As leaders, we’re often at a crossroads, with an important choice to make.  You can hold a grudge, skip the meeting, become unresponsive, non-communicative, and freeze out the people who have upset you.  Or,  You can lead with hospitality. You can forgive, be the bigger person, take the high road, and work on mending the relationship.  Your grace in

I heard a story in church years ago about a couple who had been married for over fifty years. When asked how in the world they stayed together despite each other’s faults, habits, and hang ups, their response was amazing. It illustrates grace in action, and I’ll share their response here.  The husband responded to the

Grace comes in first.  Every single time. Power usually benefits, first and foremost, those who have it. Sure, their span of influence may be great, big and wide, but their true, positive impact is usually limited to a select few who they deem worthy of receiving it. And that impact usually comes at a cost, as leaders

Practicing grace, especially when people don’t expect it or, when they may not deserve it, absolutely will make them feel important. It’s extraordinary and special. The word “special” by definition, sparks good feelings and sentiments. These include positive words such as remarkable, exceptional, significant, and not the least of which, important.  When we’re graceful with our

A thirty-two-year-old middle manager working for a rental car company had a tough gig.  She was in a corporate, regional role supporting multiple locations’ Operations Managers and frontline associates.  Her role was to teach, coach, consult, inspire, and motivate front line associates and leaders to maximize sales with every transaction.   One day the District Manager leveraged

The final piece to our three-part puzzle of leading with hospitality is possessing the ability to make people feel important.  The first two vital pieces to leading with hospitality are making people feel welcome and comfortable. These two components relate to your ability to maximize productivity, enhance your team’s culture, and ultimately drive desired business results.  Without

Whether it’s for five minutes, five hours, or five days at a time, take the time to help those on your team. Few leadership actions are as encouraging as leaders of teams out in the field, on the floor and in the moments that matter as they help their teams.  They’ll feel it, and you’ll feel

Leaders who lead with hospitality constantly remind people of what they’ve accomplished to encourage them for the work which lies ahead.  Nobody is perfect, and rarely anyone is good enough to achieve perfection at the inception of a project or new initiative. Often, it takes practice and repetition after repetition.  However, most people have accomplishments in their

Recognition Some people like to hear their recognition, whereas others like to see recognition and be able to show others. Some people need to experience recognition; they must taste it, touch it, or most likely do something as a result of it.  Leveraging The VAK Model to Maximize the Impact of Recognition Walter Burke Barbe proposed the VAK