...leaders who do not hold their people accountable to a set standard are, in effect, thieves and liars. Thieves because they are stealing from the stockholder who pays them to hold people accountable, and liars because they pretend that everything is OK with their people when in fact everything is not OK.

Our top-down pyramid style of management is a very old concept borrowed from centuries of war and monarchies.

Leadership: The skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good.

Authority: The skill of getting people to willingly do your will, because of your personal influence.

Forgiving behavior is dealing with situations as they arise in an assertive manner and then letting go of any lingering resentment. As the leader, if you are not able to let go of the resentment, it will consume you and render you ineffective.

(A manager) once confided in me she liked to picture in her mind's eye that every employee was wearing one of those sandwich billboard signs. On the front side, the sign would read 'Appreciate Me' and on the back side 'Make Me Feel Important.'

You can get a few seasons out of power, even accomplish some things, but over time power can be very damaging to relationships.