Cheryl A. Bachelder's Blog, page 7

Daring Destinations, Part 2

Andy Stanley and I had a great conversation on his Leadership podcast. I hope you enjoyed Part 1 where we discussed setting daring destinations for ourselves and our organizations.

Today, in Part 2 of our conversation, we’re going to take a deeper dive into the power of bold decisions to drive superior performance results.

Andy Stanley is a pastor, communicator, author and founder of North Point Ministries in Alphatetta, Ga.

Click here to listen.

You’re in Charge Now.

When I was about 11 years old, the oldest of four children, I wrote a letter to my parents telling them all the things that I would do when I became a parent. I would make the younger children behave. I would not let them have privileges until they did their chores. I would spank them if they did not obey my instructions. You get the picture. One day, I would be in charge – then things would be different.

What about your bosses – have you ever written them an anonymous letter? Have you told...

Have You Found Tough Love to Build Performance?

Servant leadership is many things, but one thing it is not is “Soft”. Servant leaders have high expectations, both for themselves, as well as for their team.

There’s only one way I know to make things better in your organization. Create and share clear, reasonable, and measurable expectations and performance goals. Then measure performance and hold people accountable.

Performance feedback gets much easier when the importance of clearly defined purpose, values and behaviors, and clear performa...

Daring Destinations, Part 1

It’s up to leaders to set the daring destinations for their teams and organizations. Daring destinations create the dynamic tension between daring and serving that leads to outstanding results and we all want results, right?

I was honored to be a recent guest on Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast. Andy is a pastor, communicator, author and founder of North Point Ministries in Alphatetta, Ga. Today I want to share with you the first part of our discussion. We talk about why some leaders don’t s...

Focused or Flailing?

Apparently our human minds can only remember three or four things at once. Psychologists at the University of Missouri published a paper in 2008 entitled “An assessment of fixed-capacity models of visual working memory.”*Up until this study, most researchers thought we could remember seven things at once – like the seven digits in our phone numbers. Instead, it turns out our minds have much more limited capability.

This academic finding is consistent with my life experience in organizations:...

What is the Daring Destination?

Week 2 video from the Leadership Discussion Guide – What is the Daring Destination?

Why are we reluctant to pursue a daring destination for the benefit of those we lead? Is it fear of failure? Absence of ideas? Lack of courage?

I’m not sure. But this I do know:

A leader unwilling to take the people to a daring destination paralyzes the organization.

Dare To Serve Kick-Off

Seems like the whole month of January is one big football game. I’m not complaining. It’s a great sport. This time of year, the stakes are high, as we approach the game of all games, the Super Bowl. The playoff teams are giving the games their best, with hopes of getting to the trophy.

Similarly, in this kickoff month of the year, leaders across the country are working on the plans that will help their teams play their best in hopes of getting a winning score among their competitors. In twelv...

Dare to Serve Kick-Off

Seems like the whole month of January is one big football game. I’m not complaining. It’s a great sport. This time of year, the stakes are high, as we approach the game of all games, the Super Bowl. The playoff teams are giving the games their best, with hopes of getting to the trophy.

Similarly, in this kickoff month of the year, leaders across the country are working on the plans that will help their teams play their best in hopes of getting a winning score among their competitors. In twelv...

Imagine The Impact Of Your Work

As we end 2015, I want to thank you for following and commenting on my blog posts each week. I am grateful for the dialog we are having about leaders who dare to serve. This year, my favorite blog post came from a pizza lunch shared with a landscaping team in northern Michigan where my family spends our summers. On this last week of the year, I repeat this post – in case you missed it. As you read it, consider the impact that your leadership can have in the year ahead!

The owner of a local la...

For Future Generations

This week we contemplate the last of forty reflection questions from the book I authored, Dare to Serve. I hope this journey has led you to new thinking about how you lead. I hope you are encouraged to act on these new ideas so that your followers will be well-served. I hope you have more conviction about the power of daring and serving – as a path to superior performance.

Today, I want to pause on two points that I think will determine your fate as a Dare-to-Serve leader:

Your ability to ch...