On my last night of a three week trip to China (work & fun), my wife and I had the opportunity to dine at the Spring Moon restaurant in the historic Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. It’s a wonderful venue with great food, but the Manager is what caught my attention. Everything he did was done with zeal, care and attention to detail. He prepared our tea with style and … [Read more...] about Passion for Excellence
Leadership
How Open-Minded Are You?
It was an honest and innocent enough sounding question. “Rob, do most people find themselves changing their minds during this exercise?” said Ron, “Should I be open-minded or stick to my guns!?!” This was during a teamwork simulation I was facilitating for our Beijing-based Executive MBA staff a couple of weeks ago while I was visiting them. It is one of those … [Read more...] about How Open-Minded Are You?
Avoiding Ethical Traps
We all want to be the most effective ethical leaders that we can be. However, one thing that can hold us back is that . . . . . we are human. That’s right, admit it – you are. As humans, we are subject to cognitive biases as we make ethical decisions. Understanding these biases and watching out for them can help you achieve your goal of being an ethical leader. Here are … [Read more...] about Avoiding Ethical Traps
A Constant State of Urgency
The leaders I talk with – whether they are in corporations, nonprofits, or government – tell me that most of their days are frenzied. They feel like they are in a “constant state of urgency” – going from one fire to another. This is the issue that Steven Covey was addressing in his book First Things First as he suggested that leaders need to spend less time on what is … [Read more...] about A Constant State of Urgency
Developing Your Self-Awareness
Developing your self-awareness has long been thought of as a key to improving your leadership capability. Self-awareness is valuable because if you understand yourself extremely well then you can choose the appropriate effective behaviors to fit the situations you find yourself in. Without understanding yourself, you act on your natural “tendencies” which might not always … [Read more...] about Developing Your Self-Awareness