http://www.covenantleadership.com Tools for Navigating Tomorrow's Opportunities Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:55:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en My work life has been peppered with people that have been...well let’s just say, jackasses.  I’ve always thought of myself as someone that’s easy to get along with but, obviously, that’s not the case with everyone.  It could be your boss, co-worker, subordinate or even the barista at Starbucks...let’s face ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/3-tactics-for-dealing-with-the-jackass-at-work/ Years ago, as a junior officer, I worked with another young Lieutenant named, Derek.  Derek was a smart, articulate and a hard worker but he was also a MAJOR League sycophant (aka: fawning parasite or brown-noser).   Whenever the opportunity would arise, we would duck and pucker in the hope of ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/4-methods-to-self-promote-without-brown-nosing/ Yes, I’ll admit it...I’m a terrible listener.  I have the best of intentions of hanging on every word that is said but, usually, I drift.  But, it’s not my fault!  I have these crazy monkeys jumping around in my head at all times!  One causes me to babble, another one ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/4-strategies-for-listening-mo-better/ The only thing I can figure is that I used to have a LOT of time.  Way before children, responsibilities and work, I must have had oodles and oodles of time.  Because now, after the rigors of life have wedged their spiny hooks deep within my flesh, I don’t know ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/6-tips-for-managing-your-time/ I was a little nervous.  It was, after all, my first periodic evaluation as a new officer.  I knew that I had been working hard, taking care of my people and working to move the mission forward but, in the back of my head, questioned if I had done enough.  ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/follow-well/ Giving someone their annual performance appraisal can be tricky if you aren't mentally prepared.  My first crack at debriefing someone was an eye opening experience!  I had plenty of years on the opposite side of the desk (getting told how I was performing) and thought I knew how I wanted ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/six-things-about-performance-appraisals/ I stood there in complete amazement as the man yelled, "Hey!!  You can't cut!!  There's a line here!  What are you doing!?"   No, he wasn't yelling at me...he was yelling at a another man who was trying to board our 5 hour flight to San Francisco ahead of him.  It ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/r-u-angry/ "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"  I thought to myself as I got off the phone with my supervisor.  This was the fourth time I had reworked this report - each time having had different directions,  parameters, and requirements.  Usually, I like things on my "done" list and not ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/value-added/ "FREEZE!" I yelled as I clapped and turned around to take the place of one of my improv troupe members who were already on stage.  The premise of "blind freeze tag" is to automatically take the exact physical place of an existing person on stage when you call "freeze" and ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/improv-to-improve/ Standing there (in nothing but a large pair of boxer shorts) during my first 2 days of Navy Boot Camp, I stenciled my clothes as quickly as my chubby hands could get them done while the person next to me, obviously stressed, was crying as he ... http://www.covenantleadership.com/build-communities/