Author Archives

Internal Leadership and Development Consultant at Tenaska and Executive Director Of The Omaha Magical Society.

• Graphic Leadership: Third Party Stories

  By Dave Arch on July 28, 2013

  

  When a leader wants to send a strong message to a follower without raising defensiveness or be perceived as antagonistic, s/he might consider using a third party story. An example might sound like this: The leader says, “I always now… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: Strip Line

  By Dave Arch on July 28, 2013

  

  A seasoned fisherman knows that the first time s/he feels a tug on the line is not the time to jerk the line back – attempting to set the hook.  Instead the wise fisherman strps line – letting out the… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: In A Corner

  By Dave Arch on July 27, 2013

  

  Knowing how to not “paint oneself into a corner” – giving yourself no options is a skill that a leader seeks to acquire. Most of the time the leader avoids painting himself/herself in the corner by asking more questions than… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: Diffuse A Bomb

  By Dave Arch on July 27, 2013

  

  Wise advice by David Sandler is to “Diffuse a bomb before it blows.” The strong leader doesn’t wait for an issue to be raised by one of his followers. If the leader knows there’s an issue, s/he brings up the… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: The Future

  By Dave Arch on July 24, 2013

  

  David Sandler said it well when he said, “When you want to know the future, bring it back to the present.” In a real world example, it sounds something like this: “If I tell you I will pay the price… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: Choices

  By Dave Arch on July 23, 2013

  

  A choice is not a choice if you can’t do anything else than what you choose to do.  You cannot choose to compromise in a negotiation unless you have the strength in yourself not to compromise.  Until you have the… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: Try

  By Dave Arch on July 23, 2013

  

  When used in conjunction with a behavior over which you have control, the word “try” is a wishy-washy word that only weakens the strength of a leader. As the poster shows a car stopping at a red light, the ridiculousness… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: What We Don’t Know

  By Dave Arch on July 23, 2013

  

  A strong leader keeps hubris at bay and their willingness to learn at a consistently high level by remembering that no matter how old we get we will never know what we don’t know. This simple conviction acts as a… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: Don’t Be A Pack Rat

  By Dave Arch on July 23, 2013

  

  I’m not speaking about hoarding here although that also is a worthy theme for a leader to consider (see the Eliminate and Concentrate poster for more on this subject). Instead I’m speaking of a very unusual characteristic of the rodent… Read More ›

• Graphic Leadership: Work Never Done

  By Dave Arch on July 18, 2013

  

  Although the title might lead you to a different conclusion, this is not about the fact that “a leader’s work is never done” as true as that might be. Rather it has to do with what is probably the most… Read More ›