Something Greater, LLC

10/26/2026

Does anyone remember those team-building “trust falls?” You stand on a platform, cross your arms over your chest, and lean back, trusting your people to catch you.

That’s a NO for me! 🤣

I really do have a fear of falling, probably related to a childhood injury—or maybe all those times in elementary and middle school when we moved someone’s chair as they were sitting down. (My apologies if I ever did this to you!)

Patrick Lencioni is a master of teamwork, and trust is a vital component of strong, successful teams.

But what happens when trust hasn’t been established—or has been broken?

You don’t rebuild it with promises. You rebuild it with proof.

Admit mistakes.
Ask for help AND offer help.
Give credit, don’t take it.
Own your weaknesses.
Apologize when you’re wrong.

And then? Do it again. And again. And again.

Trust isn’t one person’s responsibility. It’s a team commitment.

Every interaction either strengthens trust or weakens it. Every kept promise, honest conversation, and act of accountability matters.

We cannot demand trust from our teammates. We must demonstrate that we are trustworthy.

Because the strongest teams aren’t those that never fall. They’re the ones who know they won’t be left on the ground.

Today is a brand-new day to start a brand-new pattern of behavior.

One action at a time.
One conversation at a time.
One act of accountability at a time.

John Maxwell reminds us that “consistency compounds.”

So, put it into practice and watch what happens to your team’s connection!

Three powerful words can change the dynamic of your team today:

I. TRUST. YOU.

But first, BE the teammate who gives those words meaning.

10/23/2026

We typically spend more waking hours with the people we work with than we do with our family.

With that in mind, be intentional to….
✅ Build community!
✅ Work hard!
✅ Make a difference!
✅ Have fun!

It’s not complicated to create a workplace filled with celebration, connection, and joy - even while you do the work that brings you to the table every morning.

Relationships matter.

How are you intentionally growing them among your team?

As John Maxwell says, “One is too small a number to achieve greatness.”

Do more than just work.
Build a TEAM that enjoys working together!

10/22/2026

10/22/2026

Teamwork brings different personalities, perspectives, strengths, and weaknesses to the same table.

The challenge? Remembering that our way isn’t the only way — or always the best way.

Paul Polman said it well:
“Working together on solving something requires a high level of humility and a high level of self-awareness.”

Humility reminds me I don’t have all the answers. Self-awareness challenges me to examine what I bring to the table — and what I may need to change.

And that’s where the real work begins: recognizing when our ego, need to be right, or attachment to our own approach gets in the way of what the team is trying to accomplish.

John C. Maxwell drives home that very message in his High Road Leader song, “Get Over Yourself.”

Because sometimes, the most important contribution we can make to a team is to get out of our own way.

🎵 https://youtu.be/yk4cdjq2uT8

THE CHALLENGE: Before criticizing someone else’s contribution, examine your own.

Are you listening? Learning? Willing to adjust? Making room for perspectives beyond your own?

Strong teams don’t require everyone to think alike. They require people secure enough to learn from one another and humble enough to put the shared goal ahead of their egos.

Less ego.
More awareness.
Better teamwork.

You were made for !

10/21/2026

CULTURE. You can feel it the moment you walk through the door.

Reid Hoffman’s words are powerful!

And Peter Drucker reminds us that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Think about it. In some places, you’re welcomed with a genuine “It’s our pleasure!” In others, employees hardly speak. Some greet you with a loud “WELCOME!” Others barely notice you’re there.

Some workplaces are filled with silence and silos. Others buzz with connection, collaboration, and purpose.

Culture. You know it when you feel it.

I once saw a quote that asked, “How do you feel on Sunday night about going to work on Monday morning?” WOW!

How do YOU feel about going to work? More importantly, how does your TEAM feel? Have you asked them?

Culture is one of a leader’s greatest responsibilities—and one of the hardest things to build, maintain, or repair.

Why? Because culture doesn’t happen by accident. It takes consistency. Reflection. Heart work. And alignment.

Leaders, if you aren’t modeling it, building it, and reinforcing it, don’t expect it to trickle down. You cannot paper push and delegate culture to other people. You ARE the culture!

You can have the best strategy in the world, but without the right culture, your team will never reach its full potential.

Culture isn’t what you SAY your organization is. It’s what people EXPERIENCE every day.

What does your culture feel like?

That’s the perfect question to start the day - if you’ll be willing to ask it.

Lead well today - for you and for them.

10/20/2026

One of my favorite reminders is this: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Leadership was never meant to be The Great Separator.

Yet, sometimes, the higher we climb, the farther away we get from the very people we are called to lead and serve.

We get busy making decisions, managing responsibilities, and chasing results. We communicate through emails, lead through meetings, and measure progress through numbers.

But somewhere along the way, we can lose something essential: human connection.

Technology can help us communicate from a distance. Systems can help us work more efficiently. But neither can fully replace the power of being present, looking someone in the eye, listening to their story, or simply asking, “How are you REALLY doing?”

Leadership isn’t just about being accessible. It’s about being available.

It’s not just about knowing your people. It’s about making sure your people KNOW they matter to you.

People don’t need perfect leaders. They need REAL leaders. Leaders who listen. Leaders who care. Leaders who remember that behind every position, performance metric, and organizational goal is a HUMAN BEING.

So, let me ask you something…

Have you become so focused on LEADING people that you’ve forgotten to CONNECT with them?

You can lead from a distance. You can manage from behind a screen. You can even achieve results without building relationships.

But if you want to make a lasting impact, you cannot afford to lose the human connection.

The goal isn’t to create distance through leadership. It’s to create connection THROUGH leadership.

People matter.

Lead like you believe it. ❤️

10/19/2026

Excuses are the enemy of growth.

Jim Rohn put it this way: “Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”

Ouch.

