I blog this each year as I have found it to be one of the finest examples of vision I've ever found. I talk about vision all the time in organizations and help them create vision statements which inspire. Bill Gates imagined a computer on the desk of every person. Martin Luther King imagined children of all races playing together on the playground. Neither of these men were entirely sure how to get there.

There is no shortage of bad bosses these days. Recent articles by Gallup CEO, Jim Clifton highlight the, "Worlds Broken Workplace." Clifton cites research indicating only 21% of employees are engaged at work, meaning they are psychologically committed to work, their team, and their organization. 19% are miserable. Read more at Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2022. At the core of this 'brokenness' is bad leadership. I and many others are working on this but we face a colossal challenge.

"Don't just meet the standard, exceed the standard." This was drilled into me in my years of Army service. I can make the case for you that I excelled in the Army achieving the rank of Colonel and commanding an Army brigade. I didn't do this by working comfortably inside the hours of 9 to 5. I didn't excel by doing only what was written in my job description. I went the extra mile.

"In view of these qualities and his/her demonstrated leadership potential...," so states the official promotion orders of the U.S. Army. These are read in a formal ceremony following the decision to promote an individual to a rank and position of leadership. Keyword, potential. It is impossible to measure one's performance as a leader without placing them in the position and it is irresponsible to place a person in a leadership position without the requisite rank and authority. Therefore, it is potential we must measure.

Failing to ask important, challenging questions? It could be that you are afraid of what the answer might be. Questions like, "you seem to be impatient today, is everything ok?" or "how can I communicate better with you?" are the type of questions which address the true feelings of our people. When handled right, they strengthen relationships and increase efficiency. Unfortunately too many leaders avoid them.

I run a business separate from my leadership business where we operate under the philosophy of, "getting our customers to yes." This means that if we do not sell what they are looking for or provide the service they need, we will find out who does and will go so far as to make the connection for them. It is a differentiator or a competitive advantage because we find it lacking today. Of course we won't entertain something wildly off the mark. We will politely decline, but we find those instances to be rare. Usually there is a solution and our customers deeply appreciate us going the extra mile for them. Leaders appreciate it too.

What do you envision when you hear the word onboard? The assimilation of a person into an organization or a checklist of administrative requirements? If you were under my leadership and I tasked you with onboarding a new employee, this would summarize my intent. Our new teammate should go home each day saying, "this is the best reception I have ever received from an organization. They have made me feel at ease. I already feel like I belong." I would assign a peer as a sponsor - someone to see the journey through and with whom the new teammate could ask anything.

This blog goes out to my veteran brother Kenny. He and I talk about leadership often and I always enjoy his fresh perspective. Last we spoke he offered thoughts on leading and communicating at higher levels versus leading a small team so I thought I would share the main points of the conversation.

Is this happening to you? Do you have a bad apple in the bunch demanding most of your attention? This can be a curse of leadership - trying to right a wrong in a person, spending time thinking about how to deal with an underperforming or misbehaving employee. It is not a good balance as a leader because those who are performing suffer. The greater team is ignored as you deal with the other one or few.

On the cusp of Memorial Day I thought I would share one of my favorite poems. I read this poem at the closing of a speech this week entitled, "Memorial Day. What it is and What it Means for All of Us." While it honors the fallen, it also sends a message (verses five and six) to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts found in many companies today.

Let's get right to it. What is your logic style, meaning how do you generally make decisions - through facts, feelings or a mix of both? I've always said that self-awareness is one of the most important parts of leadership - know yourself before you lead others. This includes knowing how you typically make decisions or what your logic style is. Which of these statements sounds better to you?

Impact players. You know these people. The ones you need in tough spots, when a team must perform or an obstacle must be overcome. I'm not sure how they are wired but these people - impact players, can perform when it counts, typically under pressure. They enjoy the full trust and confidence of leaders and teammates. I equate impact players to relief pitchers who are brought in, usually toward the end of a game or a crucial inning in baseball, to ensure the win. They exist not only on the ball field, they exist in your business.

There I was, an Army Major in the 82nd Airborne Division. I was the executive officer for a parachute infantry battalion, one of the most demanding jobs I ever held. The workload was relentless as we feverishly prepared for war and kept our parachute skills razor sharp. I felt as though I was treading water in a sea of endless work. I led a staff numbering around 25 whose job it was to run the battalion. It was a Friday afternoon and I was smoked.

Really? When will you not be busy? Next week? Next month? The truth is it will never happen. I don't mean to be negative or insensitive - it is not my nature, but I hear this often, I've thought about it, and I cannot find much use for the phrase. It really sets me off when I hear it from a business. "We're really busy, or we only have 2 technicians..." None of that is my problem. If a business cannot hire the proper number of people or is not prepared to manage its workload, then it doesn't deserve to be in business. At least don't say that to me, the customer - as if I'm supposed to assume the burden. The concept is the same in leadership.

The Army taught me a tremendous amount about leadership. In a constant leadership laboratory spanning three decades, I led, failed, learned, and grew from a tactical to a strategic leader. I share these lessons in my first book, "It's Personal, Not Personnel. Leadership Lessons For the Battlefield and the Boardroom." This book continues to fly off the shelves providing value to public and private organizations. Here are three (of many) lessons from it to kickoff your week.

I hope my play on words has worked here. I'm talking about the leadership required when you reassemble your team, in whole or in part, back to the office. I have the good fortune to 'see under the hood' of a lot of businesses and I've discovered some leadership challenges in this area. I'll get right to it.

Today more than ever people have choices in where they work. Finding new talent is a big challenge for companies but so too is retaining existing talent. I coach several leaders who face this challenge. I help them problem-solve and develop creative strategies for both hiring and retaining people. Retention was a big deal in the Army. We had retention officers whose sole duty was to help commanders retain talent. They were trained, provided a budget, and given quotas to meet but, even with this robust assistance, it was still the job of leaders to retain great people.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs), rule books, or company policies are the blue print or instruction manuals for how things get done specific to that organization. I can't tell you how many of them I've read, wrote, or ignored. I'm not knocking SOPs out the gates here. They have their place, but there is a better way to create and utilize them.

I'm referencing the title from General Gordon R. Sullivan's 1996 book, "Hope is Not a Method." In it he talks about the transformation of the U.S. Army in the early 1990s where planning, not hoping was paramount. The concept still applies.

Nothing sets me off more than a sign like that. I confess upfront, I'm a non-conformist. It is one of my strengths as indicated by my Forte′ Institute's® Communication Intelligence Survey - a survey I use in leadership coaching and one which I believe is essential to leading effectively. My non-conformity is useful when rules need to be broken or when creative thinking is paramount. It is not useful when the rules should be followed. "No parking," I'll be just a minute. "Use other door," why? Thankfully I have my wife and other teammates around me to challenge my nonconformity when it needs to be challenged - to remind me that often, the rules do apply.