Last week we were introduced to the topic of Influence as an attribute of Extreme Leadership. I promised that we would later get into some specifics on ways to improve on our methods of positively influencing others. This week we will do that by looking at an often under-appreciated method of influence: body language. Body language makes up a significant portion of …
Have you ever had someone fail–or refuse–to do something that you had asked of them? Of course. We’ve all experienced that disappointment. The issue in those occurrences was a lack of influence. Influence is the second attribute of Extreme Leadership. Influence is simply: The capacity to have an effect on the character or behavior of someone. We talked earlier in the series about William Wallace being an …
I have welded a good bit in my life. As you probably know, welding uses heat to fuse two pieces of metal together. In a good weld, the resulting joint will usually be even stronger than the original metal. But if dirt, rust or other trash gets trapped in the weld joint it will be weak and could break. Ok. …
So far in this blog series we have established that selfless, courageous leadership that inspires lasting change in others starts with self-leadership. Now we want to bring it even further home. Self-leadership requires prioritizing and problem-solving in the relationships closest to us: with our spouse, our children, family and close friends. It seems to be particularly true of high speed business …
In our last post, we looked at the ever-growing difficulty within the construction industry of acquiring and retaining skilled workers. I suggested that the solution was in developing better leadership, specifically Extreme Leadership. Now we want to look a little closer at the first of the three primary components of extreme leadership–Self-Leadership. Extreme leadership starts with self-leadership. A leader who …
William Wallace (as depicted in the movie Braveheart) was an extreme leader. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. But what might surprise you is why I call him an extreme leader. Hint: it has nothing to do with face paint, kilts or screaming. It has everything to do with selflessness, courage and influence. Ok, but what does that have …
Do you have a fear that is always with you? What is that thing that can raise your heart rate and cause you to break out in a sweat merely by thinking about it? Perhaps you are petrified of speaking in front of people. Maybe the thought of taking risks makes you a nervous wreck. There are a nearly infinite number of …
Many years ago I heard my mentor John C. Maxwell say that “leaders are readers”. At that time, I hated to read and rarely read anything. The truth is, I’m still not a speed reader or a scholar. But I made up my mind that the juice was worth the squeeze and since that day, I have read literally hundreds …
First, Some Context My good friend Kevin Wilson is a member of a very elite minority. He is one of less than one-tenth of 1% of the population who have completed an Ironman race. That certainly sounds impressive but what does it mean? To complete the Ironman event and earn the coveted finisher’s shirt, Kevin had to successfully swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and …
When it comes to making us say “Wow”, none can keep pace with mother nature. Over the past few days, 60 million Americans were under blizzard or winter storm conditions. For many cities, including Baltimore, it was the largest snowfall ever recorded, topped by a jaw-dropping 42″ in Shepherdstown, West Virginia! Our social media outlets were filled with images of delighted children—and …