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leadership skills Tag

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Blog, Leadership

“It’s about learning… to win, you have to learn. And learning takesprecedence over winning.”— Kobe Bryant Last month, I shared a Kobe Bryant interview video with my Grounds andLandscape team. The 11-minute clip was packed with practical lessons forleaders who want their teams to perform at the highest level. Kobe was curious — could he ever be as great as Magic, Jordan, or Bird?Learning became his secret weapon. He studied basketball in every detail— how to move quicker,...

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Blog, Leadership

Before a meal hits your table in a top-notch restaurant, the chef isn’t just looking at howit tastes — they’re checking for consistency. How does it look? How does it feel? Is it thesame as the last plate they served? In the green industry, one of my team members calls it the "credit card slot" — thatperfect, clean line of edging along the turf and sidewalk. It gives the turf that pop oftightness and being manicured. Using...

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Blog, Leadership

“Strong relationships are built on difficult conversations.” – Simon Sinek Last week, we explored the real costs of workplace conflict—financial, collaborative, and personal. While both leaders and employees share the responsibility to address conflict, it’s the leader’s role to set the tone and model conflict resolution effectively. The good news? With a few key strategies, leaders can handle conflict productively and use it as a chance to grow. What NOT to do: Many leaders default to avoiding conflict, which only makes things worse....

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Blog, Leadership

Conflict among and with those you lead is inevitable. According to the Conflict Resolution Center, leaders spend at least 30-40% of their day trying to resolve conflict. Here are some examples: Last week, I offered an online seminar on conflict management in the workplace – specifically around the difficult conversations that start/stop the conflict. Titled, Stop Dodging, Start Dialoguing: Mastering Difficult Workplace Conversations, the goal of the online seminar was to encourage constructive dialogue and introduce strategies...

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Blog, Leadership

In all organizations we’re used to thinking in terms of local and district managers, directors,foremen, supervisors, and crews. There's usually one person calling the shots. But what ifleadership wasn’t a position—it was a mindset? What if everyone on your team felt responsible,empowered, and engaged? That’s the heart of the leaderful mindset. Leaderful organizations don't wait for one person to make every decision. Instead, theyencourage everyone to think like a leader—taking ownership, offering ideas, and making thingsbetter right where...

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Blog, Leadership, Uncategorized

It was one of the worst days of my life. I had to lay off over half of my landscaping team.We had overextended our reach, and the business couldn't sustain it. I had over hiredfor the contracts we maintained. It wasn't just numbers on a spreadsheet — it wasfamilies, stories, and lives. Failure forced me to look deeper. I began asking myself, what kind of leader do I want tobe? This painful moment became the soil where something...

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Blog, Leadership

I sat on the bench in 10th grade, arms crossed, ignoring my basketball coach. I thoughtI knew it all. I didn’t. I acted like a starter — and a spoiled one. Looking back, I wasn’t coachable. And that’s the difference between someone whostalls out and someone who levels up. Coachable people don’t have all the answers — and they know it.They stay humble, ask questions, and take feedback without getting defensive. As Coach John Wooden said, “Everything we know...

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Blog, Leadership

Recently, a leader I know had an employee come charging into his office—frantic,tense, and anxious. He was like a cat trapped in a pillowcase—ready to claw his wayout. Just moments earlier, he’d gotten into a heated situation with a coworker, and nowhe was looking for a way to escape the fallout. Others had to step in quickly to calmthings down. Attitude influences every part of workplace engagement—productivity, morale,teamwork, and even safety. And unfortunately, negativity is contagious. One...

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Blog, Leadership

"I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have theheart to let him down.” – Abraham Lincoln Today, during a podcast interview, I found myself quoting a close friend who left us toosoon—Tim Kunsman. Tim was someone who saw my flaws, my failures, and still choseto believe in me, even when I couldn’t believe in myself. He didn’t need perfection from me. He just believed I would keep going –...

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Blog, Leadership

“To say that a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas get heard.It’s a sign of respect.” – Deborah Tannen Over the years, I’ve become a big fan of high-fiving folks for a job well done.Recognition lifts morale and keeps the wheels of the organization turning smoother thana greased mower deck. But here’s the deal: behind every pat on the back is somethingmore important—listening. Not the "uh-huh, sure, got it" kind of listening. I...

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