Leaders know the most difficult secret to keep is their opinion of themselves. Sooner or later, what leaders think of themselves will spill over into their treatment of others. ─ Ken Chapman ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

Bari Watson Beasley, CEO of The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County (Franklin, TN) explores the impacts of her grandfather's example of active service to others.  A simple question changes everything when there is follow through. "How can I help you?"  How does his example impact how she leads herself, her team, and her organization today?  Listen as she discusses his fascinating 95 year life that made a difference to many.  EPISODE RESOURCES: Connect with Bari on LinkedIn Bari's Bio The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County (TN) Lee-Buckner Schoolhouse (last regional Rosenwald School)  Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens Pullman Standard Company, Bessemer Plant Belmont University O'More College of Design Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Tony Orlowski provides an overview of the new book on workplace safety, Safety Beyond The Numbers, co-authored by he and Dr. Ken Chapman. The two of them wrote the book based on their 80+ years of leading change in workplaces in the US, Canada, and in locations across the globe. What can be achieved beyond basic workplace safety compliance and why does it matter? What is the responsibility of a front-line worker, front-line supervisor, safety manager, department manager, or executive to other people's safety? What can be done to maximize the outcome of everyone in the workplace going home safe and whole to their family and friends each day? What is compliance? What is beyond compliance? What is the moral factor? What does safety ownership mean and how does it work?— RESOURCES: >SafePath Solutions (Book & Seminar info) >Anthony Orlowski's Bio >Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn Brain Chatter, a podcast where…

By Ken Chapman Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. From all appearances, performance reviews are a one-way street. The leader always appraises the employee. Even so, it is a beneficial procedure in which both leader and employee benefit. If you are among the fortunate leaders, you get an occasional appraisal from your leader, the person you report to. But what if the people you lead could reverse procedures and give you a performance review? What if they could measure for themselves how you measure up as a leader? I suppose there would be some surprises for many of us. But the truth is that employees are already measuring you and I. Not formally with a grade when it is over, but in bits and pieces—assessments all through the workday and often in work-break bull sessions. If you doubt that statement, remember that you measure your boss repeatedly when you respond to…

By Ken Chapman, Ph.D Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. Did you know that polite executives are more in demand these days than abrasive ones? That’s a switch from earlier years when greed was big and barreling over the opposition was the way to go. Basic things don’t change that much, but it’s become a matter of how you do it. Verbal polish counts. Soft-spoken executives get more respect than the leftover “Masters of the Universe” who populated Tom Wolfe’s novel Bonfire of the Vanities. You don’t have to pull out your mother’s copy of Amy Vanderbilt, wear a hat and white gloves to work, or make a dress-for-success fashion statement. You should, however, review the little things that make a good impression on other people. Be polite. Say “good morning” and “good night” to co-workers, from your boss to the mail room clerk. Smile. Offer to get a colleague coffee…

Leaders know the value of connecting with their team. The more connected team members feel, the better they behave and perform. The same holds true for leaders. Leaders who are connected to their team strive to be their best selves for the team’s sake as well as their own. A ship’s captain is more effective when in the boat rather than directing it from shore. ─ Deb Miller ─ Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.

Change is hard, states an old but true cliché. Leaders know change is a present and future constant. Listening without judgment as an employee adjusts to changing circumstance and connecting them to reality (the facts of the situation) is a wise strategy. What an employee does with the considerate “ear” and “reality check” is up to them. Leaders know that giving into the temptation to do more robs the employee of an opportunity to grow— as a person and a professional. ─ Ken Chapman, Ph.D.

A restaurant customer’s complaint resulted in the popularization of the potato chip. In 1853, an unhappy customer at Moon’s Lake House, in Saratoga Springs, New York, kept complaining that his potatoes were too chunky and thick. The chef, George Crum, took great offense and sliced the potatoes wafer thin, baked them until they were crunchy, and covered them in salt. When the customer was served, rather than being perturbed, he was delighted, and finished every last crumb on his plate. Chef Crum’s retaliatory concoction was the start of a resounding success. His “Saratoga Chips”, not the earliest recorded introduction of potato chips but the first well-publicized ones, became a local delicacy until an enterprising businessman named Herman Lay commercialized the product during Prohibition. More than 150 years after its invention, the potato chip is worth a third of the global snack market. Leaders know the next potato chip might well…

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.

When Friends Become Direct Reports by Ken Chapman, Ph.D.   Listen to an audio version of this article by clicking here: Ken Chapman and Associates, Inc. · When Friends Become Direct Reports   Changes are difficult for many workers to accept, but when your status as a friend and coworker changes to that of team leader, the switch can often strain even strong working relationships.  That is what one team leader soon learned after her promotion. “It seemed as though my people thought I had a disease,” recalls Robin Hiler, senior lead coordinator at Frito Lay, Inc. in Dallas, Texas.  “The minute the announcement was made that I had been promoted, most of my coworkers did not look at me in the same way anymore.  The trust factor was gone because I was no longer ‘one of them.’ ” Hiler came up through the ranks.  She started with the company…