Leading From the Front

Leading From the Front

The best leaders are willing to get their hands dirty in order to understand what it is like to be on the front line serving customers or working on the shop floor.  What’s that?  You say you’ve been in the “trenches” before?  How long ago?  Reflect on how long it has been and admit, even if it is just to yourself, that you may have lost touch with your workforce. Look for new ways to connect with your team and lead from the front, even if it makes you uncomfortable.

FAIL FALLING FORWARD

FAIL FALLING FORWARD

Fear of failing is a powerful deterrent and an unrelenting roadblock to achieving remarkable results. Leaders who operate in a manner to avoid the possibility of failing, will fail to reach and realize the best outcomes for their organizations and their teams. Napolean Hill wrote, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

Are you in the trenches or the weeds?

Are you in the trenches or the weeds?

As many sectors of the economy were forced to telework or adopt some sort of alternate/hybrid schedule, resumed more in-person work following COVID, many workers were welcoming the return of face-to-face camaraderie and collaboration. Leaders were excited to be physically back with their teams, leaving the Zoom gallery behind. The immediate reaction was a rebound of sorts, striving to make up for lost time with maximum in-person engagement.

Six Steps of Effective Succession Planning

Six Steps of Effective Succession Planning

Succession is going to happen in your organization whether you plan for it or not. People take other positions, retire, or quit. Unexpected turnover can generate significant capacity shortfalls, lost knowledge, and talent misalignments that disrupt or derail organizations. The organizations that execute effective succession plans fare much better than those that don’t. It is the responsibility of senior leaders, with the support of human resource professionals, to create and execute succession plans.

Characteristics Of High Performing Teams

Characteristics Of High Performing Teams

Have you wondered what makes a high-performing organization tick? What secret sauce allows a group of individuals to achieve unparalleled success? Most people would agree that leadership provides a critical component. However, history is replete with examples of organizations, whose leaders demonstrated a history of outstanding leadership and management, only to create an environment that inevitably led to disaster. Enron, WorldCom, Blockbuster, and Blackberry provide vivid examples of…

Meeting Efficiency: The DOs and DONTs

Meeting Efficiency: The DOs and DONTs

Good meetings allow people to be more effective and productive, which provides a good return on the time investment.  Bad meetings, on the other hand, are a time suck that disrupt schedules and demotivate teams.  After a couple of decades of leading and managing, I’d offer the following tips and perspectives on meetings…

Leadership vs. Management: Which One Is Better?

Leadership vs. Management: Which One Is Better?

Have you ever seen a leader that has incredible vision, but just can’t seem to link that vision to success in the day-to-day execution?  Or have you ever had a manager that ensured ‘the numbers are made’ each month, yet no one is sure why or inspired to follow that person?

Data Analysis Of Leadership Development Training And Coaching: 2023

Data Analysis Of Leadership Development Training And Coaching: 2023

Almost all problems, solutions, and performance metrics can be driven back to humans within a team. Our people are our most valuable resource. Within this article, I will be sharing data and scientific research supporting or not supporting that statement.

Mentoring vs. Coaching

Mentoring vs. Coaching

Mentoring and coaching are valuable development tools and processes with many similarities. The desired outcomes from coaching and mentoring are usually closely aligned, but the approach and methods can vary significantly. They share many foundational aspects, including…

Who is Sitting at My Desk

Who is Sitting at My Desk

In over 32 years leading organizations in dynamic and challenging environments, solving wickedly complex problems, a common question I heard over and over was, “how do I become a great leader?” Though I am unaware of a “leadership recipe,” I do know the first ingredient…self-awareness.

Directionally Appropriate Action

Delivered By: Adam Weiner, Managing Director

Adam spent 14 years in leadership roles as a Navy SEAL where he attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander, including assignments as Platoon Commander, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer.  After the Navy, he worked at executive levels in the automotive industry and finance.  In 2017, the governor of Michigan appointed him to the Veterans Facilities’ Board of Managers where he served for 2.5 years. 

While in automotive, Adam was the Business Manager for the Vice President of Engineering at General Motors, where he managed a $3.5B budget and coalesced eight Executive Directors.  After that, Adam began his career in finance as a Divisional Vice President for AIG, consulting with hundreds of financial advisors on retirement solutions.  Within the financial space, he transitioned to become a financial advisor and partnered with Michigan Retirement Advisors.  Working directly with individuals and families, Adam was able to increase the firm’s assets by over 25% in less than 24 months.

In 2022, Adam’s success led him to founding Freedom Financial Team where his pillars are:  providing clients financial peace of mind, community philanthropy, and financial literacy.  Consistent with this, Adam is a proud member of the Association of Financial Educators, a 501(c)(3) non-profit created to help with financial literacy.  Adam brings this education to high-schools, colleges, and businesses in the Detroit Metro area to help demystify complexities in investing and retirement planning.

Adam’s passion is teaching mindset, character, and leadership. Alongside his teammates at Victory Strategies, you might catch him at workshop or delivering his keynote, inspiring people to Rise, Focus, and Persist!

Adam is a proud graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He is happily married, and they have three wonderful children.

Five Decades Of Leadership Wisdom From A 4-Star General

Five Decades Of Leadership Wisdom From A 4-Star General

After a five-decade career in the Air Force, a retired general shared with a credit union audience here not his triumphs or how he got his ribbons, but instead all the ways he believes he could have been a better leader.

Perception is Reality

Perception is Reality

“Perception is reality” is a useful cliché.  Factually speaking, our perception is not the arbitrator of reality.  In my opinion, this scientifically inaccurate cliché is functionally accurate. In the space of effective communication, your ability to appreciate this dynamic is critical on…

Empathetic Leadership

Empathetic Leadership

Years ago, I sat in my office as a wing commander, reviewing packages and working to decide which of our enlisted airmen to send to Officer Training School (OTS) and be commissioned as an officer in our United States Air Force.

Does 1+1 = 2?: The Power Of Team

Does 1+1 = 2?: The Power Of Team

I have a simple math problem for you.  What is one plus one?  If you said two, you’re correct, some of the time. If you had asked me that question right after I graduated from engineering school, I would have told you emphatically, “yes!” After a 26-year career as a US Navy fighter pilot, I’ll tell you the answer is, “sometimes.”