Courage is a common denominator in all leaders. If you do not have it, you will fail as a leader. Managers can hide behind the rules. Leaders break rules and make new ones. That takes courage.

Am I saying you can’t be a leader without the courage of General Patton or Jack Welch? Of course not.

But to be truly successful as a leader and to go as far as your talents will take you, you will have to have the strength of your convictions. You will have to be able to speak up even when it would seem wise to keep a low profile.  Read the full article...

I’m going to change pace today. I want to refer you to an article I saw by retired General Colin Powell in a supplement to my Sunday paper on May 20, 2012.

General Powell’s article is titled, ‘Kindness Works’. It’s a great article. It’s adopted from his new book, ‘It Worked For Me’, published by Harper Collins.

I quoted General Powell several times in my book ‘Surviving & Thriving in the HR World’ when I gave examples of those who I saw as having a leader image. I did so because he was a leader and he always knew he was on display wherever he went. He knew he had an image that was being watched. He knew the people he led expected him to act like a leader.  Read the full article...

As I said in the previous post. I am making two points here. One is that leaders back their people when the going gets tough. The other is that successful leaders never give up.

Now back to you. What do you do when one of your team members gets into trouble?

One of the worst things you could do as a leader is to leave one of your team members behind when they need you most.  Read the full article...

Ask yourself, what do the following people all have in common?

• Adolph Hitler
• Nelson Mandela
• Margaret Thatcher
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Winston Churchill
• General George S. Patton
• General Colin Powell
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Jack Welch

They all are or were leaders.

So your comment might be:

“Wait a minute! I agree with most of them, but you can’t call that mad man Hitler a leader!”  Read the full article...

Some HR professionals and other leaders can’t resist the temptation to use the power they have in destructive ways. At times, the power, real or perceived, goes straight to their head.

Now let’s look at some of the kind you do want to be like.

Human being Always greets everyone with at least a smile and a nod as he walks by.
Small talk Can make small talk with either the custodian or the company president.
Turf Turf has little meaning to him. Will cross any line to resolve a problem.
Walks the talk She knows that one of the strongest tools she has is the positive image she presents to the world.
Integrity Don’t even think about asking her to do something unethical.  Read the full article...