Christopher Avery's blog on Leadership and Responsibility

Successful Teamwork Results From Clear and Elevating Goals – Part 2

Christopher Avery — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:00:57 +0000

This is the second part of my 2-part series about how clear and elevating goals help with teamwork. By “clear” I mean no measurements are needed to know that the goal is reached, and by “elevating” I mean the goal is bold and inspiring. Last week’s post (Part 1) covered the first three points that [...]

Sunset in the Texas Hill Country

Christopher Avery — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:05:28 +0000

Take a brief break from reading about teams and leadership to enjoy the view from my back porch in Comfort on Friday evening. Click on the image to expand it even more. Join me in Comfort for Global Educator’s Academy November 9-11 and maybe we’ll see another sunset just like this at the closing barbecue.

Successful Teamwork Results From Clear and Elevating Goals – Part 1

Christopher Avery — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:07:25 +0000

It’s the million-dollar question… How do you get a team to develop a clear and elevating goal? By the way, by “clear” I mean no measurements are needed to know that the goal is reached, and by “elevating” I mean the goal is bold and inspiring. The truth is, no one knows for sure how [...]

Successful Leaders Help Team Members Find Their Motivation

Christopher Avery — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:53:34 +0000

Want your teamwork to be as successful as possible? Want to be an effective team leader? Then create relationships and be a powerful motivator by helping others realize what they gain from working on a project with you — help them discover their own motivation to do great work. The more helpful you are to [...]

Natural Rewards

Christopher Avery — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:43:46 +0000

I’m an avid road-bike rider, but I don’t deal with the heat as well as I did 20 years ago. This time of year, when the sun’s rays are intense by 8:30 AM here in Texas, I ride at first light if I’m going to ride at all. If I’m open to them, the unexpected [...]

Learn From JetBlue and Steven Slater: Taking Responsibility Will Prevent Feelings of Obligation

Christopher Avery — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:33:12 +0000

I’m going to make an exception to one of my practices: I normally refrain from publicly using the Leadership Gift to analyze current affairs. It would be so easy for me: every day some prominent journalist or blogger bellows, “When will [insert reviled public figure] stand up and take responsibility for this mess?!” and I [...]

Shared Clarity is the Source of Power for Successful Teamwork

Christopher Avery — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:44:22 +0000

New businesses should started with a business plan — the same goes for teamwork: articulating the common outcome so every team member is working toward the same goal is crucial before the work starts. To move forward together, you need to establish shared clarity. Lack of shared clarity about direction is often the cause of [...]

Applying TeamWisdom: Taking Personal Responsibility Helps the Whole Team

Christopher Avery — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:50:33 +0000

Are you unhappy or frustrated at work? Have you thought this about your team: “I can’t be responsible for the quality of my team’s efforts.” “Getting on a good team is mostly a matter of luck.” “If I’m part of a poorly functioning team, and I’m not in charge, there is little I can do [...]

Responsibility Process Helps You Deal with Feelings of Obligation

Christopher Avery — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:10:07 +0000

When you feel obligated, you are doing something you don’t want to do but feel you have to. Feeling like you “have to” generates resentment that you either bottle up or release at unrelated or inappropriate moments, and the resentment produces unproductive or at least wasted thoughts and action. The Responsibility Process shows us that [...]

September-October 2010 Conference Sessions

Christopher Avery — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:03:48 +0000

I’ve recently added these conference dates to my calendar. Of course I’ll be speaking about some aspect of the Leadership Gift at each one. I’d love to see you there. Agile Day 2010 When: September 15, 2010 Where: NYC, NY, USA Organized by the NYC APLN, Agile Day 2010 will be an intimate conference of [...]