Category Archives: Leadership

Classical or Jazz?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Jeffrey Gifford

I have long wanted to write a post on leadership using elements from Chain of Command, a pair of episodes from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, but have struggled on where to start1—there’s just so much material to choose… (read more)

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On Walking as a Leadership Trait

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Jeffrey Gifford

One of my favorite leaders during my time at KeyCorp was a walker. He’d catch us early in the morning as he walked around the 6th floor. There were certainly faster or shorter ways to get to his office, but… (read more)

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Be Curious

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

Unless it’s incessantly coming from the mouth of a two year-old, “why?” is one of my favorite questions. And “how?” is right up there with “why?”—they’re practically cousins. Why? How? Why was it set up this way? How does this work? Why… (read more)

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Three top Leadership skills

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

There are dozens of skills that every leader should develop and each assumes a different importance in a different situation. So picking three top ones is a risky task but one I was asked to perform recently. Here’s an expanded… (read more)

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Acting on a good idea

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

Earlier I mused on suits, haircuts and good ideas and opted to support “what’s between the ears”, those brains, smarts and ability to execute. A day or so later my family were eating Chinese takeout when we got to the… (read more)

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Virtual Lunches?

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

Joel Spolsky takes on an important topic in his post today on lunches and I share with him a firm belief in the value of intentionally sharing a meal. It can be an important tool in your work-life balancing act. It can… (read more)

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Connect in some way

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

I’d already been heavily involved in Unix/Linux for nearly twenty years by the time I found myself assigned as the leader/manager of the Windows Engineering team. Even some of my closest colleagues scoffed when they heard the news. How could… (read more)

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Nurture Leadership

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

I saw a phrase recently about the need to “nurture leadership”. The article was about a centuries-old institution that is in decline for reasons that are complex. And while I may find a way to tie the institution and the… (read more)

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Without a vision . . .

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

Successfully communicating a vision to your people can make the difference between a lethargic, apathetic group and an energized, motivated one. Where there is no vision, the people perish.

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Lingering at the table

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Jeffrey Gifford

Stanley Ott has another great post over at VCI this month. He encourages us to slow down over our meals to create “leisurely times of conversation and mutual encouragement.” Building team-friendly environments One of my favorite ways to build an… (read more)

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