But there’s truth in both John’s words and Jim’s words.

Do you remember the 80s song “Human” by The Human League?

“I’m only human
Of flesh and blood I’m made
I’m only human
Born to make mistakes.”

They were exactly right.

We ARE human.
We WILL make mistakes.
We WILL fall short.
We WILL get things wrong.

Our mistakes don’t have to define us, but our response to them will.

There is a BIG difference between acknowledging that we made a mistake and making excuses for why we made it.

One opens the door to growth. The other keeps us stuck.

Leaders understand that accountability isn’t about beating ourselves up over what went wrong. It’s about having the courage to own it, learn from it, and do something different moving forward.

So, how do we move from failure to success?

1. OWN IT. Stop pointing fingers. Stop shifting blame. Be honest about your part in what happened.

2. LEARN FROM IT. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this? What would I do differently next time?” Failure can become valuable experience when we’re willing to evaluate it.

3. CHANGE IT. Learning without action is just information. Take what you’ve learned and put it into practice.

4. MOVE FORWARD. Refuse to let yesterday’s mistake become tomorrow’s excuse. You cannot change what happened, but you can change what happens next.

Here’s the challenge, my friends:

The next time something goes wrong, resist the urge to explain it away. Instead, take a deep breath and ask yourself three questions:

❓ What was MY responsibility?
❓ What can I LEARN from this?
❓ What will I DO differently moving forward?

Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to be a great leader. You just need to model ownership.

Will we use those mistakes as stepping stones to success or bricks to build a house of excuses?

Let’s stop building excuses and start being and building better leaders! 💪

10/16/2026

As a trained educator, I’ve heard — and believed — for a long time that “readers are leaders.”

Why?

The pages of a book can take you places you may never physically go, introduce you to people you’ve never actually met, and impart wisdom you may not find anywhere else.

As John C. Maxwell says, “Most people who decide to grow personally find their first mentors in the pages of books.”

Think about that. You can sit down with a book and learn from someone who has spent decades developing the very skills you want to strengthen. You can learn from their successes, their failures, their experiences, and their wisdom.

What an opportunity!

But here’s the challenge, leader.

Maxwell also teaches that the hardest person to lead is yourself.

It’s easy to identify what someone else needs to improve. They need to communicate better. Work better with others. Develop a growth mindset. Become more disciplined.

But what about YOU?

When was the last time you intentionally invested in your own growth? When did you last read something that challenged your thinking, exposed a blind spot, or forced you to reconsider how you lead?

You cannot consistently lead others beyond the limits of your own growth.

So, leader, what are you reading?

If you’re looking for a place to start, here are five books I’d put on your leadership reading list:

📖 The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership — John C. Maxwell

📖 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen R. Covey

📖 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team — Patrick Lencioni

📖 Leaders Eat Last — Simon Sinek

📖 Dare to Lead — Brené Brown

And remember: reading isn’t the finish line. Applying what you learn is where growth happens. (Read that again.)

Don’t just turn the pages. Let the pages change you.

Your team deserves a leader who is committed to becoming better. And that growth starts with you.

So, here’s my question: What book has made YOU a better leader?

Share your recommendations. We can all learn something from one another!

10/15/2026

Let’s talk about servant leadership.

Isn’t it almost ironic that we have to combine the words servant and leader? Shouldn’t leadership naturally come with a desire to serve others?

Yet we all know that’s not always the case.

Servant leadership isn’t about what you do. It’s about who you are.

It’s character when no one is watching.

It’s humility when you could demand special treatment.

It’s doing the hard things, not just the visible things.

It’s being willing to hold others accountable while holding yourself to the same standard.

It’s putting the growth and success of others ahead of your own need for recognition.

And it’s leading by example. You can’t ask people to do what you’re unwilling to do yourself.

Here’s the thing: Serving others doesn’t mean making everyone happy. Sometimes the most caring thing you can do is have a difficult conversation, set a boundary, or challenge someone to become better.

Because servant leadership isn’t about being needed. It’s about helping others become all they are capable of being.

So, a few questions worth asking ourselves:

❓Why do I do what I do? For recognition, personal gain, or because I genuinely care about others?

❓How do I treat people who have nothing to offer me in return?

❓Am I using my influence to elevate myself or to elevate others?

❓Would the people I lead describe me as someone who serves—or someone who expects to be served?

Leadership isn’t about being the most important person in the room. It’s about recognizing the importance of the people in the room and using your influence to help them succeed.

The greatest measure of our leadership isn’t what we accomplish for ourselves. It’s who becomes better because we led them.

10/12/2026

Jim Collins’ words lead me to begin with a very reflective question: How do you want to be known?

As a person of character? What are you doing to strengthen that character when no one is watching?

As a person who is consistent? Consistent in what? Your attitude? Your effort? Your integrity? Your follow-through?

As a person with a determined work ethic? Always? Even when the work is hard, the recognition is absent, and nobody is checking up on you?

Now…and remember, I’m your friend…what disciplines are you practicing to turn that “wanting” into reality?

Because wanting to be known for something and actually living it are two very different things.

Discipline is the bridge between the two.

It’s choosing to do what matters, even when you don’t feel like it. It’s keeping commitments when they become inconvenient. It’s holding yourself accountable when no one else will.

And leaders, this matters.

Our teams don’t just experience our intentions. They experience our habits. They see what we tolerate, what we prioritize, what we follow through on, and what we let slide.

The daily disciplines we build into our lives pave the way for lasting impact. Their absence can quietly lead us somewhere we never intended to go.

So, here’s the challenge:

Don’t just decide how you want to be known. Decide what you will consistently DO to become that person.

Build the habits. Keep the commitments. Invite accountability. Do the work.

Because eventually, the life you practice becomes the legacy you leave.

What are your habits teaching people about you?