This week I had the amazing opportunity to work with a team. A real team. A soccer team. A group of individuals that must work together to achieve a collective goal. I reference ‘real’ not to be hyperbolic, but because sports offer a window into what teamwork really can be. A truly collective effort. I say this, as compared to organizations that can function under the veil of ‘team’, but often times can achieve their goals with, or without the collective effort of everyone. M

My son asked me a question yesterday (as he’s apt to do) that had seemingly come from nowhere…. “Dad, do you think I should have kids when I’m old enough?” Before I gave him my reply I said, “…where’s that question coming from?” “I was just wondering if it’s worth it… (wait for it) … “I mean, you have to buy me birthday presents and stuff and it’s expensive. You could just buy yourself stuff instead.” Fair enough I thought. If not for he and his sister, I could spend my money

Today I received an email from a dear friend. I’ll be facilitating a “leadership values” key note for his team soon. He required some additional information in advance of my presentation. Seemed simple enough. Well, my friend’s manager wanted to know exactly what content would be delivered during my ‘talk’. What would I be saying? What would I be telling the attendees? Look, I understand the need to affect a measure of control in a managerial sense. I understand the need to e

Last week I started a discussion on the different leader types that we typically see in the workplace, offering a summary of the first five from our list. This week I would like to continue the discussion and provide a quick summary of the next three leader types. As a quick review, at Pathways Training & eLearning we offer many programs that focus on excellence in management, where often part of these programs includes a discussion on the various leader types and how they

Over the past month I have been spending most of my time in the classroom, leading a few of the many courses Pathways Training & eLearning offers related to excellence in team management, professionalism in the workplace and project management. As such I thought it would be interesting to discuss this week and next, one of my favorite topics that is part of our management training, and that is “What type of leader are you”? Next week I will spend more time discussing why thi

Last week I started a conversation around a training program I regularly facilitate titled “Managing People and Yourself”. At Pathways Training and eLearning,, we offer a full suite of leadership training programs through a variety of training opportunities including in class training, one on one coaching and mentoring, video blogs and of course through interactive eLearning training. This course in particular is intended for senior leaders and managers within an organizat

In my previous post I commented at length about the harsh realities of today’s organizational politics and the childish interactions that result… but I did say there was hope… or at least I hinted at as much. Hope comes in the form of internal customer service and the good will it generates – that good will begets good politics. Much is made – and rightfully so – about the need to effectively service our external clients. But what about our ‘internal’ customers, should they b

Take a moment to reflect back. Reflect on those moments in time where you were most uncomfortable, most afraid of unknown situations in your life. What did you do? How did you handle them? Were you paralyzed with fear, unable to move past insecurities and doubt? Or were you able to fight through the situation and learn from the experience? We all have had feelings of uncertainty at times. Moments where we hold ourselves back from speaking up at work for something we believe i