Ted Ligety Took His Own Path to Ski Racing Success
A great profile of Ted Ligety last Sunday. A worthwhile read that offers insights into what has made him such a success in ski racing. Like Bode Miller, Ted chose an unconventional approach to greatness. Important lessons to be learned for all.
Read MoreInstill a Secure Self in Your Children
In my first post looking at how to raise secure children, I explored how you can help ensure that your children have a secure attachment with you. The second message of security involves children’s sense of security that they develop about themselves. For children to feel truly secure, they must believe that they have mastery […]
Read MoreBode Being Bode…Again: 6 Lessons Worth Learning
Are you really surprised that Bode Miller has begun this Olympic season with such success? Three World Cup podiums to start off the season? In one way, I am really surprised, while in another way, I’m not at all surprised. I’m surprised for several reasons. First, Bode is not, by ski racing standards, a young […]
Read MoreQualifying: The Season of Excitement…and Dread
‘Tis the season for qualifying. You may want to make the cut for the state championships, U16, U18, or U.S. nationals, or the NCAA championships. You may even have been hoping to qualify for the Sochi Olympics. I can assure you that you are not alone whatever your situation or whatever you are feeling. This […]
Read MoreTaylor Post Gets HuffPost Headline
I’m excited that my recent business-related post, The Five Things Great Leaders Must Do Very Well, nabbed the headline on the Huffington Post Small Businesses page.
Read MoreThe 5 Things Great Leaders Do Very Well
Leadership is one of the truly hot topics in the corporate world. Can you believe that there are more than 17,000 books on leadership available on Amazon? That statistic tells me that there are no clear answers on the best way to lead a company, organization, or team. Given that I work extensively in both the corporate and sports world, where effective leadership is essential, I wanted to share my perspective on what makes a great leader. Let’s start with where I stand on leadership. First, what is a leader? Your answer may include inspiring employees, having a strategic vision and plan, or knowing how to hire or delegate. All of these are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for being a leader. But the purest definition of a leader I can offer is: someone with followers. Without them, there is no leader. I also want to add a rather heretical view of leadership: I don’t believe in leadership styles. We certainly hear plenty from all sorts of business gurus that this style or that is ideal. You hear about autocratic, democratic, collaborative, visionary, transactional, transformational, participative, laissez-faire, servant, the list goes on. I would argue, however, that talking about styles has little value because we are incapable of leading in a way that is inconsistent with who we are as people. However you lead, there are certain roles you must fulfill to be a successful leader of your team and to achieve the goals you have established for your business. I believe that leaders have five essential roles to fulfill to be effective.
Read More