

“Leadership is about the way we treat each other while getting results.” This quote resonated with me because it captures in a sentence the tension we manage as leaders. To be results oriented, a leader must demand outcomes. Those demands might involve asking and pushing one to places he wouldn’t go by himself. Those demands may mean constructive criticism. It may mean expressing disappointment. It may mean energized conversation. It may mean courageous communication that

Howe Q. Wallace January 30, 2014

Providing and Accepting Mentorship

I was talking to a mentor the other day. Do you know that word – mentor? A mentor is defined as a wise and trusted advisor. In any case, my mentor was describing an opportunity he had recently to see excellence in action. He had been visiting a lodge and he saw a chef who did a really good job. The chef had a plan. He wasted no motion. He directed his staff effectively. The

Howe Q. Wallace January 16, 2014

Leadership Also Valuable Outside of Work

I write frequently about leading. I love seeing leadership in action. Not everyone on our team has a formal leadership position with the company. So, it would be easy to check out on these notes about leadership. You could easily think “that’s not for me.” Rest assured that I intend that notes on leadership are for everybody. There aren’t enough leaders in the world. Everywhere I look, the world is crying for leaders. Families need

Howe Q. Wallace December 13, 2013

A Record Year in Shipshewana

I was in Shipshewana at our mill yesterday. They had a celebration about their fantastic year. The team in Shipshewana set records in timber and logs purchased, the amount of timber logged by our crews, and the amount of lumber cut, assembled into pallets and shipped. They also put two-thirds of their pallets through a dryer. The drivers covered over a million miles recovering logs and shipping pallets. As you might have expected, all these

Howe Q. Wallace December 6, 2013

Communicate to Avoid the “Silence Spiral”

Lee Colan from Inc.com writes about something called the silence spiral. According to Colan, leaders underestimate what teammates want to know and need to know. Oftentimes, not communicating that information creates the following spiral: Silence > Doubt > Fear > Panic > Worst-Case Thinking In other words, if we are silent about how the company is doing and what it is doing, our team is likely to become doubtful or fearful and “make up” a

Howe Q. Wallace November 26, 2013

Leaders are Good, Giving and Game

I heard it said recently that a leader must be “good, giving and game.” I tell people that every situation I walk in to, I’m looking for leadership or to provide leadership. I’m always glad to discover leadership. That means that the situation doesn’t need me. I can follow along. This quote says that leaders are good: They are competent. They have a certainty about what they are trying to accomplish. They have skill at

Howe Q. Wallace November 25, 2013

Acts of Leadership

The great sociologist Max Weber said, over 100 years ago, that the organizations that will survive and thrive will be those that foster acts of leadership throughout the system, rather than assuming leaders only exist at the top. Many of these HQ Notes talk about leadership. I worry that when leadership is the theme that some of you tune out, because you don’t consider yourself to be a leader. This thought by Weber highlights how

Howe Q. Wallace November 12, 2013

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Articles About Leadership

THE JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE

“Everything you want is on the other side of ‘hard’.” – CJ McCollum, NBA player McCollum is a story of overachievement. He was undersized. Played college basketball at a non-descript school. Was a long shot to be an NBA player but worked his way to being a first-round draft pick and was a solid star in his 10th year in the league. I heard him describe his approach to the game and his development on a podcast called

Howe Q. Wallace March 25, 2024

HAPPENING TO THE WORLD – A SATISFYING WAY TO LIVE

PalletOne leaders “happen to the world.” What does that mean? A PalletOne leader is confident. Each situation creates an opportunity for service and contribution. We are talented and put those talents to work. We see those around us as having talent. We seek to unlock it. We realize that we can be called upon to take the initiative to improve things at any moment. We act when the situation calls for it. We inspire through

Howe Q. Wallace March 25, 2024

SUFFERING AND CHALLENGES

“Weep, trust, pray, think, shift, hope, grow. Ways to handle suffering.” – Tim Keller Tim Keller was a preacher from New York City. He passed away in 2023. I followed him on Twitter because he tweeted profound thoughts like the one above. You don’t exit life without tough things happening to you. It’s a fact. None of us are exempt. In specific order, Keller gave us seven verbs to consider when challenged: Weep – It’s

Howe Q. Wallace March 22, 2024