So You Want to Be a Leader; a 3 Step Primer

So, let’s define leadership. Leadership IS NOT about title, rank, direct reports, or hierarchal power. Leadership IS about creating change. A person that is not creating change is maybe a satisfactory task and people manager but not a leader. Being a leader requires the individual to have the courage to take risks, use her/his voice…

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When Leading is Painful, 4 Steps

On some occasions, when leaders have to take the point, the risk can be overwhelming. These times are when a leader’s mettle is truly tested when their courage and resolve are exposed. We’re not talking about those times that a leader has to make a project or product decision that may have a small to…

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Three Things Every Leader Must Know

Leadership is not for sissies. Leadership is not about you. Leadership has a price. Let’s diagnose each of these requirements. Leadership is not for sissies – To be an authentic leader takes courage. This courage is realized in many ways. Sometimes it is the courage to do what you don’t want to do, to do…

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We Know Micromanaging is Bad, but How Bad?

No one likes a micromanager. Micromanaging impacts employees and the organizations they work for in myriad ways. Employee satisfaction Think about how satisfied you can be with a job well done or an accomplishment when someone has dictated every step you take, every decision you made, and everything you contributed. Job satisfaction comes not from…

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Don’t Leave your Data to Amateurs

Financial institutions own tremendous amounts of data that can provide valuable insights. How many FIs are taking advantage of this data for their strategic planning, decision-making, or marketing? Data utilization is not just about mining for shiny objects; it’s also about collecting, aggregating, cleansing, reporting, visualizing, and creating “I think” to “I know” because the…

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Leadership Doesn’t Mean You Have a Horse

There he is, a leader in the middle of the park, sitting on a horse with a pigeon perched on his hat. Too often, when we picture a leader, this is the image we see. But, what should we see? A leader probably doesn’t have a horse. A leader isn’t bronze in color. A leader…

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5 Reasons to Define Leadership

Leadership is often seen as the job of the chosen few dictated by the org chart. Let’s move past this arcane concept and change our paradigm. Leadership isn’t for the few; leadership is for the masses. Here is why I know this to be true: Marine Corps boot camp taught me that even though there…

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How to Create a High Performing Team

The most extensive expense line on the income statement is compensation and benefits, and this expense must be maximized and leveraged. To get the most from your comp and benefits expenses, starts with performance management. Unfortunately, performance management has become an annual or semi-annual exercise in futility for too many organizations. When performance management becomes…

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Culture = Rules of Engagement

It seems companies either overcomplicate or ignore their Culture. The reality is, your company’s Culture can, and should be, a way you can differentiate yourself from your competition, especially in the financial services world. Think of Culture as a pathway to creating a “competition of one.” A “competition of one” means you have no other…

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