Tag: Leading People

4 Different Approaches to Leadership: A Star Wars Perspective

Today is celebrated as Star Wars Day:  May the Fourth Be With You!  I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was 6 years old…when the original Star Wars movie debuted.  Interestingly, my 7th birthday party was a Star Wars party…and my son Cody’s 7th birthday party was also a Star Wars party (of course, I had to dress up as Darth Vader for that one)!

So, I wanted to find a fitting Out of This World Leadership lesson, using Star Wars for today’s focus.  Fortunately, I came across a presentation on different leadership styles from Star Wars characters given by Bruno Sbille from Belgium at the Agile Alliance Conference last year.  Isn’t the internet amazing?  I learned that the Agile Conference brought together more than 1,700 participants from across the software industry to share ideas about how to become more productive through Agile development principles and practices.

I took Mr. Sbille’s presentation and added my own observations and lingo to describe 4 different leadership styles.

Click here to learn about these 4 different approaches to leadership

It’s National Stress Awareness Day…Do You Know Your Boundaries?

It’s the day after Tax Day, and the Health Resource Network is sponsoring the 22nd National Stress Awareness Day today.  In fact, April is also National Stress Awareness Month.

Not all stress is bad.  A little bit of stress is good for us, but it’s important to keep it in check. When left to its own devices, it can lead to a number of health issues, from heart problems, to weight problems, to even depression and anxiety.

The important goal in identifying and managing stress is to find that optimal level within your ‘best stress zone’ that you need to work most effectively.  With too much stress, we can become overwhelmed.  At the same time, zero stress might have the opposite effect—complacency.  There is a fine balance that must be maintained to reach one’s highest potential on a day-to-day basis.

In finding what’s right for you, Dr. Henry Cloud’s 2013 book, Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge proves instructive.

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