Author Archives: mwin109

As a leader, the most critical thing we do is create a foundational culture for our teams. Culture can be amorphous in many cases. Sure, there are a list of organizational values, mission statements, and so on. Organizational aspirations are not necessarily equal to the way the organization operates day to day. That isn’t anContinue reading “Describing a Culture: Community vs. Family”

Whether you are a formal leader or informal one, I can guarantee you’ve said some version of the following: “Just reach out if you need help!” Maybe it was on a big project. Maybe it was on some minor day to day task. Maybe it was for something super urgent. Likely, it was on allContinue reading “Providing help as a leader”

I think we can all agree that the two topics above aren’t always intertwined. Prioritization can (and often should) be ruthless. The goal is to take the most impactful items and get the accomplished as efficiently as possible often at the expense of much more interesting or appealing items. That doesn’t scream “optimistic”; instead itContinue reading “Optimism in prioritization”

As you saw on the “Leadership Principles” page, acting with integrity is one of my core values…as it is for many of us! Integrity is an interesting concept, however. Sure there is a textbook definition – something like: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; a moral uprightness. Stated differently, we oftenContinue reading “My Values: Acting with Integrity”

Whether you are a formal or informal leader in your organization, there is a near 100% likelihood that you’ve had to help a peer and teach them a new skill, tool, trick, etc. Most of us enjoy helping others advance, so we find the experience a positive one even if it may take some timeContinue reading “How do we teach others?”

Id like to take a few minutes and share an example of the value of real leadership and culture on an organization going through tough times. The following video will tell my story.

Everyone reading this has a career. We’ve all had a job or a series of jobs doing X for company Y. More likely than not, you’ve found some of those X’s and Y’s to be really great, inspiring experiences as well as the opposite. Those are all really informative experiences as you try to chartContinue reading “Why have a WHY?”

As we all know, being in a work environment that fits us is critically important to satisfaction (and happiness) and therefore being successful. But amazingly, it’s really hard to quantify what “fits us” really means. We could have a long, philosophical conversation about corporate culture – on which Ive converted from a complete skeptic toContinue reading “Finding the right environment”

Whether we like it or not, we are all leaders in one way or another. You may be a formal, titled leader or you may be an informal leader to your team, your project group, or your peers…but make no mistake, at some point you have been a leader. Once you accept that it leadsContinue reading “What kind of Leader are you?”

In the following weeks and months, I hope to share some of my insights gained over the years that have shaped me personally and professionally. I don’t expect them to be profound, life-changing revelations for you – but maybe they’ll help you not grab the proverbial stove once or twice or reaffirm something you alreadyContinue reading “Welcome!”