9 Leadership Blogs You Need to Be Reading

People with theories about leadership are a dime a dozen it seems, and everyone has an opinion.  Yet, when you search the Internet for solid, consistent leadership content it is surprisingly hard to find.  That is why we have scoured the Internet, and sought out some opinions to create this list of 9 solid blogs that we believe that you should add to your reading list.  Though we would love it if you made the Organizational Champion’s blog your first stop, we know there is more time in the day and there is definitely some great content out there that is worth your time.

Not all of these blogs are strictly about leadership.  What fun would that be?  But, they all have content that the well rounded leader ought to consider  Also, these blogs are listed in no certain order.  The best blog could be the first one we list, the last one, or one lost somewhere in the middle.  Let’s get started.

The Leadership Almanac by Gary Winters

We might be breaking our one and only rule about not putting this list in any certain order because there is a reason why we are listing this blog first.  If you had to choose one blog to read out of this list, this one wouldn’t be a bad choice.  Gary is always insightful, and his advice is earthy and useful.  Regardless of how strategic and “high altitude” our role becomes, being an incredible manager who makes real connections with our people is always of top importance.

The Corporate Curmudgeon by Dale Dauten

The Corporate Curmudgeon blog is a worthwhile read. Dauten’s articles tend to be a bit longer than other blogs in this list which makes it a good candidate for the times in your day when you need to step back from your job for a moment and take a break.  We put this blog in the list because Dauten is a source of original thought.  This blog isn’t merely a reverberation of the echo chamber.

Umair Haque

Haque isn’t specifically a leadership writer, in fact I don’t know if he has ever written specifically about leadership. He is an economist. But, before you roll your eyes and move on, you need to give this blog a chance. Haque has the unique ability to see beyond the horizon and connect the dots for his readers. He will challenge you to think beyond the status quo and he will change the way you lead your business. The economy is changing. Consumers are changing. If your business isn’t also changing, you might find yourself brushing up your resume.

Leadership Unleashed by David Peck

The Leadership Unleashed blog is updated regularly with good, quick-hit, thought provoking content.  David covers a wide spectrum of topics.

Leading Answers

This blog is focused on helping you become an agile leader. It’s machine gun approach to posting seeks to give you bite sized content that hones your leadership and management skills.

Positive Sharing

Some of the most admired companies create an atmosphere of creativity and fun.  This blog talks about the value of bringing happiness back into the workplace.

Practically Radical by Bill Taylor

Bill does a fantastic job of taking today’s headlines and giving keen insight and analysis that will help you sift through the noise.

Lead On Purpose by Michael Ray Hopkin

Lead On Purpose is directed mostly toward product managers. However, it isn’t hard to pick out useful insights regardless of your job description. Product managers find themselves in an interesting predicament. They have to influence others in the organization without having direct authority to do so. Michael takes general leadership principles and applies them to product managers.

Leading Blog by Michael McKinney

McKinney pulls out an eclectic mix of topics and provides helpful reviews from the world of leadership and gives thoughtful analysis in his blog. McKinney endeavors to challenge and stretch our understanding of leadership.

If the fact that this “top 9″ list is not a “top 10″ list bothers you then help us find another blogger with something interesting to say about leadership.  We want to find more good content.  If you know of another must-read champion blogger out there, please post a link in the comments.  Also, if you write for any one of these blogs, we would love to hear from you.

Onward!

Tags: blog, blogs, Leadership, read, recommendation

Reinventing a Brand From the Inside: A Podcast with New Balance CEO Rob DeMartini – OC Podcast 016

 

 Reinventing a Brand From the Inside: A Podcast with New Balance CEO Rob DeMartini - OC Podcast 016: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rob DeMartini is the CEO of New Balance.  New Balance is in the midst of a reinvigoration of its brand.  The company is over 100 years old, but is making some very interesting strides towards reestablishing itself as a premiere athletic shoe brand.  In this episode, we speak to Rob about leading this charge and what it is taking both inside and outside the company to make this change successful.

Contact
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Tags: athletic, CEO, conversation, leader, NewBalance, organizational, Podcast, shoe, webcast

Developing Disney’s Leaders: A Podcast with Dr. David Yudis – OC Podcast 015

 

 Developing Disney's Leaders: A Podcast with Dr. David Yudis - OC Podcast 015: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Don’t miss our conversation with Dr. David Yudis of Disney.  We had a great discussion about where Disney is headed as a company and how it goes about developing its leaders.

Get this episode of The Organizational Champion Podcast as well as all our past episodes at podcast.organizationalchampions.com.

If you would like to automatically receive all future episodes of The Organizational Champion Podcast, subscribe in iTunes. You will receive each episode as soon as it is released.

Tags: conversation, development, Disney, kingdom, Leadership, magic, Podcast, webcast

The Weary Leader Needs to Go Away – Time to Rally!

I recently came across an interesting article from WSJ.com called Leadership in a Crisis – How to Be a Leader, by Bill George. I must say, I’m growing quite weary of the whole “leadership in crisis” mantra. Sure, there is no question that our leaders are managing through crisis today. And Bill George shares some great lessons that are hard to argue against. But leading through crisis has been the call now for well over a year or two or more. If you haven’t figured out how to lead through crisis by now, you need to give up.

