How Much Should Leaders Know?

By Dr. Francis Eberle

Clients have asked me how much they really need to know about leadership. This is not a simple question, and usually I share one of my favorite quotes by Henri Poincaré, a late 19th century French mathematician: “Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.”

The point is, what we do with our knowledge is just as important, if not more important, than the knowledge we possess. Being an effective leader requires knowing many things, such as the company’s ideas, strategies, practices, plans, culture and people, but that isn’t everything leaders need to know. Read More

Change is as Good as Rest
Using Transition and Flexibility to Improve Performance

By Dr. Francis Eberle

As an avid cyclist, I’ve learned how to rest while riding on long routes. In fact, a common cycling axiom is, “Change is as good as a rest.” When riding, your leg muscles get tired with the same motion, particularly with the same effort. However, if you change the gear and cadence (the number of times your feet complete a pedal cycle), you will use a different set of muscles. This gives a break to the original muscles. When riders are going 100 miles for days, such as the 21 days and 2,000 miles in the Tour de France, they need to rest their muscles whenever they can.

This technique applies to the weekend warriors too.  The idea of resting while moving has a corollary in leadership. Read More

Is It Really Lonely at The Top?

By Dr. Francis Eberle

I know you have heard or read more than once that it is lonely at the top. If you believe this then it is likely you will be a lonely leader. Results of decisions do ultimately lie with the leader alone, but why does it have to be lonely?

It can start with small things. One day as a new Executive Director, I was in rush and needed to get a few copies for a meeting. I went to the copier and was interrupted by an assistant who said, “Oh don’t do that. I will do it for you from now on.” It was very nice of her and her intention was in line with her job. However, the idea that I couldn’t make my own copies was foreign and led me to wonder if I had changed. Read More

Diversity Is a Competitive Differentiator

By Dr. Francis Eberle

Several years ago, as a CEO, I hired a talented and experienced professional woman for an executive position who also happened to represent a minority group. That in of itself is not worthy writing about, and should be unremarkable. What happened next was.

She was often questioned about what she was doing. I was sometimes asked to intervene about her decisions without evidence, except it was not the way they would have done it. This did not occur with the same frequency for others on the leadership team. Read More

Creating a Two-Way Conversation

By Dr. Francis Eberle

How many times have you left a meeting with a colleague feeling good about the outcome, only to find out later that they did not complete what you talked about? Weren’t they listening?

My last experience with this was a few years ago. A colleague wanted to work on a new idea to present to the CEO. We discussed it, and I felt the new idea was very valuable. However, until we finished the project the CEO wanted, introducing a new idea was not a good plan. At the end of our meeting, I thought we had come to an agreement: They would finish the final report and then develop the new idea to present. Read More

What Style of Leader Are You and Does it Matter?

By Dr. Francis Eberle

Generalizations about leadership style are easy, but become messy in the reality of people and structures. More than ten years ago Jim Collins received criticism from leaders in the social sector for assuming the leadership style in his book Good to Great was universal. He responded with a monograph, Good to Great for the Social Sectors and described two leadership styles: Legislative and Executive leadership.

I never asked him, but it seemed he wanted to distinguish the social sector from private organizational leadership styles. One connotes a decisive and top down style, while the other is a participatory and team style of leadership. It is easy to guess which is which. Which is your style? Read More

Price Associates Certifies Applied Axiologists

Price Associates conducted its second Applied Axiology-TriMetrix HDTM Certification Course the week of August 28-September 1, 2017.

Business leaders and executive advisors from across the globe attended the 5-day training, completing over 40 hours of study, testing and certification work. Price Associates’ own Dr. Bobby Sanchez, Dr. Francis Eberle, and Lori NcNeill received certification during the course. Read More

The Power of Collaboration and a Broader Perspective

We are excited to announce that Dr. Francis Eberle has recently joined the Price Associates team. Francis spent more than 25 years as an executive for non-profits and start-ups, and has been a key figure in statewide education policy. Today he works with leaders and teams to improve skills, solve complex problems, conduct research, grow finanacial and programmatic resources, and engage partners to work together toward common goals. Read More