The other day my son commented that his mother and I were being judgemental. this came after I made a comment about something as we drove down the road.

My immediate response was that I wasn't judging, but making an observation. This led to a spirited conversation in our car about the differences between observation and judgement. The differences are huge and we see them every day. Here are a couple of examples.

"His hair is long." - observation

"His hair is too long." or "His hair needs to be cut." - judgements


"The table is black." - observation

"The table is ugly." - judgement


"She is very skilled." - observation, if based on truly observing the skills being discussed

"She is better than I am." judgement, unless there is factual measurement on a criteria that all agree defines "better."

The conversation we had in our car was more than wordplay or a dictionary challenge. It defines an important concept that we often lose sight of or miss by not thinking clearly. As a leader when developing others, giving feedback or making decisions, we need to be crystal clear on our judgements vs. our observations.

Are you passing judgement on people and their behavior? Whether positive or negative, spoken or unspoken those judgements will have an impact on people's performance (so if you are going to judge, make it a positive one!)

When giving feedback are your statements largely observational or judgmental? If you try to pass judgement off as fact you risk being wrong and setting a stage for defensiveness, resistance or worse.

While we all need to make judgements, when making decisions, especially important ones, it is again important to separate observation from assumption and judgement. doing so will help you make better decisions.


No where right now is it clearer than in the campaign for the U.S. Presidency.

Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain (and in many more cases their spokespeople, surrogates and fans) make statements meant to be interpreted as observations or statements of fact, when in effect they are merely judgements or personal interpretations. Use the time you watch or listen to campaign related activities over the next couple of days to help you identify and sort out observations from judgements. This practice will help you in your life, and perhaps help you sort out the truth from the massive spin that is employed by both campaigns as well as their supporters.

Also posted in Leadership.

Labels: decision making, feedback, presidential candidates, presidential leadership

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In this election season, I decided to share a few quotations from U.S. Presidents about leadership itself.

Here's the one I shared with our Powerquotes list today:

"I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because
once I have persuaded him he will stick. If I scare him, he
will stay as long as he is scared and then he is gone."

-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

And here are a couple more . . .

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only obstacles vanish." 

-- John Quincy Adams

Make sure you vote for the best Leader among the Presidential candidates, and add your favorite Presidential quotation on leadership in the comments section. Thanks!

Also posted in Leadership.

Labels: Best Leadership Blogs, presidential candidates, presidential leadership, Presidential survey, quotations

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There are many criteria we can use to vote for a particular candidate. I'm most interested in one of those criteria - which candidate, Barack Obama or John McCain, do you feel has the strongest leadership skills?

Please share your ideas by voting on our Presidential Leadership survey. You will have the chance to compare each candidate on 12 leadership competencies from my book Remarkable Leadership. Cast your vote and request the results which we will share in a Special Report on October 16th, invite everyone else you know to vote as well!

I'll be providing updates and additional information over the next few days.

Also posted in Leadership.

Labels: Barack Obama, John McCain, leadership, presidential candidates, presidential leadership

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This is a question that politicians and the news media have been talking about for some time. With the announcement of Gov. Sarah Palin as Senator McCain's running mate last Friday, the conversation has grown louder.

This post isn't about politics, and will leave you to draw your own conclusions. It isn't written from the right, left or center, but from the perspective of leadership. While I hope it helps you answer the question posed in the title, I also hope it gets you thinking much closer to home, about the leaders you observe and possibly even hire.

While we can, I hope draw connections between the position of President and that of other leaders let me start with a belief that no previous job can completely prepare you for the U.S. Presidency, because I don't believe there is any job like it. Since no one running has been President before, everything being said about experience should be considered carefully.

Both candidates (and their VP picks) have relevant experience - some in Washington, some with foreign affairs, some with more national media experience, some with more "Executive" experience, some as a father, and one as a mother - and all of these experiences vary across all four candidates. So - all have some relevant experience and none have all of the pertinent experience. Regardless of what they will say or imply, none will be ready on January 20 (or later if become President later due to a tragedy).

Beyond Experience

Since it is not possible for anyone to be prepared completely for this job, and because it is unfathomably complex, a leader must take great care in surrounding themselves with others who can help them succeed as a team. When considering this, think about these questions:

- Who are they surrounding themselves with?
- Do these other people have skills, talents and experiences that build on the weaknesses of the leader?
- Are they willing to put together a team of people with a variety of perspectives, knowing that in the dialogue that comes from these differences, better directions will be set and more effective decisions made?

If expertise of the candiate alone can't be the deciding factor, then consider the questions above, and the ones you think of as well, to help you make your own determination.

What About Change?

Both parties and candidates want to create change. Unless a candidate is following a very popular two-term President, candidates are ALWAYS wanting to create change - whether it is a campaign talking point or not. So what can we learn so far about each candidates' willingness and ability to change?

Let's look at any leader's skill at creating change. Leaders who are skilled at change can:

- distance themselves from the status quo.
- build a clear and focused picture of the desired future, after the change has occurred.
- persuade those who must change too to come on board - and sooner than later.
- create a dialogue so that the change doesn't belong just to them, but is a vision owned and shared by many.

One of the decisions each voter must make when choosing a candidate to vote for, is to consider their policy positions, of course. This post has focused on what I believe to be a factor at least as important - who will be most successful at leading.

There are many other factors beyond experience and change. I write about these two today because they are two of the most widely discussed points today.

I hope these ideas help you think about Presidential leadership, leadership of any other public office, and in leadership closer to home as well. I also hope you will share your thoughts in the comments below - in a non-partisan, leadership focused way.

Also posted in Leadership.

Labels: presidential candidates

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I share my thoughts on this topic, and give a list of five books, on the blog for Remarkable Leadership. If you are interested in my list, and sharing your own, you can read the post here.

Also posted in Leadership.

Labels: presidential candidates, Remarkable Leadership

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