Jeff McManus's Blog, page 4

Accountable Leadership as Standard Practice

You’ve likely heard the story of four people—Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. It
illustrates what happens when leadership is absent: Everybody looks to Somebody or Anybody
to take responsibility, but with no leader to guide the process, Nobody steps up. The result is
chaos, finger-pointing, and failure. Sadly, this scenario plays out in organizations every day.
Accountable leadership should be standard practice, but too often, it’s not.

What is Accountable Leadership?
Accountable leadersh...

Managing March: Keeping Leadership Steady

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:
when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ~ Charles Dickens, Great
Expectations

March. It’s the “madness” month—and not just because of basketball. The
unpredictable weather that defines March is notorious. As the Weather Channel
explains, the month often sees an atmospheric clash between winter and spring. Expect
everything from tornadoes and winter storms to heavy rain, lingering cold, teasing
warmth,...

Progress Reports: A Path to Growth

“Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing towards what will be.” — Khalil
Gibran

We all remember the elementary school progress report — the periodic evaluation that offered
insights into our academic performance, work habits, and social/emotional development. It
covered everything from how well we “worked and played with others” to how we were
progressing toward our potential. Teachers and parents valued these reports, as they provided a
tangible way to track how we were advancing...

Flying Above the Obstacles

“To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the
obstacles.” — T.F. Hodge

Ah, air travel—the modern-day test of patience and resilience. The weather never
checks anyone’s schedule and airlines never consult their passengers before making
decisions, so, yes, everyone traveling via air must find a way to remain calm and carry
on even as their personal schedules disintegrate before their eyes.

Recently, thanks to some overly ambitions rain clouds I found myself c...

Bring Your Fascinating Competence to Work

What is Fascinating Competence?

“You know, like nun chuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!” — Napoleon Dynamite

While Napoleon Dynamite may not have won any best picture awards, the main character makes an important point: skills matter — and not just for impressing potential girlfriends. People are naturally drawn to others who possess abilities or knowledge they don’t have. This is what we call Fascinating Competence: ...

The Heart of Leadership: Investing in Our People

“You first must touch the heart before you ask for the hand.” – John Maxwell

 “Put your heart into it!” is an old directive we’ve all heard. As students, parents and teachers told us to put our heart into studying because grades and knowledge are important to success. As athletes, coaches encouraged us to play with heart because it makes us more skilled and therefore more competitive. Putting our heart into anything usually equated with a high level of enthusiasm, skill, and care.

Now we a...

When Opportunity Knocks – Be Ready

Famous DJ, Les Brown once said, “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have
one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”

Les Brown knows that this simple truth makes the difference between those who simply wait
for an opportunity to arrive—and those who see an opportunity, seize it, and are ready to
maximize it. 

You may never know what high-level opportunity is going to come knocking on your door. It
may come as a phone call from someone looking to hire because someo...

Growing Appreciation

I’ve written often in this blog about the importance of showing gratitude as leaders; its importance in cultivating a team culture that is respectful; how it can drive more productivity; retain good employees and the list goes on. I personally try and encourage others to grow in gratitude.

Recently I came across a quote from Dolly Parton and my views on grateful leadership grew a bit more. She said:

“I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life, because I learned earl...

Experiencing Explosive Growth: Are you ready?

Explosive Growth
Organizations that grow rapidly in size, money, or influence over a brief period of time are said
to be experiencing Explosive Growth. It especially refers to entrepreneurial efforts and happens
rarely enough for people to talk about it as exceptional; a wonder; a lucky break.

On a personal level, explosive growth happens not because of a lucky break, but by exercising
intention, dedication, and a desire to grow beyond self-imposed limitations. You’ve heard the
saying, “The harder...

Tearing Others Down Never Builds You Up

Tearing Others Down….

Bernard C. Meltzer hosted the radio call-in show What’s Your Problem? from 1969 through the mid 1990’s. He would answer questions professional or personal and would often counsel his call-in guests to “Before you speak ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid.” Good advice.

And yet, at some point, most of us have witnessed or even participated in mak...