Back in your childhood, you may have belonged to a club that had a secret handshake. Just knowing that handshake made you feel like you were a part of the group, right? It was a “belonging” factor that made you feel connected. The handshake was something special that only members could do or know. In…
Tom Fox is the former physician and current gifted photographer whose inspiring images grace the pages of The Nature of Excellence. This majestic image is one of Tom’s "flower-scapes" in the Wind River Range (near the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming). The amazing proliferation of alpine sunflowers leads the eye to the beautiful, secluded lake below—while…
Healthy leaders create emotional bonds with their teams. We are wired to seek connections in our world. Humans are social creatures by design—and healthy leaders know and prioritize this truth. They excel not only at connecting directly with their team members, but also at helping team members connect with one another—in healthy ways. We often…
Healthy leaders are bridge builders. One important bridge they build is between a team member’s work and a bigger purpose. There are two levels of purpose that leaders connect employees to: organizational purpose and team purpose. Organizational purpose relates to making the world a better place or improving the human condition through work. For instance,…
The most common type of expectations leaders set are deadlines. This is only natural. We live in a world that trains us to meet deadlines, starting in grade school: your paper is due May 1; finish your community service hours by Aug. 1; taxes are due April 15; the budget is due Nov. 15; your…
As a leader, it’s powerful to involve your team to help define or refine the purpose. And you can bet, if your team is part of the process, they will be more engaged and committed. Work with them to answer these questions: Why do we exist as a team? Since people tend to respond with…
With a milder-than-usual winter (here in Dallas at least), Spring is starting to rear her head. It heightens my awareness of the natural laws that govern our physical lives. The "Law of the Harvest" is easiest to see at work in agriculture. If you plant 40 acres of corn, you will not reap 40 acres…
The Christ the Redeemer statue is one of the new seven wonders of the world and a cultural icon for Rio de Janeiro. A past summer Olympics cemented this image into the minds of millions. What really struck me was this video of workers making repairs from lightning damage. The workers take a real walk of faith on several levels (starting at 1 min.…
With the current war for talent in full blaze, your organizational culture has become a critical retention tool. We have worked on hundreds of organizational culture projects for 20+ years and observed the strongest cultures directly connect work and personal values. This enables employees to align with both sets of values without having to be…
I have a family tradition of writing and reading letters to each family member for holidays, birthdays, and special occasions. The letter might contain encouragement, advice, a blessing, a reflection, or a story. I hit a milestone birthday a couple of years ago... yep, I turned 40 :). So, I wrote this letter to my…
