Dean Smith: A Coach’s Legacy and Leadership Strength

In the days since the death of legendary University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith, countless stories have made their way into print, on the air, and in social media. We’ve heard about his extraordinary career, the 879 wins that gave him the Division I men’s record at the time. We’ve heard about his emphasis on loyalty and teamwork that has come to be known as the Carolina Way. We’ve heard from his former players—including his best-known protégé, Michael Jordan—how he inspired them to be better people, and from his colleagues and neighbors about his huge heart and spirit.

My own connection with Smith is secondhand: My father, who coached basketball for more than 20 years, occasionally attended coaching clinics taught by Smith. He always returned impressed by Smith’s expertise and leadership strength, and just as impressed with his demeanor. “Class” is the word I most remember hearing Dad use to describe him.

Leadership Tips to Keep in Mind During Seasons of Change

For many of us — especially those who had lost count of the polar vortexes by mid-January — winter can’t end soon enough this year. But the transition is rarely an orderly one.

Keep these Leadership Tips in Mind During Seasons of Change

It often starts with a deceptively sunny day in February. Everybody breaks out their light jackets and starts talking about taking walks at lunch, and then a couple of days later comes a blast of freezing temperatures and new snow, which in turn gives way to chilly rain and slush. People trot out the old joke about “if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.”

That’s the nature of most transition. Even when you know you’re moving steadily toward the new, progress can feel halting and unpredictable in the short term.

Leadership 101 from Grandma’s Kitchen

We often think of leadership as something that’s found in boardrooms and executive suites—but that’s a limiting perspective. In truth, examples of great leadership can turn up where you least expect to find them.

Recently my thirteen year old son had taken his love of pecan pie to the next level by learning to make it for himself. As luck would have it, he has access to the best cook and baker in our part of the world—Grandma, who lives just a few miles down the road from us.

Even a Super Hero Needs a Plan of Attack to Be a Good Leader

Setting the bar high to become a good leader for yourself is not a bad thing; but even Superman needed help from Lois Lane every once in a while.

Betsy’s known for her reliability. She’s great at working independently and can be trusted to complete projects that have been assigned to her. Her boss knows that when a last minute task comes up, he can always depend on Betsy to take care of it. In many ways, Betsy is a dream employee, and while she likes being the “go to” gal, she realizes that she’s close to burnout.

Unbroken: Lessons in Leadership and Life from Louis Zamperini

If you haven’t yet seen the new film directed by Angelina Jolie, Unbroken, or read the book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand, you may not even know Louis Zamperini’s name. But you should. The story of Zamperini’s life holds enough drama for half a dozen movies. It also conveys leadership lessons on perseverance, courage, teamwork, and faith that we all should learn and apply.

Your Own Strategic Leadership Plan for the New Year

Some people like to take stock every year on their birthday. For others, it’s the start of the school year in the fall. For most of us, though, it’s the beginning of a new year that prompts us to look back at what we have-or haven’t-accomplished and set leadership goals for the year ahead.

It works for huge corporations, so why not develop your very own strategic plan. Here’s how to do it.

Four Hacks to Developing as a Leader in the Holiday Madness

How do you continue developing as a leader in the midst of the holiday rush?

You’ve worked hard to develop leadership skills and the results are starting to show. Now the holidays are approaching, and along with wood fires, sugar cookies, and a plethora of pumpkin and apple spiced edibles, you’re encountering rushed deadlines, overbooked calendars, and a flood of emails to your inbox.

But you can keep your leadership development momentum by challenging yourself to accomplish at least one of these four, right-now hacks:

Back to School Lessons for Business Leaders

There’s something special about the first month of the school year. How can business leaders take advantage of the back-to-school spirit?

Here are six ideas to consider.

No. 1: Step back from the day-to-day and focus on change and growth.

Remember how there were always a few kids who came back after summer break and seemed like different people? Maybe they’d grown six inches, or their voice had changed, or their taste in clothes had completely shifted. None of those changes would have been nearly as noticeable if you’d been watching them gradually happen every day. You may not be able to take three months away, but try to look at the people and things around you with a fresh perspective. When you see that someone has excelled, be sure to encourage them.

Leadership Development: 3 Simple Steps to Stop Frustrating Your Team

Leaders never wake up thinking, “Today I’ll frustrate my team!” And yet so many times as the work day progresses, that’s exactly what happens.

Whether it’s through long meetings with no clear goal, assigning a project with a stressfully short deadline, or not clearly communicating their plan, leaders have been guilty of frustrating the very people who make up their support system.

To look at it another way, they are eroding their own foundation when they frustrate the people they work with. While working on leadership development, you must be mindful of the things that you do that bring frustration to your team.

Jeremy Kingsley | Leadership Expert, Inspirational Speaker and Best-Selling Author

Category Archives: Leadership/Personal Development