By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. I have a friend -- I’ll call him John -- who was a stockbroker for several years but finally cut himself loose and went back to doing what he had loved doing most in his professional life – coaching and counseling high school students. The change came with a huge cut in pay. While he was never motivated much by money, he did need to keep a roof over his head, food on the table, wheels under his seat and gas in the tank. I asked him what prompted him to contemplate leaving a lucrative and mentally challenging career as a stockbroker. “The only time my phone rings is when t...

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Fall will be a busy time for the Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute, with public programs planned in three states before Thanksgiving. If you’re interested in learning how to be a Jesus-like S3 Leader, all but one of the programs on our fall schedule are open to the public. Hope to see you at one of them. Sept. 22, St. Paul, MN – Public Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus Encounter at Little Sisters of the Poor Holy Family Residence. Facilitator Dr. Owen Phelps. Cost $20. Register online. Sept. 29, Cedar Falls, IA – Encounter Facilitator Training & Certification, American M...

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  Do you recall those sibling fights when your only defense to a stern parent was: “He (or she) hit me first”? As we all know by now, that’s not a very good defense – certainly not good enough to get us off the hook with a conscientious parent. But that flimsy excuse does have one virtue: it acknowledges that all it takes for a cycle of interaction between two people to begin and move in a certain direction is for one person to take the initiative. We’ve seen bosses wait impatiently to see a glimmer of enterprise in an employee. And we’ve seen employees wait for a word o...

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Late summer and fall are shaping up to be busy times for the Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute, with programs planned in five states before Thanksgiving. If you’re interested in learning how to be a Jesus-like S3 Leader, several of the programs are open to the public and may appeal to you: Aug. 16, Rockford, IL – Retreat for faculty at Boylan Central Catholic High School. Facilitators Dick Kunnert and Fr. Dave Beauvais. By invitation only. Aug. 24, Arbor Vitae, WI – Public short course (9 a.m. – noon), Leading Like Jesus: Be a Better Leader at Home, at Work and Everywhere E...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. I wasn’t expecting it at all. Neither was anyone else in the room. I was teaching the principles of S3 Jesus-like Leadership to a class in a diocese’s Ministry Formation program, and we were trying to get a handle on the qualities and behaviors that the very best leaders show. To round out our picture, students were sharing experiences about the very best bosses they had ever had. The stories were very helpful. As the students shared their experiences I wrote down key traits on a large easel at the front of the room. To no one’s surprise it read a lot like the Boy Scout L...

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David Greer, former co-owner and president of Robelle, a global software firm, notes that many leaders are forever encouraging their charges to “do your best.” But Greer believes that most people are usually doing their best – in fact, that’s the problem. Their best just isn’t good enough. Or, put another way, their current best is nowhere near as good as what they would be capable of doing if their leaders helped them more fully develop their potential. Here, in Greer’s own words, are six ways leaders can help their followers continually improve their best. 1. Paint an incredib...

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John Baldoni, a member of the faculty at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and author of more than a dozen books, offers a 2-minute video tune-up on the importance of leaders being good listeners. It’s the kind of quick, basic but important information you’ll want to take in yourself and also recommend to others -- perhaps as the starting point for a discussion about the value of active listening. VIEW IT HERE

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