Prime Leadership Begins with Your Mindset
This post extends my discussion of Leader-as-Person by exploring the role that your mindset plays in how you approach your leadership. I define mindset as the attitudes, beliefs, and expectations you hold that act as the foundation of who you are, how you lead, and the ways in which you interact with your team. Your mindset is so influential because it determines how you think about and interpret situations, your emotional reactions, the decisions you make, and the actions you take. Your mindset directly impacts the quality of your relationships, the interactions you have, and the way you lead. It also sets the tone for your organization and determines the kind of experiences your people have in their work lives. Your mindset isn’t just a bunch of touchy-feely psychology and relationship stuff either. It also has a big effect on your company’s bottom line, setting the stage of its performance, productivity, and, ultimately, its profitability. Your goal is to identify and create productive mindsets that result in Prime Leadership. There are four mindsets that I believe are important to have to be the most effective leader you can be.
Read MoreA Must-See Video of the Impact of Technology on Our Lives
In my recent post, I argue that opportunity costs (time spent doing one thing is time not spent doing other things) may be the greatest threat from technology. A friend just sent me this video titled Look Up that powerfully demonstrates what we miss–life, love, beauty, opportunity!–when we immerse excessively in technology. Here are a few great lines […]
Read MoreTaylor Quoted in Article about Children’s Use of Technology
I was recently quoted in a newspaper article about the role of technology in children’s lives. I was in the minority opinion based on those the writer interviewed. What do you think? Whose side are you on (hopefully, your children’s)?
Read MoreTaylor’s New Logo and Website Goes Live!
I’m excited to launch my new logo and website. The logo better represents the focus and energy of my consulting practice. The website offers new vitality, improved navigation, and added features for visitors. I welcome feedback on any glitches you may come across or tweaks you may suggest.
Read MoreMy Kids Don’t Fear Me (But is That a Good Thing?)
I have two daughters, ages 8 and 6. Overall, they’re pretty good kids, generally kind and mostly cooperative. But like most children their ages, they are often stubborn, frequently resistant, and occasionally disrespectful of my wife and me. I may ask them to put their shoes on so they can leave for school in the […]
Read MoreAre Opportunity Costs Children’s Real Problem with Technology?
There are a lot of “techno-evangelists” out there spreading the gospel of technology as the cure for all of our ills. For this group, technology can do no wrong. At the same time, there are plenty of Chicken Littles running around saying that our cultural, social, and educational sky is falling. For this group, technology is the ill that needs to be cured. I place myself firmly in the middle of these two camps. Think of me as the Paul Revere of the 21st century—“The techies are coming!” I believe that technology is inherently neither good nor bad. But neutral does not mean it is benign. As with most things in life, technology is healthy or harmful depending on how it is used. One challenge for us is technology enters our lives before we can know what effect it will actually have on us. The speed at which technology is becoming deeply woven into the very fabric of our lives is breathtaking; as if we’re holding onto the railing of a caboose of a runaway train. Innovations are launched and become a part of our culture so quickly that there isn’t time to step back and consider the implications of new technology on us. It is only in the rearview mirror that we can see whether a technological advancement has been beneficial or damaging. And by then it’s too late to go back; the new technology is already irreversibly embedded in our individual and societal psyches.
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