Generation iY®, Leadership, Parenting

For three years, our nation has experienced an economic “down turn.” The national debt is embarrassing, and the value of the U.S. dollar is lower than it has been in years. Our kids will be paying off our debts all their lives. Greater than this debt, however, is a debt I believes adults owe the next generation. It’s a debt that

Leadership, Workplace

My colleague, Holly Moore, and I rediscovered an important leadership principle this year, without even trying. You might call it the “Kernel to Ear” principle. In the same way a kernel of corn is planted in the ground and when it is eventually harvested, it becomes several ears of corn—certain acts a leader performs on behalf of their teams can produce

Education, Generation iY®

I hate to say I told you so…but it’s happening. In several places around the world, young people are staging revolts and demonstrations to change their nation. Have you heard about what’s going on in Chile? Tens of thousands of teenagers and college students are committed to overturn the pitiful education system in that country. They say it’s lousy, expensive and

Generation iY®, Leadership

My blog today will be a bit controversial—so I’d like to get any feedback you have. I’ve been observing a pattern in young people. Like past generations, kids need to develop discipline in their life. They need disciplines like service, patience, listening, and establishing a strong work ethic, to name a few. I know some young people, however, that never develop these

Athletics, Leadership, Parenting

Yesterday, I blogged about a leadership (character/ethics) lesson from the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. Today—I believe there is another lesson on this topic from a dad and his twin sons. I read the report in a Huffington Post article. It went like this: “Last Thursday night during a celebrity hockey game in Minnesota, 11-year-old Nick Smith was given the

Athletics, Habitudes, Leadership

Growing Leaders, the non-profit organization I launched in 2003, works with a number of NCAA and professional athletic programs. Our goal is to provide resources for coaches and athletic staff to build character-based leaders on their respective teams. It has been great to hear reports from coaches on how the “Habitudes For Athletes” has furnished a platform to have conversations

Culture, Leadership

This summer, TIME magazine published a cover article on the “Science of Optimism.” In it, the article states that people have a “bias for optimism.” On average, we expect things to turn out better than they are now; people hugely underestimate their chances of getting divorced, losing their job, or being diagnosed with cancer. We expect our children to be

Generation iY®, Leadership

Today, I’ll be short and sweet. As I meet with students (both teens and twenty-somethings) they tell me they want their work to be “fun.” In fact, most of the kids in focus groups I have hosted say they want to mix work and play, throughout their careers. Welcome to Generation Y. I actually think this is a good idea, as long

Leadership

Let me remind you of something. Every time you succeed at something, you spark a desire to achieve in others. People want to be associated with success. President John F. Kennedy said, “Success has a thousand fathers. Failure is an orphan.” What he meant was—we all want to claim being part of a victory. No one wants to connect with a

Education, Leadership

Nicole Baker Fulgham is the Vice President of Teach for America's Faith Community Relations Initiative.  Nicole is a regular speaker at faith-based and education conferences and has authored several articles about educational equity. It was a pleasure to have her with us at this year's National Leadership Forum. In this backstage interview with Michael Hirsch, she shares some principles of leadership

Culture, Leadership

Most of my readers are leaders. Most of you leaders work with students. Today’s blog post is especially important for young leaders to understand. Good ideas are contagious. Like a sneeze or a cough, they can spread like a virus and ignite positive changes in unlikely, and even unrelated places. Let me explain. You have probably heard of TOMS shoes. Blake McCloskey

Culture, Generation iY®, Leadership

In January, we all read about the revolution that took place in Egypt, when young people connected on Facebook, then gathered in Tehrer Square and demanded their president step down. Egyptians now call it the Youth Revolution. It worked. This week the unrest was in the U.K. You may have heard about the riots that were sparked by young people in

Culture, Generation iY®

For years when I was growing up, I heard adults advise us kids: "everything in moderation." Sadly, many kids today have never learned this. Too much Xbox-playing may have led to a young British man's death. Twenty-year-old Chris Staniforth, who reportedly played the game "Halo" on his Xbox for up to 12 hours at a time, died in May from deep

Generation iY®, Leadership

Last weekend, I had the privilege of teaching leadership to the sharpest high school students in Gwinnett County. They are part of GSLT: Gwinnett Student Leadership Team. I love these students. They are bright, alert, grateful, energetic and hungry to grow and learn. At the end of the training session, one girl approach my colleague and said something we hear students

Leadership

This past week, three team members from Growing Leaders spent time in Singapore and Indonesia, investing in business leaders, faculty members, parents, pastors, youth workers and students. Our partners in that part of the world, Mike Griffin (Equipping Leaders in Asia) and Mike Loh and Helen Lim-Yang (Cappelle Consultants) hosted us and positioned us to do ten training events. We