Have you ever asked yourself why in the world a round pizza comes in a square box?

Or why people say “heads up” when you should duck?

These types of questions often float through my mind—and I’m sure they float through yours too.

But why do we ask ourselves these questions? Why do we care?

The answer is simple: curiosity.

We’re all curious—some of us more than others. But what is it that makes us so inquisitive?

Is being curious a good thing?

Curiosity keeps our minds open. It allows us to enjoy new experiences, learn new things, look for challenges, and expand our minds.

Curiosity is actually a great thing! It lets us learn more.

It’s a thirst for knowledge.

Curiosity can be contagious—in fact, if you want to make other people pay attention, keeping them curious is one of the most effective ways to do it.

Keep them guessing.

Get them curious! Get them asking you questions, staying attentive, and always wanting to learn more.

Now,...

The Power of Leadership

According to John Maxwell, "People don't at first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote causes they can believe in."

All of our accomplishments as human beings begin with connection. This is especially true of leadership. Particularly in times of challenge, people look for leaders they can believe in. John Maxwell calls this principle the Law of Buy-In. You can read more about it in "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership."

Leadership Response

Over the last two years, we've seen this law play out in powerful ways and we have been humbled to be part of it. In 2018, we were asked to help support and, in some cases, lead small business redevelopment efforts in Fort McMurray (Wood Buffalo Region). In our work with the Region through Community Futures Wood Buffalo, our first goal was to show we understood the results entrepreneurs and the small business community wanted. They wanted full business recovery from the impact of the 2016 wildfires...

Do you know what it takes to reach your full potential?

Finding your potential involves a unique set of steps which require you to take action.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What is your underlying desire in life?
2. Do you yearn for self-fulfillment? Or is self-development more important to you?
3. Are your efforts designed to make you feel good? Or are they designed to help you become the best you can be?
4. Is your goal to be successful? Or is it to achieve significance?

The answers to these questions circle around personal growth. If you want to reach your full potential as a leader and help people grow, you must first take care of your own personal growth.

Personal growth.

John Maxwell talks about the Law of Contribution in The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. This law states that:

"Growing yourself enables you to grow others."

You may be asking why you need a personal growth plan, or how growth helps make a great leader.

Leadership is built on growth.

A growth plan has purpose; a...

How do you deal with criticism as a leader?

People deal with criticism all sorts of ways—but the way a manager handles criticism says a lot about the type of leader they are.

But first, what is leadership?

Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that would not have happened otherwise.

But there’s so much more to it than that. Great leaders possess skills and qualities that most others don’t.

What are the qualities of a good leader?

To be a great leader, you need to dream, communicate, take action, and commit. But there are many other key skills and qualities of a good leader. These include:

• Communication
• Awareness
• Positivity
• Motivation
• Honesty
• Innovation
• Responsibility
• Creativity
• Adding value to others
• Relationship building

 ...and, of course, the ability to take constructive criticism and feedback.

A leader is a person of influence. They add value to others. And to be able to do this, they must be able to remain positive and...

Do you know what it takes to influence people and be a good leader?

If you think of yourself as a person of influence, you probably have leadership qualities that have helped you change people’s lives — but is there more to being an influencer than that?

What Does it Take to be an Influencer?

Is it simply good leadership skills? A need to help others?

Everyone has influence. We all have an impact at home, in our jobs, as volunteers, in everything we do. Often, we don’t even realize the impact we have on others.

Here’s my story.

Twenty-Five Years Ago…

When I was a manager of a non-profit a quarter of a century ago, I coached a young man who was a talented designer. He wanted to start a business making images that could be attached to the spokes of a wheelchair.

You see, he was in a wheelchair himself — and he played a lot of basketball.

His idea was to design colorful and eye-catching designs on wheelchairs which would make players feel more...

The Law of Victory

We all know them, the people who reach exceptional success in business, medicine, sports and the arts. It's tempting when we meet these people to believe they're more gifted than the rest of us. Not only does this line of thinking fail to give credit where credit is due, it holds all of us back.

When we attribute success to random fortune, we fail to see what winning looks like. It does not look like one clean score after another. As Michael Jordan said, "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games; 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Winning looks like an ongoing struggle with bright moments of accomplishment and players who keep giving the game their best. John C. Maxwell calls this the Law of Victory. He says that leaders are people who refuse to give up. For them, defeat is not worth considering. If they experience a...

The Law of the Picture

Jonathon Swift said, “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”

As leadership consultants, we at the UpCloseTeam would take that notion one step further. As a leader, if others can’t see what you see, they do not know where the organization is going. That’s why for us, vision is the art of making visible what at first only you see. In other words, it’s about painting a picture so rich and colourful, everyone feels inspired.

John Maxwell calls this The Law of the Picture. Great leaders maintain a balance between staying the course and welcoming fresh ideas. This is particularly important when it comes to sharing their vision. The picture does not change. If it did, people would lose focus. But the picture can gain important details, which will also need to be shared to help everyone continue on course.

Simon Sinek says it so well. “One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader's need to be both...

Join forces with heroes

If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to hear Paul Martinelli speak about leadership, you might be tempted to believe his passion for helping people achieve their dreams came entirely from himself. He certainly inspires and he certainly motivates. But if you were to ask him, he would tell you how important it is to surround yourself with talented and enthusiastic people who can help you grow.

Today, Paul Martinelli is the President of The John Maxwell Team, and he helps people all over the world develop their leadership skills. But he worked hard to get where he is and he surrounded himself with people who could support his journey.

You could say he learned his leadership skills in the company of heroes. As a young man, he was recruited by the anti-crime activist, Curtis Silwa. Together they led the Guardian Angels, a group of volunteers who conducted unarmed safety patrols through some of the toughest neighbourhoods in the United States and Canada....

The trip ahead

Leaders help people navigate an uncertain world. They can see the trip ahead and predict hazards that might arise. That is what inspires people to follow their vision.

John C. Maxwell recognizes the importance of navigation in leadership. The Law of Navigation is one of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” in his book.

Navigation skills

Where do leaders gain these awesome navigation skills? They gain them the same way any sea captain does. They lead the ship over calm and stormy seas. The experiences they gain are vital, but that’s not where they gain their vision. Their vision comes from what happens after the boat reaches the harbour.

Great leaders think back and evaluate their performance. Often when we are in the middle of the sea of real-life experience, we get carried away by the moment. The learning comes later when the boat has been docked and we have time to think about what happened.

Reflective thinking

John C. Maxwell calls this...

One day at a time

The important things in life are not accomplished all at once. They happen one day at a time. Life is an endurance race, not a sprint.

This is especially true of leadership. It’s not a quick fix. It’s a journey built on character, enough character to sustain yourself over years of effort and growth.

Geoffrey Mutai knows

Few people understand endurance better than Geoffrey Mutai. He was born the youngest of 11 children and grew up in a poor family living in Kenya. As a teenager, he already knew what he wanted most from life. He wanted to be a professional marathon runner. Now you need to put this into context. He had other obligations besides his interest in running. His family relied on him to contribute financial support. So, he took a series of back-breaking jobs, and he got up early every morning to run before he went to work. To the outside world, he looked foolish for trying to do so much. People in his community suggested that his goals were too...