Three Star Leadership

Three Star Leadership Letter

The Three Star Leadership Letter will arrive in your email box about 50 times a year. The blog is the place for commentary and opinion, so the newsletter contains very brief tips and pointers to resources and information. The idea is that you will be able to read the whole thing in five minutes or less and get something of value.

Click here to subscribe to Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Here's a sample of material from a recent letter.

Lessons from Fatherhood

I really wanted to be a father. I looked forward to enjoying my children's love while I guided them, flawlessly, to a life of joy and success.

Those hopes went out the window on day three, when it became obvious that our first child wasn't going to sleep through the night, no matter what I said. Fatherhood was way harder than I expected, but I learned a lot about myself. And I learned some things that apply to leadership.

Influence is all you have. No matter what you think, you have no power. You can create consequences, but if they're willing to take the consequences, they can do what they want.

This was never more horrifyingly obvious than when my older daughter went on her first date. When the door closed behind her, I knew suddenly and painfully, that I could do nothing about what happened next.

Influence is powerful. They really do pay attention. It's just against the rules for them to show it.

One day I was walking toward the back of the house when I heard my son in his room, talking to a friend. "My dad says," he began, and then repeated, word for word, some advice I gave to him.

Being a parent or being a leader is difficult. It's scary to know that what you say and do influences and becomes part of the lives of others.

Being a parent or being a leader is rewarding, though. At the end of the day or the end of your life, you've done something to change the world.

Web Resource: Gordon Training

Dr. Thomas Gordon did his first leadership training in 1957. It became the LET or Leader Effectiveness Training model. You may also be familiar with his Parent Effectiveness Training and Teacher Effectiveness Training books and programs. I'm pointing you to the leadership resources section of his site. You'll find links to parent and teacher resources there as well.

Reading Resource: Better Parent, Better Leader

I'm breaking with normal practice and recommending two books this week. Parenting and leading a team in business are similar, but they also differ. Thomas Gordon has written books about both. When I reviewed them for this newsletter, I was amazed again at how good and practical both books are.

Leader Effectiveness Training
Parent Effectiveness Training

Working Supervisor's Support Kit

I've taken everything I know about how to do a great job as a supervisor and put in into this e-kit that contains a book, a workbook, forms, and reminders to help you get better. If you're a supervisor, if you train supervisors, or if there's a supervisor in your life you care about, you should check it out.

If you'd like to read more of my commentary, visit my Three Star Leadership blog where I post almost every day. Or follow me on Twitter . 

Check out my latest Special Report: "Managing Headcount in a Downturn."

That's a sample. You'll get similar stuff 50 times a year or so if you subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Letter. My goal is to give you something helpful that you can read in less than five minutes.

We use a double opt-in system. So when you subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Letter you will receive an email asking you to re-confirm that you want to receive it. If you want to receive it, use the confirmation link in the newsletter. If not, just delete the email.

One more note. We do not archive the newsletter contents on the site. That's because the newsletter contains lots of links, pointers and other short items that would require a huge effort to keep current. If you've seen something in a newsletter but you've can't find it, email me using the form below and I'll hunt it down for you.

Click here to subscribe to Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.