Listening is a skill we’d all like to get better at – I can’t think of a time when I asked someone or a group if they wanted to be a better listener and someone said, “no.” It is a life skill that impacts our ability to communicate, build relationships and get things done. It… Read More
About Kevin Eikenberry
5 Reasons Remarkable Leaders are Master Gardeners
Each Spring, people begin preparing for a popular hobby. Whether it is flowers or food, people are thinking about, planning for, and actually planting their gardens. Some of these gardens are meant simply to provide beauty, others to put healthy and needed food on the table – most all are done as a labor of… Read More
7 Keys to Being a Believable Leader
Kevin Eikenberry shares seven keys to greater believability as a leader and in any part of our life. If you want to become a more effective leader . . .
A Leader’s Role in Culture Creation
Organizational culture gets talked about a lot by people discussing success in organizations. It is rightly considered an important determining factor in measurements including retention, job satisfaction, trust levels, productivity and much more. Yet there are some common misconceptions about where culture comes from and who is responsible for it. Because of these misconceptions too… Read More
A Leader’s View of Conflict
A perennially popular topic for training at all levels of leadership development training, conflict is as often misunderstood and mishandled as it is discussed. Consider this view on the topic from Tony Dungy’s book, Uncommon. “Conflict is best seen as an opportunity to understand our differences, since that’s when conflict usually arises; when we see… Read More
Anatomy of a Leader
There is no perfect leader; leaders truly come in all shapes and sizes. Doctors know the same about their patients, yet they still study anatomy – to understand the basic workings of body parts, their roles and how they function together. While the bodies are different, the anatomy is the same. Similarly, though the style,… Read More
Are You Playing Offense or Defense?
I recently read this question somewhere, and it stuck with me. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that it is a valid question for us to ask as individuals and as leaders. Are you playing offense or defense? Like in sports, where you can have a strength in offense or… Read More
Communicating Decisions: Seven Things to Share
Leaders know that communication is one of their key roles. In fact whenever I work with a leadership team or group the subject of communication always comes up. People want to know how to communicate more effectively, and why people don’t always seem to hear what they are saying when they do communicate. In those… Read More
Creating and Communicating a Compelling Vision for Change
Status quo requires no leadership. That has been a mantra of mine for a long time. It encapsulates an important point about the role of leaders – leaders are in the change business. After all, if everything in your organization was perfect, there would be no need for leaders because there would be no new… Read More
Creating Customer Partnerships
Last week, I asked you to walk in the shoes of your Customers for a minute – and closed by asking you four questions with easy answers . . . but without helping you get to those answers. This week, I will close the loop by helping you lead in a way that creates closer,… Read More
Creating Real Team Alignment
Last week, I wrote about the importance of seeing opportunity in your team and what you can do to help your team see opportunities as well. I ended by telling you that the way to create that opportunity view was by creating a definiteness of purpose across all members of your team. Then I promised I would… Read More
Do You Really Need a Meeting to Make a Decision?
Lots of things happen in meetings – some of them even helpful! While most everyone has horror stories about meetings, there also are far too many examples of meetings that, while not awful, are far from effective. One of the reasons for these less-than-stellar experiences is that meetings aren’t often a place where decisions are… Read More
Five Influence Lessons I Learned from Elvis Presley
Elvis? You’ve got to be kidding. What could be learned about influence and persuasion from The King of Rock and Roll? Plenty, it turns out. On May 5th, 2011, the Associated Press reported that for the first time since 1955, Elvis was not one of the 1000 most popular names for newborns in the United… Read More
Five Key Conversations to Have with Your New Boss
If you’ve just been promoted, this is obviously for you. If you have been in your role for awhile, but your relationship and communication with your boss/supervisor/leader isn’t perfect, this will be of great help to you too. If you lead others and your relationships and communication with those you lead isn’t where you would… Read More
Five Powers of Encouragement
I spent most of last week coaching leaders on their skills, abilities and results through the use of 360 assessments. While the experience, scope and overall skill of these leaders varied widely, one of the lessons I received from this process was a reminder of and deepening appreciation for the power of encouragement. By the… Read More
Five Practical Reasons Why Values Matter to Leaders
Values. Values is a topic not that often talked about but one that plays a huge role in behavior and results. Because values are personal, and not always clearly defined, they remain an important but under-discussed and under-appreciated part of who you are as a person and as a leader. This article is meant to… Read More
Five Ways Leaders Can Declare Their Independence
238 years ago this week, a group of men, a group of leaders, risked their lives and livelihoods to declare their (nonexistent) country’s independence from England. If you are from the United States, I wish you a Happy Independence Day! But actually I am wishing that all of you (regardless of the country that issued… Read More
Five Ways to Improve Your One-on-One Meetings
Leaders need to stay connected to and in sync with the members of their teams. Both parties have the need for updates and communication. And in my experience, many leaders and team members don’t believe that connection and communication is as effective as it could be. The solution is the one-on-one meeting. While this may… Read More
Five Ways to Recognize and Value Your Expertise
If this title has you scratching your head, wondering if I am suggesting you become an egomaniac, relax! That is the furthest thing from my mind (though I’ll talk about it before I’m through). The truth is, while there are people with super-high self images related to their expertise and knowledge, many more people don’t… Read More
Five Ways to Visualize Your Goals More Powerfully
You’ve got your goals set. You’re excited about them and the prospects of achieving them. Whether those are true statements for you personally, for your team/organization or both, congratulations! They’re both necessary and important steps. And, they aren’t enough. I’m guessing you’ve heard about visualizing your goals. Many tell me it seems silly, others think… Read More
Gold Star Leadership
This picture takes me instantly back to my kidhood. The homework or test is handed back to me from the teacher with a grade, and if you did well and got really lucky, it might have one of these stars on it. The star – whether blue, green or gold, made my day. It told… Read More
Helping People Become More Creative
About a year ago, I was asked a question on my Facebook Fan Page (if you don’t follow me there, please do). I thought giving you an answer here might be helpful, because I’ve been asked a similar question many times in workshops over the years, including again recently. Here is the basic version of the question. How can… Read More
How One Word Can Kill Your Ability to Influence Others
That is an interesting title isn’t it? Does it leave you curious? Or does it leave you scanning through words in your mind, in a competitive way, trying to guess if you come up with the right one? Either way, I hope I have influenced you to read on . . . While you likely… Read More
How Remote Leaders Can Have an Open-Door Policy
Most leaders want to make themselves available to their team members. Typically, we call this the open-door policy, as in “My door is always open, let me know how I can help you, anytime.” While most say they have an open-door, far fewer actually live it in practice – which is the topic for another… Read More