The Sharpening Stone
The Sharpening Stone is a series of short videos from True Edge designed to sharpen leaders and their organizations.
Want to receive The Sharpening Stone in your inbox? Signup below.
The Sharpening Stone – Delegate to Elevate
An interesting story came to light recently when the Tennessee Titans’ head coach, Mike Vrabel, delegated the head coaching responsibilities to his assistant head coach, Terrell Williams, for a preseason game against my beloved Chicago Bears. I love [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Leading across Generations
There has been progress made in organizations the past few years addressing diversity of various types: Ethnic, Gender, and Income. However, there is another kind of diversity that only 8 percent of organizations even recognize; and that is; [...]
The Sharpening Stone – On Being, or Becoming, an Assertive Leader
We’ve all heard, and have probably used, the term “assertive” in describing our own or others’ behavior or personality. But how clear are you really on what it means to be assertive? I ask because I hear people say [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Would You Want You for a Boss?
Have you ever seriously pondered what it is like serving under your leadership in the workplace? Would you want youfor a boss? I spend most of my days providing executive coaching for leaders of businesses and other organizations, and [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Friction to Fire
Conflict avoidance and conflict management are frequent topics in executive coaching. People most often avoid conflict because they are trying to circumvent undesirable reactions or ongoing relationship contention that can result from confrontation or challenge. Unfortunately, when we avoid dealing [...]
The Sharpening Stone – The Right Stuff: Elements of a Well-Designed Incentive Plan
When I was a boy, my dream was to be a pilot, and I was enamored with flying and outer space. In fact, one of my favorite movies growing up was, “The Right Stuff”, which chronicled the stories of [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Don’t Confuse “Busy” with “Productive”
Do you pride yourself on being an “excellent multi-tasker”? Do you feel much (or most) of the time like you are Sooo busy, yet don’t really get much done (at least not the truly important things)? Are your relationships [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Minding Your Family Business
If your family is in business together, you already know some of the special joys -- and challenges – of working with relatives. A family-owned business can be a great vehicle for generating family wealth, for providing jobs for [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Staying or Going? Let’s Have a Better Conversation
My wife loves Hallmark Movies, and after watching a number of them with her, I find there’s a common theme – Couple is interested in each other, but they don’t express it to one another, then one thinks – [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Organizational Fitness for a Healthy Future
A number of years ago at a gym where I worked out I was introduced to the concept of “The Three Pillars Of Fitness” – Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility. Personal reflection on these so-called pillars yielded an appreciation [...]
The Sharpening Stone – The Four Propositions of Risk
Many of the decisions you make as a business leader carry a significant element of risk. If you are too timid or risk avoidant, then you and your business will likely fall short of your potential. But if [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Focus on your Core
I enjoy running, and for a number of years I thought the best way to improve was simply to run more frequently, but what I learned from others is that I was missing out on something that could actually [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Who Leads When You Leave?
Maybe you’re thinking of selling your business. Now, or maybe ten years from now. Here are some considerations that have probably crossed your mind already: What is my business worth? Who could I sell it to? How can I [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Know an Abrasive Leader?
Many of us have had the distinct displeasure of working with, or for, an abrasive leader. You know the type -- prone to emotional outbursts, overcontrol, threats, public humiliation and condescension, and general misuse of their power and authority. [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Accountability AND Compassion
Why do so many of us, leaders included, find it difficult to hold people accountable or address issues firmly and directly? I am convinced it’s because we see confrontation as some variation on harsh, intolerant, unkind, aggressive, or uncompassionate, [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Pay Attention to Retention
When business leaders were surveyed about the top threat to their business for the rest of 2021, it wasn’t inflation or supply chain disruptions to production that came out on top. The majority of respondents said “Hiring and [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Choose to be Resilient
If nothing else, the pandemic of this past year has increased our awareness of the importance of resilience – for individuals, for families and communities, and for business organizations. We are well aware that, in the face of [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Bring Your Child to Work
When we work with family-owned businesses, a common question we hear from parents is, “How important is it, really, for our sons and daughters to work for someone else? Won’t that just delay their readiness for key roles [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Let’s Talk About Trust
Let’s talk about TRUSTLeaders set the tone and the example in determining the level of safety and trust that exists in an organization.If trust is absent or uncertain, we are forced to spend our time and energy protecting ourselves [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Declare Your Outlook
Hi Everyone! We all can learn from our past, and 2020 was a year unlike any other. In fact, it was an incredibly challenging year that threw everything that we considered normal upside down. From COVID, to the election, to [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Can You Trust Personality Assessments?
Many companies utilize personality questionnaires or similar psychological tests or assessments to help them decide whom to hire or promote. When good assessment tools are properly used, they can substantially improve your hiring decisions. The problem is: too many employers [...]
The Sharpening Stone – A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results
We’ve all been there. We’re expecting an employee to do something or produce a desired result and it’s just not happening. The tendency may be to think they’re goofing off or being lazy, or that they have been side-tracked by [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Next One Up
I have always had a love for sports, and especially in big games when a title or championship is on the line. It’s always been interesting to me to watch those that you expect to do well deliver in the [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Accountability is NOT a Four-letter Word
If, like most of us, you have ever resolved to engage some process of self-improvement, you have probably confronted the sobering fact that saying something, even really wanting it, is not the same as doing it. Any effort to engage [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Does Your Board Know its Job?
