Alden’s Latest Thinking
Is Your Team Unstoppable or Just Available?
Here’s a question for you: do you think leading a team of volunteers is different from leading a team of employees (who get paid to work) or a team of Navy SEALs? Before you answer, think about how you would treat volunteers—people who have decided to give up free...
Expand the Definition of Team to Enlarge Your Circle of Influence
No team can do it alone, whether you’re conducting a mission or creating new products. In fact, when a team authentically proves how much they care about other people, they experience an exponential return on their efforts, which I call the 10x advantage. Unstoppable...
Educate and Empower Teammates for Bigger Leadership Roles
Whether you’re a recording artist or high-tech entrepreneur, having a one-hit-wonder is great, but repeating it is even better. If the Perfect Pushup had been an album, it would have received multiple platinum awards within its first year. And, over the next eight...
Respect: Acting Like You Mean It
Being the boss, having an impressive title, and sitting at the top of the organizational chart will gain you only a thin veneer of respect from the members of your team. If your actions do not support your position of authority, you will be ineffective as a leader. If...
Respect: What Goes Around Comes Around
Respect—from within the team and for the team—must be earned. The goal of Respect is contribution—where all team members willingly contribute their best efforts and new ideas. Earning it is the right thing to do for its own sake, but it also has a deep impact on a...
The 3 Lines of Leadership
Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. It's not because of the fireworks, family time or fun in the sun—of course, all those add to it. The real reason I love the Fourth is what it represents: a little start-up nation breaking away from tradition to build...
Men’s Health: Superhero Shred! All-New No-Gear Workouts
Check out my favorite summer workout that requires NO equipment! More on MensHealth.com
Using the Triangulation Technique to Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses
In my previous post, “7 Traits of Unstoppable Teammates,” I talked about how no one person can do it all. Your job as a team builder and leader is to develop a team that embodies these seven traits, to direct the team’s focus, and to set an example of the behaviors...
The Five Leadership Actions to Achieve Results
Teams exist for one reason: to achieve results. So many people confuse a group, club, or a gathering of people with a fully realized team. However, getting a group of people together is only the first step in the process (See my Seven Traits of Unstoppable Teammates)....
Three Ways to Connect with People
It doesn’t matter whether you’re coaching basketball teams, leading SEAL Teams, or building corporate teams; all teams are built on relationships. A team builder’s role is to be a relationship builder, which requires learning how to connect with people mentally and...
