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 →

Imagine it is your job to be a traffic officer at the busiest intersection in a large city.  You wake up early each morning before the sun comes up, put on your uniform, grab your whistle, and arrive at your intersection before the rush hour traffic emerges in full fury.  You were hired for this position after putting in hoursRead 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 →

Collaboration and decision making can present unique challenges for teams, and even more so in a remote work setting. It is easy to feel disconnected and unappreciated when you can’t just walk across the room and make your point heard. In today’s video, Todd offers tips for successful collaborative decision making in a virtual work environment, including how to startRead More →

Veronika Scott was compelled to solve a problem in her Detroit community.  There is a homeless population that lives on the streets and in abandoned buildings.  When winter comes, they need warmth.  Veronika, a clothing designer, had an idea.  She created a coat for homeless people that is extremely warm, waterproof, converts into a sleeping bag, and transforms into anRead More →

Coerce – To cause to do through pressure, force, or necessity. In my last blog, I introduced the idea that there is a higher chance of someone feeling coerced if he is given a directive or mandate. I focused that blog on how to receive a directive well. If you have not read last month’s blog, The Art of CoercionRead More →

Frequently, I meet with new or existing clients to help them think through an organizational or team challenge having to do with people. I come to this conversation with my passion and expertise of leadership development. My goal is to help find an answer to the challenge. However, the difficulty is that I want to solve the problem through myRead More →

The Roadtrip Leadership Lessons Guide contains step-by-step instructions on sharing the videos with your team and leading valuable discussions that will encourage them to be more mindful of themselves and their interactions with others.Read More →

As a new manager, Jordan was excellent at facilitating team and one-on-one decision-making meetings. Her boss praised her for creating an environment of mutual trust, open sharing, creativity, and energy. However, Jordan was continually disappointed in the output of the team. Work was not getting done when she was expecting it to get done. Instead of letting this frustration getRead More →

The words people say and actions people do on a consistent basis define the culture of a group. I was sitting in the lobby of a company for the first time. During my five minutes of waiting, three people looked me in the eyes, smiled, and greeted me. One person walked up, introduced himself, and welcomed me. Based on theseRead More →