When deadlines are looming and economic storms are raging, a leader walks toward the difficulty. Walking a team through challenging times requires a leader who takes the first step. Courage and confidence are best instilled by a courageous, confident example. ─ Christy Beem ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

By Ken Chapman Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. Shortly after Booker T. Washington became President of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking past the house of a wealthy family. The woman of the house, assuming Washington was one of the yard workers her husband had hired, asked him if he would chop some wood for her. President Washington smiled, nodded, took off his coat, and chopped the wood. When he carried the armload of wood into the woman’s kitchen, a servant girl recognized him and rushed to her mistress to tell her of his identity. The next morning, the woman appeared in Washington’s office. Apologizing profusely, she said repeatedly, “I did not know it was you I put to work.” Washington replied with grace and generosity, “It’s entirely all right, madam. I like to work and I’m delighted to do favors for my friends and neighbors.” The woman…

Upon hearing of his reported death, Mark Twain famously commented: Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Leaders’ know that “saying it’s so, don’t make it so!” An opinion can be as unqualified as a rumor. And, an opinion can carry the gravitas of knowledge, experience and wisdom. Leaders’ know the difference. ─Ken Chapman ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

Leaders know it is often easier to forgive others their mistakes than to forgive others for having witnessed one’s own mistakes. Leaders do not present themselves as perfect. Leaders present themselves as accountable. ─ Ken Chapman ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

Dr. Isabel Scarinci, Associate Director at O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, psychologist, and polio survivor, discusses The Power of Thankfulness. How powerful is a genuine sense of thankfulness in our daily lives with co-workers, friends, and family? How does expressing thankfulness change our relationships with others? How can we make authentic thankfulness habitual? What is the science behind gratitude? And how does daily meditation on thankfulness impact our sleep? This episode is a conversation with Dr. Isabel Scarinci who survived polio as a child in Brazil. That experience led her into a life of service to others. As a child, between surgeries she went door-to-door with her mother encouraging complete strangers to vaccinate their children against polio. Her efforts prevented untold other children from suffering.  Now she works as an administrator and psychologist in cancer prevention with one of the world's leading cancer centers. She is a leader in an effort…

Listening is one of the least used strategies for building trust and motivating team members. Listening is caring and team members appreciate an empathetic hearing even when the circumstances can’t be changed. Leaders know the value of listening. ─ Deb Miller ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc

Leaders provide encouragement. They provide encouragement for those who are struggling and for the accomplished and effective team members. Leaders know positive reinforcement propels a team toward high performance. When a leader believes in the team, the team starts to believe in itself. ─Deb Miller─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

It is often said that wisdom comes with age. It has been my observation that age sometimes comes alone. Not everyone grows up on the preferred timetable. An employee can be old (as in wise) when young. An employee can be young (as in immature) when old. Take the time to consider the ideas of your youngest employees. When necessary, do not hesitate to mentor the employee who is older than you. ─ Ken Chapman ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

Performance Management and the Disciplinary Conversation by Ken Chapman, Ph.D.   Listen to an audio version of this article by clicking here: Ken Chapman and Associates, Inc. · Performance Management And The Disciplinary Conversation   Almost inevitably, one or more of the people who report to you will act in an unacceptable way.  An hourly worker is repeatedly late; a service rep blows up at a customer; a manager makes an inappropriate comment to a report.  Occasionally, such actions are so egregious that the offending employee must be discharged.  Far more often, though, the faulty behavior doesn’t call for such an extreme step, but it is up to the leader to take appropriate corrective action. The first thing to be clear about here is what you want to achieve.  Should the goal of company disciplinary policies be to punish, to mete out some form of justice?  Or instead should it…

The nature of change is that it produces fear──fear of losing the familiar and fear of the new and unknown. So change requires courage. Leaders know that courage is not the absence of fear. It is the judgment that something is more important than fear. ─ Ken Chapman ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.