"Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you." – Eileen Caddy In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, and it is appropriate, perhaps even expected, to find reasons to be grateful. Of course, the reality is that we should find reasons to feel grateful every single day, and … [Read more...]
About Kevin Eikenberry
Another Way to Think About Time Management
In our Bud to Boss workshops, I often get asked about time management from a leadership perspective. How to be better at it and how to stop wasting it. While I have read much about this topic and continually try to get better at it, I am increasingly clear that we are all starting from the wrong place. When I look at a clock it just keeps ticking. It doesn’t matter what I … [Read more...]
A Simple Leadership Message on Election Day
If you live in the United States, you likely know it is Election Day. Direct mail, yard signs, neighborhood canvassers, radio and television ads and more – all add up to an important day in the life of a democracy. This post isn’t about politics, and while I have often written about what we can learn from politicians as leaders, the lesson today is different. The lesson … [Read more...]
Should You Ever Be Silly?
As leaders, we're often convinced that we need to be serious and put together all the time, but is that realistic or even recommended? I believe a certain amount of silliness and playfulness belongs in leadership. In part because being a great leader requires you to be transparent and real. All real human beings laugh, are playful and have fun sometimes, don’t they? Have … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Luck
"The harder I work, the luckier I get." I agree with that thought. I just don’t think it tells the whole story. For example, these actions can help you generate some luck at work, at home or in any part of your life. Say “Go for it” more, and “What if it doesn’t work?” less to yourself and those around you. Learn from and even celebrate mistakes. Read … [Read more...]
Putting Out Fires: Stop, Drop and Role
I’ve worked with well-meaning, highly-principled leaders and managers for years. When the topic of coaching and developing their employees comes up, I often hear that they know coaching is important, they want to coach more, but they don’t have time because they are too busy “putting out fires.” Right now, that probably has never been more true. The pandemic put many leaders … [Read more...]
Motivate Yourself With a New Routine
Things have been hectic, full of uncertainty and pretty scary for months. Now, the days of summer are here, beckoning us outside. Even the normally super productive and focused leaders among us are struggling right now to manage all the change and emotions. So, if you are like so many people right now who are feeling some unease and distress, it could be because your daily … [Read more...]
Why Now Is the Right Time to Focus on YOUR Development
"Work from home" may be in place for much longer than originally anticipated for many organizations, and that could be by choice. Many leaders now see the value in allowing employees to telecommute. Others, who pivoted quickly and shored up their organization's IT capabilities and security so that they could operate virtually, may not be so quick to rush back to the office, … [Read more...]
Focus Your Employees on What’s Important Right Now
For years I've asked people, "What's the good word today?" My intention always was to get people thinking about something positive, and if they were thinking something positive, to share it with me so I could benefit too. Unfortunately far too often people can't come up with a good word, or in many cases, a word at all. Hearing negative feedback isn't easy, especially for … [Read more...]
When Should We Train New Leaders?
It's not a matter of if you're going to train your new leaders. It's a matter of when and how. Those are the questions I'm going to respond to in this video. https://youtu.be/QGk_YQlbCEY?rel=0&showinfo=0 Tweet it out: Being a new supervisor may be the biggest transition of a career. Make sure you are supporting their growth. @KevinEikenberry … [Read more...]