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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

This is an all-time favorite of mine, and another one I find myself returning to reference time and time again.  Author Stephen R. Covey’s work outlines seven key habits that make people masters of themselves. Taking the approach that our

The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara

The first and best historical fiction book I have ever read, and an excellent look into the challenges of leadership, The Killer Angels reads like a novel.  But author Michael Shaara combines historical accuracy with a captivating story-telling ability to

The Journals of Lewis and Clark

It’s 1803, and President Thomas Jefferson has just completed the Louisiana Purchase.  Now he needs to learn about this new land and open up trade routes to the west. The story of how Meriwether Lewis and William Clark crossed the

South - Ernest Shackleton

In 1914, 28 men sail from England to attempt what no one has ever done:  traverse the Antarctic continent from one side to the other.  But soon, disaster strikes.  Their ship, the aptly named Endurance, is trapped in the ice,

Referent Power

How can referent power make me a better leader? Did you know that Nike pays Michael Jordan $50-60 million a year to sell shoes?  Wanna know why?  Two words:  Referent Power.  Take a likeable, successful person, have them endorse a

Coercive Power

Ever known someone pulled over for speeding?  Chances are they knew what the speed limit was, but thought they wouldn’t be caught.  The benefit of having traffic laws is to promote safety on the highways.  But there is a cost

5 Ways to get Information Power Working for You

In one of the Austin Powers movies, Dr. Evil devises one nefarious plot after another, only to have his side-kick tell him that his plans won’t work because he lacked some critical piece of information.  In frustration, he laments, “OK,

Expert Power

As a leader, chances are that there are people on your team who know a lot more than you about what your group does.  They have Expert power, yet you are supposed to be in charge.  Want to know how

Legitimate Power

Legitimate Power is the first and most commonly recognized source of power that people think of when they think about where a leader’s power comes from.  But if your leadership is based solely on the fact that you wear a

power sources

One of the keys to effective leadership is understanding where your power to lead comes from.  Merely occupying a position with “leader” in the title doesn’t make people want to follow you.  But if you know what does get people’s

Turn the Ship Around - David Marquet

Recently while researching leadership topics, I came upon an interesting video on YouTube.  In it, author L. David Marquet, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, relates how he turned the Navy’s conventional leadership paradigm on its head, and in doing so ended up

Reward Power

Reward Power is one of the best ways for leaders to influence people to move in the direction they want.  Most people tend to think of this power of reward in terms of money, and money can be a good

Leadership Movie Recommendations

Movies are a great way to see leadership in action.  Whether they are depicting real events or following  an original story line, watching how leaders form teams, overcome obstacles, and ultimately forge groups of people who are able to work

Pareto

Short on time, money, resources? Here’s a way to tackle this perpetual problem. Something leaders have to deal with all the time is limited resources – there’s never enough people, time, money, or other things you need to get done

“What’s so smart about SMART Goals?” Would you play a football game without any end zones?  I’m not even sure what the field would look like…round?  Where would you line up?  Where would you try to go?    Like the

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