When I ordered A Leader’s Heart by John Maxwell to review from BookSneeze, I was really excited. I’ve heard for some time that John Maxwell is an amazing writer in the leadership space, but I kept putting off reading one of his books (until now). My loss.

He writes well, and A Leader’s Heart is full of amazing leadership tenets delivered in bite sized pieces.

I’ll go ahead and admit that I haven’t finished reading the book. It wouldn’t make sense to read it all before reviewing, because it’s a devotional. That means you read a short passage every day for a year. The purpose of the devotional format is to continually immerse yourself in a subject to keep yourself focused and on track.

I gave it two weeks, and I’ve already seen opportunities arise for me to utilize an idea or action I read about in the book. I recommend it for people looking for growth in their leadership skills.

My favorite part so far

I’m still flipping back to read and reread the second page of the book. It’s all about how an organization’s strength is in direct correlation with the strength of its leaders. Strong leaders=strong organization. Weak leaders=weak organization. While we sometimes get caught up in other things that influence the success or failure of an organization, it’s good to revisit the idea that strong leadership can make all the difference in the world.

FYI

If you’re offended by mentions of God or Christianity, this ain’t the book for you. But if you are a Christian like me or just want a positive, encouraging set of lessons to help you be a better leaer, then this book is worth a look. I also received a free copy to review from BookSneeze, but I reviewed it like I paid for it with my own dinero. It’s better that way.

Back when I surveyed SHRM volunteer leaders about what really frustrated them, one of the most common responses was a lack of interaction among leadership. Another big issue was a sense of being the only one out there. So from that point on I resolved to help remedy that.

The long story

Interesting story… I usually take it easy on Friday nights and coast through the weekend, then pick up steam on Sunday night to get back into the week at full speed. Well, I had about half an hour of free time last Friday night. Melanie had the girls, and I felt like I needed to get something done before they got home.

Of course I had to write a post about the new social media mentoring project I’m working on, and I also went through cleaning up my email. One in particular struck me.

I had talked to a few people a while back about creating a resource to help SHRM chapter and state council leaders connect and collaborate with each other. Then the email conversation stalled out. Everyone was positive about the idea, and they all agreed it needed to happen, but that’s where it ended.

Let’s make it happen

So, if you know anything at all about me, I’m a doer. I need some action, baby. So I created a LinkedIn group called SHRM Chapter and State Council Leadership.

Fair warning: It’s not for everyone. I don’t want everyone joining.

No, I’m not being a snob, it’s just that I want the conversation to be highly targeted to topics that would be beneficial for chapter and state council leaders. They need this kind of thing.

Leader? Don’t look at me!

I’m way new to this SHRM stuff. I’m not even in a leadership role in my own chapter really (unless webmaster/social media coordinator counts!). But I know that there are amazing people out there who have the knowledge and abilities to help fill this group with helpful ideas and other information. My goal is for this thing to be the resource that SHRM volunteer leaders turn to in order to network and learn how to do their job the very best they can. Just a few ideas for conversations I’d like to see crop up:

• How can we attract and retain members in our local chapter?
• What are some of the big steps in planning a statewide conference?
• Is there a good way to develop a chapter succession plan?
• How can we jump into social media as a chapter?
• Who can share some tips for finding compelling speakers?

Heck, those are just off the top of my head. And like I said, those people who are already in there know more about this stuff than I could cram into my noggin in a year. It’s a brain trust, and it’s going to change how SHRM volunteer leaders do what they do. If you are in a leadership role or you know someone who is, please send them the link to the group (or to this post for more info). I’d really appreciate it!

(Click here to see my video review of Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership on YouTube)

I’ve been reading a copy of Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership recently, and it’s been one of the better business books I’ve read this year. I’ve realized that a good mix of “story” and “lesson” is what I enjoy in a book. While there are a lot of good picks out there, a good book needs something to tie it all together and make it stick.

bo·da·cious-adjective

-Thorough, blatant, umistakable
-Remarkable, outstanding
-Audacious; bold or brazen

I bookmark all of my books. I have a fear of dog-earing them that comes from(damaging) enjoying a lot of library books in my early years. When I look back at a book later, I always start with what I bookmarked on the first trip through. The first thing I bookmarked this time was a section about being a chicken eater vs. being a chicken catcher. I won’t go into too much detail, but here’s the piece I want to share:

Do you have a “chicken catching” job?

Maybe you have a “chicken catching” job you have stuck with far too long. The job that you dread going to every day, where at the end of the day you feel like a chicken catcher lifting your catch over your head for the poop to rain down on you. Your day ends leaving you feeling underpaid, underappreciated, and covered with the poop of frustration. (p. 42)

Who couldn’t love a book with metaphors like that?

A few of my favorite takeaways Continue Reading »

Check out the short video below. I have recently become increasingly interested in the topic of workplace culture, and I think people underestimate the power it holds. Companies like Netflix know what their culture really means, and taking the first step to define it is a big part of the process.

(Subscribers may have to click through to view) Continue Reading »

Check out the short video below. I had the chance to go through a supervisor training session in recent weeks, and although I enjoyed myself and learned a few lessons, I felt like there was something missing…

(Subscribers may have to click through to view)

So, what do you think? Does a training program that focuses solely on the minimum “don’t do these things” really get people in the right mindset to lead well?

Shall I make yet another confession? Yes, I believe I shall.

I like comic books.

While I haven’t been an active reader in years, I still love flipping through them at the bookstore. Recently my brother passed me a copy of a magazine that had an article about Marvel Comics (the company that made the movies for Spiderman, Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, etc.). The article focused on their editor in chief, Joe Quesada. I think there were some great leadership (and HR) tenets that were covered, and I’ll share a few of them with you. Continue Reading »

Human resources is a vital function for an organization’s survival. With the proper tools, a good HR department can turn sticky problems around, increase revenues, and lead/challenge the organization to become better overall. The only problem?

Many organizations lack strong human resources leadership.

That fault may be intra-organization or intra-department. If the human resources staff has weak leadership, then there’s a good chance that HR within the entire organization is weak as well. If the organization has weak leadership, then there’s a good chance that they won’t give HR a chance to shine. Whatever the case, weakness like that can cripple an organization.

We All Know and Hate It Continue Reading »