There’s a lie servant-minded professionals tell themselves: “If I just focus on helping others and doing good work, recognition will naturally follow.” Here’s what actually happens when you follow that advice: You become the best-kept secret in your company. Your service goes unnoticed. Your impact becomes invisible. And invisible servants don’t get promoted to positions […]
“You’re such a team player – you can do anything we throw at you!” If you’ve heard this “compliment” before, I have bad news: It’s probably why you’re not getting promoted. Being good at everything means you’re known for nothing. And when you’re known for nothing specific, you can’t serve others at your highest level. […]
When I ask leaders what keeps them up at night, they usually mention missed targets, tough decisions, or looming deadlines. Rarely does anyone say, “I’m worried I’m making this too much about me.” Yet that’s often the hidden problem beneath all the others. Here’s a truth that sounds backwards until you’ve lived it: The moment […]
You know that person at work who always gets picked for the high-visibility projects? The one leadership actually listens to in meetings? It’s not because they work harder than you. It’s because everyone knows what drives them – and it’s always about something bigger than themselves. That’s the Purpose Signal in action, powered by servant […]
You know what drives me crazy? When people hear “servant leadership” and immediately think it means being a pushover. Being walked all over. Letting your team run wild while you serve coffee and ask how everyone’s feeling. That couldn’t be further from the truth. After 30 years of leading teams—from my time as a military […]
You know what drives me crazy? When people hear “servant leadership” and immediately think it means being a pushover. Being walked all over. Letting your team run wild while you serve coffee and ask how everyone’s feeling. That couldn’t be further from the truth. After 30 years of leading teams—from my time as a military […]
If you’re a middle manager, you know the feeling. It’s like being the filling in a sandwich—essential to holding everything together, but often getting squeezed from both sides. You wake up to emails from your team asking for clarity on the new initiative that leadership just announced. By mid-morning, you’re in a meeting where executives […]
You know what a chameleon does, right? It changes colors to match its surroundings. Smart survival strategy for a lizard. Terrible strategy for a leader. Yet I see it all the time. A manager reads the latest bestseller and suddenly they’re all about radical transparency. Two months later, they attend a conference and pivot to […]
“I’d rather be respected than liked.” How many times have you heard that? How many leadership books preach this gospel? It sounds tough. Principled. Like something a real leader would say. It’s also terrible advice. I learned this lesson the hard way during my banking years. I was leading a team through our third merger […]
You’ve told your team a hundred times: “My door is always open.” You mean it, too. You genuinely want people to come to you with problems, ideas, concerns. You’ve created Slack channels for open communication. You’ve instituted “no stupid questions” as a mantra. You’ve even moved your office closer to the team. And yet… crickets. […]
