As leaders, being confronted by emotion is part of the job. Often, the actions we take as leaders can contribute to or generate that emotion. Emotional displays can be genuine or they can be manufactured as a defense against whatever it is you are bringing. Performance management is a particular venue in which a blowup […]
Category Archives: Leading Self
February
27
Happy Birthday to The Front of The Jersey
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
Greetings all! The Jersey has been out-of-pocket for a few weeks while on TDY but we can’t let this date pass without comment. Today, The Jersey turns 2, which seems like a long time since Post #1 went live in 2013. Now, 130 posts later, it will take the newcomer some time to sift through […]
December
26
Season’s Greetings from The Jersey!
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
Hope the holiday season is finding all of you healthy and hopeful for the New Year. If you haven’t had time yet, please take a moment to complete the Leadership Resolutions Survey and let’s set the agenda for next year! Leadership Resolutions Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J5Z8HP7
November
27
The Zen of Not Being Perfect – Happy Thanksgiving Day!
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
The Jersey is a fan of making the best of bad situations. From blooming where you are planted to embracing the “suck”, each of these paradigms are opportunities for the learning leader to figure out how they can or will respond when you missed the Rainbow and Unicorn Train. Whenever possible, putting a real-world face to […]
November
27
I’m Waiting For The Man
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
Ok, I’ll admit that being a Velvet Underground fan (look that up, hip-hop fans) means I have been waiting for an opportunity to use that song title in a blog post (and never mind that Lou and the boys weren’t singing about something we would generally cover here at The Jersey). They were however, singing […]
October
19
If I Only Had Some Courage
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
Many leadership bloggers and “opiners” (like me) will often reference Aristotle’s description of courage as “the first virtue”. This statement is part of the debate about what critical human characteristics of our society (possible a Bill of Rights amendment, for example) are the “most” important. From my perspective, having one, and none other, seems a little light in […]
August
15
Embrace The Suck
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
There are many opportunities in life for the every-day person to say to themself, “This sucks”. The military seems to have cornered the market on “Things That Can Really Suck” from roadside bombs, to standing post in 10 below zero, or 130 degrees above, to having the thankless job of emptying latrines. While that is not an exhaustive list, it […]
May
26
What’s In A Day?
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
The origins of Memorial Day as a federal holiday date back to the end of the Civil War and the spontaneous events and memorials that sprang up in the aftermath of such a cataclysmic event that cost the young nation almost a million souls. Over the next century, the occasion of marking remembrance to the […]
April
17
Practice
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
The full-on effective use of leadership skills on a regular, consistent, and conscious basis, is a state of mind that is rarely viewed in the same light as the higher level display of skills for things that are physical in nature. Playing the piano, operating on a human brain, or throwing a baseball 60 feet […]
April
10
Attitude is Every Day
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
For those of you who just took a chewing from the boss, or experienced a spectacular fail, or got crushed under a huge Rock Of Unrealistically High Expectations, coming in to work the next day (or the next minute, depending on the circumstances) can be an ordeal. Sometimes, it’s even worse if you have had […]
March
28
The Difference Between Training and Development
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
The Center for Creative Leadership has been studying the development of leaders for over 30 years, which qualifies them to say a thing or two about how to get from A to Z in the pursuit of your own leadership zenith. One consistent topic is the identification of the various types of learning experiences and […]
March
16
The Power of Perception
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
The late Steven Covey has long been considered one of the more important voices in the self-help genre over the past few decades. His signature work, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was first published in 1989 and has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages. These numbers suggest that Dr. Covey’s observations […]
March
03
The Hard Truth About Interviews
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
One of the frequent actions a leader must undertake is the autopsy of a failed promotional interview. Leaders strive to achieve and upgrade their seat from coach to business class when opportunities present. As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. However, taking a positive step of trying to make a vertical move in your organization brings with […]
February
14
Captain Miller’s Rule – Gripes Go Up
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
War movies are sort of a cliche for finding leadership material. For one, they are not everyone’s favorite genre’, so a respectable portion of aspirant leaders may not read any farther when someone starts quoting their favorite scenes. On the other hand, the topic of leadership is something endemic to the military, especially due to the […]
February
01
The Natural Order of Things
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
It would not be a stretch to say that if you asked many people what the “natural career progression” would be at work, you would get many answers. This is a topic that is different with every team and is a product of organizational economic stability, culture, experience, and potentially even the dominating personality of the […]
January
13
What Kind Of Follower Are You?
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
This blog is about the art of leadership, and as I have said on several occasions, is aimed at the leader, the aspiring leader, and those who are led. Many of the topics I have covered thus far focus in on the perspective of those first two groups. The last group, the led, are known by another […]
December
31
Of Resolutions and Such, Part 2 – How Not To Suck At Email
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
According to a 2010 study, a little short of 300 billion emails are sent daily. After deducting 90% of that figure as spam, this results in about 15 emails per day sent/received by about two billion actual users (and not computer generated ED pill salesman). With the assumption that this is not the first post of […]
November
24
Do You Have What it Takes to Admit Mistakes?
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
In a previous post, I talked about the confluence of leadership and truth, especially when the truth may hurt. The goal was hopefully to establish that this practice was not a “one-off” topic in your leadership library but a valid, accepted behavior that all good leaders understand, and great ones model. The purpose of today’s […]
November
09
What’s Your Story?
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
It is a human experience to tell stories to communicate between each other. Psychologists and neurologists see this as the quintessential human behavior. From Homer’s Iliad to the most recent popular fiction, humans using the power of story is a staple of nearly every culture and community that has graced the earth since recorded time. […]
November
08
Leadership Lesson on Veterans Day
posted by Jeffrey Thomason
Veterans Day is an excellent opportunity to reflect on what the profession of arms in a democracy has given us over the past 200 years. The United States, for most of its history has been a country where the military has represented an opportunity to improve one’s life potential, whether through experiences, skills, or education. Among […]
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