Eblin Group

Has Ego Trumped Your Mission? Lessons in Transparency from the Komen Foundation Fiasco

Mary Ellen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:53:05 +0000

As you’ve no doubt read, the Komen Foundation – the people behind the pink ribbons to fight breast cancer – found themselves at the center of controversy last week after they decided to pull funding for breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. The basis for the decision, according to Komen officials: They no longer wanted to give money to organizations...

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Rypple’s Nick Stein, on how to deliver better feedback

Mary Ellen — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:16 +0000

Rypple is a web-based social performance management platform that helps companies improve performance through social goals, continuous feedback and meaningful recognition. I recently spoke with Rypple’s Nick Stein to learn more about the company and get his tips for giving – and getting – effective feedback. Here’s an edited version of our conversation. Scott: Is it fair to say a...

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Is being the “go-to person” holding you back?

Mary Ellen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:04 +0000

A big part of my work as a coach involves working with high-potential leaders in workshops, keynotes and webinars. One of my favorite questions to ask these audiences is, “How many of you think of yourselves or have been referred to by others as the ‘go-to person?’ ” Usually, about every hand in the room goes up. I asked that...

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3 bad habits of fake leaders — and how to avoid them

Mary Ellen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:21:15 +0000

There was an interesting movie that came out last year called "The Adjustment Bureau" starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. In it, Damon plays a rising young congressman named David Norris. He’s headed for a big victory in a campaign for the U.S. Senate until a picture comes out of him mooning his fraternity brothers at a college reunion. He loses big and starts giving his supporters the big, inspirational, we’ll-be-back concession speech. He says things like, “Where I grew up, it wasn’t that you got knocked down, it was about what you did when you got back up.” The crowd initially cheers loudly, but then settles down when Norris tells them what he just said was total BS. [ ... ]

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Gabrielle Giffords: The Courage and Wisdom to Step Back

Scott Eblin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:28:28 +0000

This past weekend, I watched one of the more moving and inspirational videos I’ve seen in awhile. It’s this two minute announcement from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that she is resigning from Congress this week. It’s been just over a year since a gunman shot Giffords in the head and almost killed her at a constituent meet and greet outside an Arizona supermarket. Since then, her recovery has been beyond remarkable. The video clearly shows how far she’s come.

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Early Contender for Worst Leader of 2012

Scott Eblin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:36:57 +0000

Based on the observable evidence, passenger accounts, his own statements and audio transcripts with an Italian coast guard officer, it sure looks like Captain Francesco Schettino is a very strong early contender for worst leader of 2012. By now you’ve probably seen the pictures and read the stories of the tragedy with the Costa Concordia cruise ship just off the Italian coast. The Captain ordered the early evening maritime equivalent of a fly-by just a few hundred yards from the coast to impress the citizens of a local town. The ship hit a rock which tore a gash in the hull and within an hour it was laying on its side. It took him an hour to send a Mayday signal and when the authorities called him after hearing from panicked passengers, he denied anything was wrong. Dozens of passengers either died or are still missing.

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How to Get Your Leadership Resolutions Back on Track

Scott Eblin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:23:10 +0000

A new year brings with it the promise of change, but desire quickly gets crowded out by reality. Lists of resolutions are made and then fade. Part of the problem is the length of the lists themselves. When it comes to making meaningful change in how you show up as a leader this year, less is more. You can improve your odds of success by reducing the number of items on your leadership improvement list down to the one or two things that would make the biggest difference. For now, forget about the other eight or nine things that might have been on your list. Practice what the Japanese call kaizen – continuous improvement through small steps. How do you decide what you should focus on?

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6 Leadership Communication Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.

Scott Eblin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:12:18 +0000

On this Martin Luther King Day, I’m going into The Next Level Blog archives for this post on what we can learn from the speaking virtuosity of this great leader. Several years ago I was given the gift of the recordings of the sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. The sermon set is called “A Knock at Midnight,” and the speeches set is titled “A Call to Conscience.” There are companion books of the same title for each set. Over the course of a couple of weeks, I listened to every sermon and speech in the recordings. I learned a lot about King from that experience and came to some conclusions about what made him an effective speaker. As we take today to recognize King’s life and its impact on the world, I thought I’d share six qualities in his speaking that I think all leaders should emulate. If you’re pressed for time as you read this, you can skip ahead to the list. If you have a few minutes more, watch the You Tube clip of King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”. Most of the six qualities that I identified in listening to his recordings are illustrated in this clip.

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3 Things Injured Yogis and Injured Leaders Might Have in Common

Scott Eblin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:05:57 +0000

For the last two weeks, an article called How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body has been one of the top 10 most emailed articles on the New York Times website. When I checked this morning there were 734 comments on the article on the Times’ website. With approximately 20 million yogis in the United States, the article has definitely struck a nerve (pun somewhat intended). As many of the commenters point out, there are flaws in the way the article was reported. At the same time, as the article illustrates, you can get injured doing yoga.

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3 Ways to Avoid Taking the Wrong Job — and What to Do About It When You Do

Scott Eblin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:32:34 +0000

You may have missed the story with all of the coverage on the New Hampshire primary, but White House chief of staff, Bill Daley, resigned this week after just about a year on the job. Daley is a high profile example of the oft cited statistic that anywhere between 25% and 40% of newly hired or promoted executives don’t last...

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