If you visit Amazon.com and type “leadership books” in the search box, you will get over 226,000 results. If you read a book a week, it would take you approximately 4346 years to read all of them. And more coffee than I can imagine. Yet you know the benefit of that “aha moment” when you find just the idea, thought, or strategy that gives you greater clarity and confidence as a leader.

Over 700 years ago, Francesco Petrarch wrote in Life of Solitude,

It is without question the nature of the mind that when it is earnestly applied to one interest it must neglect many others.

While staying focused might have been difficult then, it's harder then ever today. With technology, open office environments, and task lists a mile long, is it any wonder we can't seem to focus for more than a few minutes?

It's been less than a month since you returned to work from your holiday break. You're filled with a renewed sense of purpose and determination about accomplishing all the right things this year. How's that working for you? If you're like most people (including me), reality has begun to set in, old habits are dragging you down, and you're already feeling overwhelmed.

While we occasionally hear of those leaders who find success with a "command and control" approach, there is no doubt that a different course is taken by most leaders today. How about you? Are you more coercive or supporting? Here are some additional traits of innovative leaders:

It has become all too common to hear people discuss a workplace issue, productivity challenge, or networking need, and quickly say, "There's an app for that."

While technology offers extraordinary opportunities for improvements in workplace productivity, choosing the right application or service is critical to fully leveraging the benefit of it.
 

Just a couple of years ago, it seemed that most people were more concerned with keeping their job due to the economic downturn and budget cuts. With an improved economy (in most sectors) and employees sensing greater opportunity for advancement, a more intense level of competition is present in today's workplace.

At its heart, mentoring is about skill development and specialized knowledge transfer. However, it offers so many more benefits in today's workplace, whether you're a mentor or mentee. "But I'm too busy," you retort. "I already have too much on my plate."

Sleep is your physical, mental, and emotional reset button. It allows you to wake up to a blank canvas upon which you will create your day. Like any great painting, however, where you choose to start defines the entire piece.

As parents in the workplace, there is a collective sigh as school buses roll and summer becomes a distant memory. While the past couple of months have had moments of high intensity preparing for vacations, family activities, and arranging child care, the constant pace of school was absent. With August here, the tsunami of lunch prep, homework, school events, and extracurricular activities is ready to crash into your already overloaded work schedule.  Feeling sleep deprived yet?

Too many of today’s workplace teams are struggling because they are moving so quickly to get something done that they aren’t investing time in determining the right work to be accomplished.

Building and maintaining a highly engaged, cohesive team is difficult under the best of conditions. Doing it with four generations in the workplace, a constant need for innovation, and a desire by all employees for greater work/life satisfaction can make it seem impossible!

If you’re looking for a quick way to determine how your time as a leader or manager could be better spent to build a more effective team, ask these seven questions from time to time:

When I introduce Senge’s quote during a leadership discussion, there is always a collective nod of affirmation from those in the room. For too long the business world looked to leaders to simply diagnose problems and fix them. If the problem didn’t get fixed, organizations would find another “mechanic” with seemingly better skills. This was true not only for entire companies, but also for smaller departments and work groups.

Overwhelmed with our schedules and underwhelmed with our sense of accomplishment, we trudge through our days hoping one day things will get better. We rationalize our situation with lots of "When statements" like: 

In a recent survey I conducted with those who subscribe to my content, I found that “how to be more innovative” was one of the topics people most wanted to learn about online. I wasn’t surprised. Identifying creative and more effective ways of doing something are key to gaining a competitive advantage. Finding innovative ways to manage the tsunami of too much to do is also critical to improving work/life satisfaction. But just how does one become more innovative?

This past Sunday I had the honor of attending a special event for the two people you see in the picture. Frank and Dorcus were commemorating 60 years of marriage. Frank was also celebrating his 80th birthday at the event given by their children. While I could write much about their marriage, I’ll focus my comments on Frank since he has become one of my informal life coaches (he just doesn’t know it).

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. The topic is an especially personal one for me as my mother has suffered from the disease for over a decade. Caring for her has been a challenge since she has only on a few occasions acknowledged having issues with memory or cognitive ability. With the help of friends experiencing a similar journey with their loved ones, resources like The 36 Hour Day, and developing more patience than I ever knew I could possess, it has been manageable. My wife and children have been a tremendous support system as well.

I felt a little like a teenage girl seeing Justin Bieber in public. Okay, maybe not that extreme. But I was excited. I was at the Salt Lake City airport awaiting a connecting flight to Las Vegas. I happened to look up the concourse and saw someone who looked familiar. As he walked closer I realized it was none other than Al van der Beek, one of the members of the musical group The Piano Guys. In previous blogs I've written about how much I enjoy their positive music and the value they place on faith and family. I've even got premium seats for their upcoming concert in Raleigh NC. Now here was one of the members of the group just a few feet away!

When I think of professional athletes, "humility" isn't often the word that comes to mind. I think of self-absorbed individuals who want two things more than anyone else... to win and to make exorbitant amounts of money. I know that's an unfair perspective. It's just been fueled by my casual reading of sports headlines and what I allow news outlets to feed to me. I'll also remember NBA great Charles Barkley saying, "I'm not a role model."

This past Saturday found me in a typical dilemma... too much to do and not enough time. My oldest daughter was home for Easter, my younger daughter wanted to go turkey hunting, and I had numerous things I wanted to get done around the house. While normally I would let the other stuff go to spend time with my family, there were a few things I could put off no longer.

I live and die by being prepared to deliver effective presentations. A few years ago I found an organization that routinely gives me fresh ideas on how to more strongly connect with my audiences... and I've been speaking professionally for over 20 years! Ovation Communication is a communication skills consulting firm that enables clients to deliver their message more effectively. Their  consultants combine their experience as professional actors with their knowledge of the business world to create complete communicators. You can learn more about Ovation at their website. Today's guest post is by one of their fabulous team members, Bridget Bierne.