Lauren’s Blog

How many times have you seen a leader you look up to and admire become so frustrated they want to quit altogether? It happens all the time. The key is, significant leaders DON’T throw in the towel. Is significant leadership easy? No. Far from it.The Colonel said,...

Optimism is not a squishy, overly idealist characteristic. Optimism is actually a hard-core discipline. The Colonel said, “You’ve got to be an optimist, kiddo. When your team can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, you have to be able to show it to them and...

The Colonel had two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. He was a committed, life-long learner, and he instilled that expectation in his daughters. He said, “You have to keep educating yourself. If you’re not always learning and growing as a person, you’re not growing as a...

I have been a talker my whole life. Often, in frustration, Dad would say, “Lauren Ann, stop talking just to hear the sound of your own voice.” Regarding leadership, he expounded on that thought. He said, “Stop talking. Listen. You don’t learn anything from talking....

The Colonel often said, “Don’t tell your team what kind of leader you are. They won’t follow you because of what you say. Show them what kind of leader you are in your attitude and your behaviors. They will watch and follow you because of what you do.”...

No one steps into leadership because they want to be relegated to the background. Most people who seek, or are comfortable with leadership enjoy being out in front and in the spotlight. But, it is not always an effective leadership quality. The Colonel said to me,...

Dad believed the measure of a human being is, in large part, how they treat the people who can’t do anything for them. The Colonel said, “People will be watching you. They will measure your character by the way you treat those who report to you.” It’s easy to treat...

Anyone who has taken on the responsibility of parenting children understands that it involves a great deal of saying “no.” As my two children grew into adulthood, I can’t count how many times I have said no to something, battled the emotion, the arguments, the...