The Leader's Edge May 2009

May 2009 [printable view]

ILS Wins the Gold!
By M.J. Clark, M.A., APR

The ILS team participated in Relay for Life at DeSales High School on May 2-3, 2009, to raise money to fight cancer, a disease that has taken the lives of many people we have known. Our staff members and their families and friends who were part of the ILS team this year honored a very special ILS client named Becky Von Ohlen, who discovered earlier this year that she has breast cancer.

Becky and her friend Cindy Wesney also participated on our Relay team, along with Becky’s daughter-in-law and precious 4-year-old granddaughter. Becky walked a “survivor lap” with other the other cancer survivors present. As the survivors walk around the track, they are applauded by other teams who have spread out around the track. Becky shared with me that it was a very moving experience to be applauded the whole way around the track. After the lap, Becky was then treated to a luncheon with her family and friends and other survivors and their families. (continued)

Dealing with Entitlement
By Steven L. Anderson, Ph.D., MBA

Many managers I have the opportunity to coach say things like, “People are no longer motivated the way they used to be. When I was young I never showed a sense of entitlement when I went to work. I was always grateful just to have a job.” In my experience these managers have bad memories. I believe that people are basically good and want to contribute. If they are exhibiting too much entitlement, perhaps it’s time for the leader to take a look in the mirror. Dealing with this problem takes guts, but that’s what leaders do. (continued)

What's your Favorite Leadership Quote?
By Nancy Quinn Rummel, ACC

Handpicking quotes that are most meaningful to us and reviewing them regularly helps us define and live our personal leadership. Here are a few of mine:

Martin Luther King, Jr. (from "The Drum Major Instinct"):

"If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's your new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing I like about it...by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve." (continued)

The Importance of Promoting Teamwork
Katherine M. Sprague, Psy.D.

“Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers." -Pat Riley

Throughout graduate school, I often heard classmates complain about how they hated group projects and how they preferred completing assignments on their own. Unfortunately, this is a common mentality held not only by graduate students but professionals everywhere. Experiences with group projects are often tainted by delegated work not getting done, variations in quality and personality clashes. These bad experiences have left many preferring to complete projects on their own despite the product requiring more time to complete. (continued)

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