News & Shows

Learning and Leadership

Today's leaders, the really good ones, have the primary guiding principle of helping others be their best selves. Don't get me wrong - those whose brilliant ideas and charisma bring followers rarely have anyone but themselves and their ideas as their guiding principle - but they're not leaders

"The List"- You can be on it too!

On December 30 Sealstrip issued a press release announcing our 15th place ranking in the PA Best Places to Work program. The release touches on some of the things that I feel create a best place to work. Sealstrip has placed on the list each of the 6 times we've applied, so I think we've found at least some parts of the recipe for success. First, I'd like to address why it matters to be on the list. Here are a few reasons:

Two Words that Make Everyone in the Workforce Groan

As a leader, providing feedback to the people on my team is crucial both for individual development as well as overall team performance. Accepting feedback given by team members is also critical to my success. Celebrating our 5th year earning a place in the PA Best Places to Work, we listen to everyone's suggestions and feelings about reviews. Here are some thoughts on the subject that have been dancing in my head as we tweak our review system again.

Who Screwed Up?

I've learned about teamwork from my daughter - outside of the context of workplace politics, baggage, and personal agendas. I have two examples that stopped me in my tracks:

Diagnostics for High Performing Teams

By better understanding ourselves we can do one of two things that develop the capacity to consciously adjust behavior and thinking. We can promote our strengths and avoid our challenges, or we can appreciate our strengths and work to improve our weaknesses.

Taking Care of Hearts

A hand-written note in my office that serves as the epitome of leadership to help know and understand our teammates.

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Some days or weeks we have a whole bunch of negative things happen and even the most resilient person starts to feel like they are on a sinking ship, just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. What's a leader to do?

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Some days or weeks we have a whole bunch of negative things happen and even the most resilient person starts to feel like they are on a sinking ship, just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. What's a leader to do?

The Most Common Mistake

When someone fails in a management or leadership role, the most common reason I've heard is, "I made the classic mistake, I made my best worker the manager." So if this is the "classic" mistake, why is it done repeatedly? And if this is such a common mistake, should we promote our mediocre to poor workers to be the managers and keep the best ones hard at work?