So when, as leaders do we stop talking about the crisis and start talking about the opportunity, the progression, the rebound? When do we as leaders begin to prepare our company and our people for the recovery and what does that preparation even look like?

Start today if you haven’t already! Why today? Because many companies are in the midst of establishing the next year’s business plans and budgets. If you’re game-planning 2010 with a defensive mindset (protection, not progression), then it’s my belief that you’ll find yourself losing to more aggressive competition. Those companies that are able to shift from a defensive mindset to an offensive and aggressive mindset are going to be the ones celebrating at the end of 2010.

Consider these following points:

1. Start talking positive. This doesn’t mean that you lie about your circumstances. But find nuggets of optimism in your circumstances and begin talking them up. People are ready to rally.
2. Look ahead, not over your shoulder. Prioritize future trends over past trends as you begin talking about where your company could go.
3. Hunger for change. Champion a culture of exploration. With exploration comes adventure. With adventure comes risk. With risk comes a heightened awareness. With a heightened awareness comes a new level of focus. With a new level of focus a new vision can erupt. And with a new vision comes change.

Stop leading through crisis and start championing the rally.

Tags: blog, downturn, economic, Leadership, rally

Playing It Safe Isn’t … Safe

I’m the un-proud owner of five residential units. These properties have never cash-flowed and they continue to deteriorate as it becomes yet another residence for yet another college student. Over the past two years, I’ve just been riding this money pit, waiting for an economic revival. Still waiting.

As I wait, I’ve tried to do as little as possible. Pay for maintenance only when the maintenance problem is life-threatening. Shrubs? Ha! Not a chance. But my lack of attention to these properties is starting to show. My competition is passing me by as they have better yards, brighter colors, and new amenities.

Over the past two years, with my properties, I was playing defense – protecting my position and my cash, doing as little work and as little harm as possible.

But my strategy is now shifting. If I continue to play defense, my properties will collapse (not literally, buy maybe). I need to look for ways to be more relevant and more attractive to potential customers. I’ve got to learn to compete again. I’m starting to spend again in order to make money. While that was uncomfortable a year ago, it’s absolutely necessary now.

It’s time to get aggressive, to play offense in business, to move from protection to progression. Those who are unable to shift from a defensive to an offensive mindset will find themselves significantly behind the competition as we grow closer to the rebound.

In order to shift to this offensive mindset in business, it will be important to become opportunity-minded – curious about our potential, evaluating the quality of our position, forward thinking and visionary, and courageous. Yes, spending money in a cash crunch environment takes courage.

Interestingly enough, our initial findings from the Champions ECChO assessment (www.championseccho.com) reveal that the opportunity-minded principle has the lowest average scores of all of the core principles of a champion as well as the smallest spread of scores.

Core Principle #1 – Enlightened: Avg. enlightenment score = 69%
Core Principle #2 – Connected: Avg. connected score = 72%
Core Principle #3 – Change-Maker: Avg. change-maker score = 73%
Core Principle #4 – Opportunity-Minded: Avg. opp-minded score = 68%

Those findings may have developed as a result of our difficult business environment. In a difficult business environment, defensive minds prevail. However, I encourage you to shift your mindset:

1. Grow your curiosity
2. Cast a new vision
3. Develop the courage to begin to take more risks

Onward!

Tags: bold, brave, business, challenge, downturn, economic, Leadership, offense, vision

My Long-Term Stock Pick Based on Leadership & Culture

I’m no financial adviser, so don’t confuse this with real advice. But I work with a couple of advisers and no one seems to have much of a clue on how to maneuver through these times in order to best protect my portfolio. So what the heck – I’ll give my two-cents.

Buy PepsiCo.

A friend asked me yesterday, what company is doing “it” the best. I think I knew what he meant by “it”. “It” represents that hard to measure quality of a true winner. “It” represents a vibe, a culture, a mysterious wisdom, and a certain moxy that puts one company in a league of its own.

While it’s hard to nail my answer to just one, I had to give the nod to PepsiCo. Its vibe, wisdom and moxy come from its leadership and its culture. And as Lou Gerstner, past CEO of IBM stated, “Culture isn’t ‘a thing’; culture is ‘the thing’.”

So, here are four reasons to buy PepsiCo (PEP).

1. PepsiCo’s CEO – Indra Nooyi is not only smart and business savvy, but she’s competent of and attuned to global needs. She not only connects with people, but she connects people to a charge. Indra has that unique ability to be tough and likeable.
2. PepsiCo’s Leadership – PepsiCo’s leadership has elevated the focus of the company by making its brands attractive and refreshing to consumers and trusted by communities.
3. PepsiCo’s Culture – This is a performance driven culture where everything is measured and accountability flows in all directions. But this culture is empowered, and because it is empowered, speed is one of its competitive advantages. So is creativity.
4. PepsiCo’s Charge – Because of its leadership and its culture, PepsiCo is performing with purpose. And its purpose is good as this company is achieving business success and leaving a positive imprint on society. PepsiCo’s brands are good and trusted.

 

Thursday, July 9th, 2009 Leadership No Comments

Appearance on Talk Business

Here is my recent appearance on the business talk show Talk Business.