Recently, I re-watched the ending to the July 24, 1983 “Pine Tar Incident” game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.  I remember watching this game live on TV as a teenager.  It was the top-of-the ninth inning.  There were two outs and U.L. Washington was on first base for the Kansas City Royals.  The Yankees wereRead More →

We all have feelings that I would call conflict emotions such as anger, irritation, and bitterness.  These emotions arise for a variety of reasons that stem from our past experiences, strong values, unmet expectations, and misunderstandings.  Just like me, I am sure you can reflect on your own experiences of conflict emotions within yourself and others. What do we doRead More →

A couple of years ago, I stopped into a sub-shop to get some lunch.  I went through the line, ordered my sandwich, and was about to pay when suddenly one of the employees behind the counter moaned, lunged forward quickly, hit his head on the counter, fell to the floor, and started shaking uncontrollably.  He was clearly having a seizure. Read More →

This post has been contributed by Leta Anderson. This is WAY out of my comfort zone. I’m not a writer. I am a perfectionist that struggles to put words on paper (or on the screen) because, what if what I write isn’t “right”? So, why did I say yes to the invitation to contribute to the Leadership Innovations blog? IRead More →

I worked for a few months at a family owned sandwich and bakery shop in a mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma when I was in high school.  My job was to take orders, prepare food, distribute the food, and clean up.  All the employees had the same job responsibilities.  This was my first “real” job, and I quickly learned those co-workersRead More →

I am done leading. I just want to give up and tell everyone, you are on your own now. Fend for yourself. Figure it out without me. I am tired of trying to keep this ship both floating and moving forward. I am going to sit here by myself and let the world around take care of itself. Leadership wasRead More →

I have spoken to hundreds of people with broad scopes of influence from many different organizations throughout my career.  A common theme consistently emerges that is related to their effectiveness as a leader:  It is their ability to develop and maintain quality relationships. “We Pursue Quality Relationships!” is the fourth guiding principle to building a performance culture.  This is theRead More →

Working from home can introduce new distractions you may not have had in the office. As you develop good habits around balancing work and family life, it is a good idea to address these distractions in a way that helps you avoid losing focus and getting fatigued. In this video, Todd discusses the types of distractions you may encounter andRead More →

When you first start working from home it can introduce new tension into the household since it is harder than ever to balance personal, family, and work time. The way to ease this tension is to create healthy boundaries and communicate them clearly to other family members. In this video, Todd shares specific tips for identifying responsibilities, finding your space,Read More →

Working remotely presents some unique challenges. One of the most common issues people face is Showing Value: Managers need to know their employees are working and producing results; and employees may be concerned that their contributions are not being recognized, which may put them in danger of being laid off. In this video, Todd discusses the problem of Showing ValueRead More →