The second step in the discovery of your personal purpose is determining the top priority values that you want to be evident in your life at work. All of us have values that are important to us. And if I asked you to tell me some of your values you would quickly give me a list. But today I want to ask you to do more than that. For to determine your personal purpose in life and work, you need to make some ve ...

The first step in finding your personal purpose for work and life is to look back over the experiences of your life thus far. If we rush forward, without time for reflection on what we have learned so far, we miss important lessons. Set aside time to reflect on the lessons of your life. Using the Lifeline exercise, spend some quiet time reviewing your life thus far. Life is a succession of lessons which mus ...

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you the importance of knowing WHY you work and how you can put into words your purpose of leadership. While we’ve tried to make the process simple, knowing where to begin can often be difficult. Over the next eight weeks, I’d like to share with you interviews with Popeyes leaders as well as leaders at other companies that are inspired by personal purpose. Leaders who have ...

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you the importance of knowing WHY you work and how you can put into words your purpose of leadership. While we’ve tried to make the process simple, knowing where to begin can often be difficult. Over the next eight weeks, I’d like to share with you interviews with Popeyes leaders as well as leaders at other companies that are inspired by personal purpose. Leaders who have ...

Last week I shared with you the importance of knowing WHY you work and how you can put into words your purpose of leadership. While we’ve tried to make the process simple, knowing where to begin can often be difficult. Over the next eight weeks, I’d like to share with you interviews with Popeyes leaders as well as leaders at other companies that are inspired by personal purpose. Leaders who have defined the ...

Do you know WHY you lead? What if your airplane pilot said, “Welcome aboard. You should know that I have not prepared for today’s trip. I did not bring a map, I did not go to flight training, and frankly, I do not believe that I can get you to the destination safely.” You would not want to be on this flight! The same is true of leadership. If you do not know WHY you lead, you will not be an effective leader ...

In this last blog post discussing the themes of Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick, we are talking about Moral Authority. This topic begs a definition if we are to have a meaningful conversation. My personal favorite is this definition of moral authority: … the alignment between a person’s convictions and his behavior that makes ...

Be a Person of Character "Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. Gen. H. Norman Schwartzkopf There is an initiative being taught in school systems called Character Counts (Josephson Institute - Center for Youth Ethics). The curriculum teaches six core values to being a person with character: Responsibility Respect Trustworthines ...

I’m intrigued by companies with strong core purpose and principles. Once such company is the advertising agency, GSD&Min Austin, Texas. This agency was founded in 1971 by four graduates of University of Texas at Austin,Steve Gurasich, Roy Spence, Judy Trabulsi, and Tim McClure.  While the founders recently retired, this agency remains the longest standing partnership in the advertising business. And ove ...

It is a rare occasion that a highly visible Fortune 500 CEO puts their personal values out for all to see.  One such individual is Bob McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble.  If you go to the P&G website, and search for his biography, you will also find a section called Values-Based Leadership.  It includes a PowerPoint presentation on leadership and an outline of his values called “What I Believe In.” ...