Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 2nd edition

Welcome!

This is the second edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter. 

Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.

Read time: 5 minutes

The Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ isn’t just the name of our newsletter – it’s the framework we share to help bosses become courageous leaders.

We believe that Courageous Leadership Matters now more than ever. 

Why?! 

According to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workforce, in the US and Canada:

• Half of the workforce is actively looking for a new job, including managers

• Only about 30% of employees are actively engaged, costing organizations money

• Half of the workforce reports being stressed

• Managers are even more stressed than employees

Part of the problem is that most organizations do not take (adequate) steps to develop their managers.

However, the good news is that leadership can be learned, and most bosses genuinely want to be good leaders.

And, once bosses have been trained in the fundamentals (which we also help with), they can then become the type of courageous leaders people actually want to follow

For practical ideas, check out this PDF:

“The Courageous Leader BLUEprint™” [Download it here]

Disclaimer: Living out this framework may result in some side effects for managers and individual contributors, such as higher retention and increased discretionary efforts. Do not use in moderation, as regular use can result in less irritation, fewer headaches, and improved morale.

At Blue Lion Leadership, we subscribe to the idea that “all leaders are readers”, a quote attributed to and claimed by many, but most likely originally spoken by Harry Truman. 

With over 50,000 leadership books to choose from, where does someone even begin?

And who has time for a long, boring book, anyway?

Don’t worry, we’ve got some great suggestions for books that take the average reader less than four hours.

Three leadership books:

• It’s Your Ship (Abrashoff)

• Lincoln on Leadership (Phillips)

• Make Your Bed (McRaven)
  

Three leadership parables:

• The Way of the Shepherd (Leman & Pentak)

• The One Minute Manager (Blanchard & Johnson)

• The Go-Giver (Burg & Mann)

For additional book suggestions, most of which are much longer – but not boring – visit our website at www.bluelionleadership.com/reading-list   
(We do not receive any affiliate commissions for these book suggestions)

One of the things we consistently hear from leaders is that they are frustrated with team members who are not performing the way leaders want them to.

If this is the case for you, we’d like to share some insights from one of our popular programs: Coaching for Improved Performance and Results*

First, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I know what I want them to do?

2. Do they know WHAT I want them to do?

3. Do they know WHY I want them to do it?

4. Do they know HOW to do it?

5. Are there any organizational barriers preventing them from doing it?

6. Are they receiving regular, appropriate feedback from me?

7. Do they want to do it?

If you answered “no” or “maybe” to any of the above questions, that’s a great place to start!

Some possible solutions:

• Ensure sufficient communication

  • (A lack of communication or poor communication is where most problems start)

• Ensure clarity in communication

• Provide adequate training

• Set specific, measurable goals

• Remove organizational barriers, where possible

• Look for opportunities to coach

• Help team members understand the larger purpose of their work

Are any of these a silver bullet? No!

But if you take a moment to do this brief inventory and then take intentional action, you’ll be much further along than most leaders.

*Blue Lion Leadership is a Dallas-based distributor of Coaching for Improved Performance and Results

Thanks again for continuing on this journey with us.

If you want to be the first to receive the newsletter before we publish it, subscribe here

Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 1st edition

Welcome!

This is the first edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter. 

Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.

Read time: 5 minutes

Before we get too far, a brief introduction:

Hi, I’m Charles! After serving as a police sergeant, I founded Blue Lion Leadership, an organization that helps bosses become leaders – and helps good leaders get even better. 

My mission is simple – help leaders:

• Be the kind of leaders people want to follow

• Deliver organizational results with less stress

• Decrease costly, avoidable workplace casualties

3 fun facts about me you may not know:

• I play classical guitar

• I’m a devoted husband and cat dad

• I prefer long walks in museums over long walks on the beach

To kick things off, we’re sharing a resource: 5 Free Ways to Improve Morale.

The most courageous leaders we know begin with self-reflection. 

I learned this the hard way. 

Whenever I brought a problem to one of my most endeared mentors, he would always begin by asking me, " How are you contributing to this problem?”

What?!

But the truth was, there was ALWAYS something I could do better. This is what accountability as a leader really is: what is within your control to improve the situation?

It was a hard truth, and a lesson I carry with me to this day.

Improving employee morale is something you can absolutely influence. 

For practical ideas, check out this PDF:

“5 Free Ways to Improve Morale” [Download it here]

A word of caution: when used appropriately, it can pay huge dividends.

 Leaders, to the employees who report directly to you, YOU are the culture of the organization.

They may or may not know the mission statement, but that’s not what they talk about on the weekends with their family and friends. They talk about how the workplace culture (that’s you) makes them feel.

William Arthur Ward said:

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you.

Criticize me, and I may not like you.

Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.

Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

Who is someone on your team that needs a word of encouragement from you today?

Thanks again for being part of this with us. 

If you want to be the first to receive the newsletter before we publish it, subscribe here