Author: mrhensonllc

What does it mean to persist?  Is persistence a good quality to have as a leader?  Is there a “dark side” to persistence that a leader needs to avoid? Dictionary.com defines the verb persist as “to continue steadfastly or firmly in some state, purpose, course of action, or the like, especially in spite of opposition, […]

In the spirit of full disclosure, the answer to the question posed in the title came from a child I know.  That was their spirited reaction to any direction they didn’t agree with.  To the Type-A leader, or Alpha-Leader, there is a similar reaction.  Leaders want to lead.  Many leaders have very large egos.  Some […]

I give up – I refuse to do another New Year’s resolution!  I don’t have any for 2022, and I don’t plan on ever doing one again.  It’s February, and I’ve just finished my first draft of my personal goals for the year.  None of the goals resembles a resolution.  You might be thinking – […]

Leaders must be able to deal with adversity readily.  In my opinion, adversity is like a forge. The forging process is essentially the art of heating and working hot metal into shape.  By working the metal in this way, it increases many of the metal properties, including structure.  Leaders are strengthened and shaped by going […]

Recently, I wrote a post on what I gained from an extended visit with my 91-year-old father (https://mrhensonllc.com/time-with-dad/).  That time, as well as my ongoing visits and phone conversations with Dad, got me thinking about what leadership lessons I learned from Dad. My Dad made the leap from individual contributor (Drilling Mud Engineer) to manager […]

The 2021 hurricane season ended at the close of November.  Each hurricane season since 2005 has reminded me of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the U.S. Gulf Coast on August 29th of that year.  We (my wife and I) were living in California at the time.  It was surreal watching from afar.  We had plenty of […]

One of my favorite leadership sayings it “The leader sets the tone.”  How does a leader set the tone and environment for his/her employees to be motivated to succeed?  I’d like to share with you a story as well as the lessons I learned from this situation. During a lot of my career at Chevron, […]

I can’t remember where I heard the expression, but I do remember my parents telling me to be careful about pointing my finger.  The reason they told me to be careful is that when I point my finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at me! Additionally, my favorite leadership author, John […]

This last Thursday was Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.  As I started preparing for this holiday, I thought I should do the holiday right and remember all that I have in my life to be thankful for.  It’s a shame that we don’t often reflect on the many blessings we have in our lives except […]

I have heard it said that leading a non-profit is easy.  My experience is the exact opposite.  I firmly believe that if you can motivate and lead people who have no economic reason to follow you (like getting a paycheck), you can lead anyone.  As I’ve stated before, I’m a man of faith.  I’ve been […]