12 Steps to Becoming a Stronger Leader

Step 1: Be Present 

Description: In this blog, we discuss the importance of being present and using strategies to stay mindful. We also cover the messages we send to others by committing to be present when interacting with them and the dangers of living too far in the past or the future.

Don’t Miss the Moment

Have you ever finished a page in a book only to realize that you have no idea what you just read? Or driven to work, without...

The Side-Effect of the "Hustle Culture" That No One Wants to Talk About

This is part of Wesley’s 12 Steps to Leadership series. Each of these principals should be implemented, each week, to further develop impact and influence.

Description: In this blog, Wesley discusses the importance of REST for conscientious leaders. The dangers of deferring your rest are more severe than you might think, and the mystic and alluring dangers (and leadership quotes’ propaganda) that the...

Tasks vs People

As a leader, you are probably highly skilled at accomplishing important tasks. It’s likely that this skill has played a large part in your career development and has helped you accomplish many of your goals.

There is one problem though, to put it in the words of a popular television series: “all magic comes at a price.”

The price of being a well-oiled task completion machine is that one might focus on the results too much. It may be the case that your...

The “Us” vs “Them” Mindset

Commercial entertainment is great at creating a clear discernible line between protagonist and antagonist. The person (or group) you want to “win” and the other side you want to “lose.” In fact, our expectations of entertainment are so predictable that Hollywood movie producers know they have less than 10 minutes to get their audience invested in a story before their attention drops off dramatically.

The lines...

Identifying you High-Potentials 

One of the most common, and the most costly, mistakes that I see managers of young employees making, is failing to properly identify their high-potentials. Maybe you are even asking yourself “what is a high-potential anyway?” Well, pardon the blockquote, but this definition from the Harvard Business Review is a great place to start:

“High potentials consistently and significantly outperform their peer groups in a variety of...

Benefits of Giving Autonomy In the Workplace

One of the most difficult pieces of advice that I give to Leaders of all types of teams and organizations also happens to be one of the most effective. The tough advice is usually some of the best, right?

(I’m immediately reminded of my all-time favorite character who constantly received *tough talks from his dad)

In this case, I’m talking about appropriating autonomy to your team.

We are bosses, managers, and...

It’s no secret that younger generations prefer to communicate digitally. In fact, more than 70% of Millennials prefer to receive communication in a digital format.

But, even with this overwhelming preference, there are certain messages that are too important to just send in a text, right?

…

I mean, shouldn’t some things just be done in person...

Well...not according to a recent study conducted by Adobe. They surveyed over 1000 employees and the results were surprising: ...

(Watch Video Below) 

In the ever-changing world of Human Capital, employee benefits, and organizational leadership, there is one trend that has emerged as a powerful driver of retention, and it looks to be here to stay.

I recently got an email from one of our readers and students. It said:

“Hi Wesley, I’ve enjoyed your transformational talks, but you keep talking about aligning my organization's mission with our young employees. How am I supposed to do that when our product is….”

That’s about where I stopped.

Let me complete the sentence.

“How am I supposed to align our mission when the biggest responsibilities of my employee(s) is(are):”

Serving coffee

Cold...

Listen, I’m all about being practical. Here's a quick statistic and action item that you can easily apply to gain an advantage. 

Allow me to present to you a serious problem:

A lot of leaders who I talk to are parents, they’re dads and moms who have been working professionals, but have also raised children.

Children are the greatest blessing, but raising a child is difficult. It's a lot of work, it’s a lot of stress and you have to treat every child differently.

You...