Jim’s “Tru Leadership” Blog

Recently in Managing People at Work, Cal Butera highlighted 5 very noticeable reactions we face when confronting difficult employees. Principally, we all are more difficult to work with when we are in unsafe environments. We can handle the truth, but what we can’t handle is being shamed. […]

In situations where we have to deliver bad news to an employee, boss, or family member, we sometimes screw it up. Here are 9 things that to avoid when sharing bad news, thereby short-circuiting  a bad outcome: 1. We overcommunicate. With bad news, less is more. Our […]

Happiness is not our goal. We are so busy doing so much, that happiness shifts with us as we move through our life experiences. Viktor Frankl, the famous Austrian Jewish psychiatrist, survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, has since discussed […]

Humor is the oil that greases the gears of life. ~ Anonymous How do you know if you are funny? Tim Allen, the famous star of Home Improvement, has openly shared how he developed his sense of humor, which has carried him to wealth and fame. For […]

As kids, we observe everything and we process our world quickly. We decide if what we do, or what others do, results in good or bad outcomes. And we adjust our behavior accordingly. Leadership begins with observing. Secondly, it involves looking outside at others, then turning that […]

Help someone feel a little better about themselves and they will like you a lot. ~ Lord Chesterfield We say “Thanks” and “Nice job” and the people on the receiving end of those words, may feel that we are simply saying “Whatever.” We throw around the words […]

Money often costs too much. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson I love money. I love everything about it. I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. Got a fur sink. An electric dog polisher. A gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I bought some […]

Our business lives are about superior performance, over-achieving results, and greater productivity. We get that, and the comments we hear are the by-product of a powerful machine leading with a servant’s heart, not the engine. Servant leadership is not being a doormat to people’s wants, it is […]

You are trying to manage 1,000 things at once and somebody questions your leadership style. C’mon man! You say to yourself, “Do I really  have to stop everything I’m doing, just to listen to some employee whine and gripe about something neither of us can control or […]

Try this: What U.S. phrase do all Americans know from the age of 4 to the age of 94? It’s “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” This phrase gives insight to our sense of independence and individualism, and it drives our communications, decisions, and judgements. It’s about […]