In our work with boards, we tend to see two extremes. On one end of the continuum is the rubber stamp board. We see this most often in organizations that have an assertive, high-performing and highly trusted executive director or [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Headwind or Tailwind? Building Your COVID-19 Sales Recovery Strategy
Hello, this is Michael Lambert with True Edge Performance Solutions, a management consulting firm in Lancaster, PA. I’d like to cover a few points about not only staying afloat today, but taking advantage of the situation and building momentum for [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Leading in the Face of COVID-19
Today we have a special audio edition of Sharpening Stone in light of the rapidly unfolding COVID-19 coronavirus situation. I’m Rob Skacel, business psychologist with True Edge Performance Solutions. Wow, it seems everything’s changed over the past few days – [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Awaken the Sleeping Giant
I'd like to tell a couple of stories today, and I suspect you'll probably nod your heads and recognize some of the scenarios. There was a sales team that I knew, and they did okay. They were close to quota, [...]
The Sharpening Stone: You Might Just Need a Rawlins
Who comes to mind when you think of the greatest American leaders? George Washington? Abe Lincoln? Susan B. Anthony? Martin Luther King, Jr? It’s been said that from the end of the Civil War through the remainder of the Nineteenth [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Saying “Yes” and Saying “No”
Have you ever stopped to realize that two of the simplest and most common words we use shape the direction of our lives and how we navigate our work and personal worlds? Those words are “yes” and “no”. What we [...]
The Sharpening Stone – High Caliber Calendar
Most leaders have a lot of things competing for their time. If you’re like me, your schedule is already filled with meetings, project work, planning sessions, and a pile of tasks that have to get done sometime. Now throw into [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Managing People Who Think They’re Special
My wife and I used to tell our kids, “You’re really special, but no more than anybody else.” Despite that, they seem to have turned out okay. At least that’s what their therapists tell us. Most of us have encountered [...]
The Sharpening Stone: Feedback and Future
So let me start by asking you a few questions about something that most organizations tend to look at on an annual basis – employee performance. Is your performance management process working? Is it meaningful to you as a leader, [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Igniting Motivation
A common question we get from our clients is, “How can I motivate my employees?” When we’re talking about motivation, we’re not merely concerned with getting people to do what you want them to do. You can produce that kind [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Safety of Confusion
There’s a local beer distributor near my home that has one of those interchangeable signs out front. Today it’s mostly used to advertise their current specials, but a number of years ago they used to post pithy sayings on the [...]
The Sharpening Stone: Think Culture First!
So have you ever received a question from someone – a colleague, a family member - “How’s it going at work?”, or “How’s your company doing?” ? If I asked you right now, how would you answer that question? Do [...]
The Sharpening Stone – The Good, The Bad, and the Boss
Most of us have experienced performance reviews delivered to us by our bosses. If that was done reasonably well, we walked away with constructive feedback that helped us grow professionally, or at least perform our jobs a little better. In [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Expectancy, Not Expectation
You may be expecting this short video to be worth your while. What if it is? What if it isn’t? what practical difference does your expectation make in the content you hear or in my presentation of it? None, right? [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Silo Busting
If you work in an organization large enough to have identifiable departments or functional units, you know what can happen when tensions arise between groups. Maybe your sales reps think that your operations people don’t do enough to keep customers [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Leading with Humility
So you’re a leader – perhaps THE leader – in your organization. You’ve worked your way up, earned your role and your title, and now you’re “the boss”. That can be pretty heady stuff if we let it be, can’t [...]
The Sharpening Stone – The Trouble with Anonymous Feedback
Conventional wisdom says that if you want people to tell you the truth, let them do so anonymously. I disagree. Anonymous 360s and workplace climate surveys have their place, but sometimes they cause more damage than good. You would be [...]
The Sharpening Stone – CYA
None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. And as a leader, you’re even accountable for mistakes that other people make. Yikes! That’s why today’s segment is on CYA. That’s right. Covering Your …Absence. When we coach leaders, we [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Lessons from Goldilocks
We’re all familiar with the children’s story, “The Three Bears” and how the young girl Goldilocks gets lost and wanders into their home where she proceeds to try their three bowls of porridge, to sit in their three chairs, and [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Preparing for Battle – Part 2 of 2
In an earlier segment, we talked about the importance of anticipating conflict with your business partners, communicating regularly, and getting tension points on the table before they have a chance to grow and fester. Today we’ll talk about some guidelines [...]
The Sharpening Stone – Preparing For Battle – Part 1 of 2
If you want a healthy business, prepare your battle plan. I’m not talking about battling your competition. I’m talking about handling conflict with your business partners. When most people go into business together, they’re not thinking about conflict. They’re usually [...]
The Sharpening Stone – An Ancient Method for Developing Others
Okay. So you’re in charge of something. You’re experienced. You’re also pretty smart. Naturally, people come to you for direction. They pop their heads in your office, ask you a question. You give them an answer. And off they go [...]