Article Summaries

A few months ago, I saw an article on Forbes.com titled “15 Surprising Things Productive People Do Differently” written by Kevin Kruse.  It caught my...

This article was published by Barbara Kay a little over a year ago, but it remains relevant today. How do these four classic virtues...

This article is an excerpt from a workshop presented by Jeff Lockert at CCO’s Rise Up Conference in 2019. In 2012, performer Nick Walenda...

I received the call from my father, “Grandpa Henry passed away last night.” While it wasn’t unexpected – he was 94 and I was...

“What do I do in my weekly planning time?” This is a question that often comes up and to which I referenced in my...

Three years ago on November 8, 2012 my son Isaac won the Ultimate Dream Job Competition with his photo submission as part of the Take...

On August 27, 2018, my father-in-law, André (Andy) Charles Cyr died peacefully in his sleep. He was 72 years old. It was a great...

Should virtuous leaders desire greatness or should virtuous leaders seek to be humble? On first consideration, one might think that if leaders seek to...

We have all done it.  We’ve sat down to look up something quickly on the internet and then been sucked into mindlessly scrolling through...

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom – a position created to promote freedom...

There are many common statements in our culture and among people such as, “I’m so busy” or, “I need more balance” or, “I feel...

Will power is essential for any virtuous person and especially for the virtuous leader. The ability to delay gratification, to put off something good...

Early this week, I attended the 10th Annual John Fisher Dinner in Kingston. The St. John Fisher Dinner is an annual fundraising dinner for Catholic...

Bill Hybels gives a great teaching on how to practically move people toward a vision. .

On December 30th at the CCO Rise Up Conference in Vancouver, I interviewed Dr. Monica Langer – a pediatric surgeon and alumnus of CCO...

I was sitting recently with one of our regional leaders who expressed his desire to be more effective at delegation. He was frustrated by...

I regularly seek to learn from leaders who I admire by interviewing them and downloading their experiences. In the first part of a recent conversation...

There are many people who have great ideas and a vision to achieve something. Yet countless times, plans fall by the wayside, visions go...

There are three primary ways that one can learn leadership (See Leaders Must Be Learners): direct personal experience, through the wise counsel of others,...

Planning and goal-setting is something that we all do. Some of us do this a little better than others.  Effective planning and goal setting...

In 1978 country singer Kenny Rogers sang, “You got to know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em…” in his Grammy Award-winning...

The cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude) form a foundation for personal excellence, and are also the foundation for leadership. But for leadership...

  How are you growing as a leader?  In my study and application of leadership over the past two decades I find that there...

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are trying to find a solution to a problem or issue and it seems...

Recently I attended a fundraising dinner for the Archdiocese of Ottawa. A number of CCO staff members were seated with me at the table...

One of my favourite places in the entire world is somewhere many aren’t even aware of. It is the crypt chapel in the Basilica...

One of the most read, most transformative leadership books of modern times is Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In the...

Interview on December 30, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta at the CCO Rise Up Conference.

Why is leadership important to you? There are many broad answers to this question: to renew the world, our country, our culture, our families,...

  We go to school to be educated, but does that really happen? Yes, we attend classes and learn concepts, and there is a...

  There are three primary ways that one can learn leadership (See Leaders Must Be Learners): direct personal experience, through the wise counsel of...

In his book Created for Greatness, Alexandre Havard plunges into two very specific virtues that he believes are essential to leadership: magnanimity and humility....

Recently I was invited to be a guest on the Divine Renovation Podcast. It was an interesting conversation where I unpack the reasons that...

On December 30th, I interviewed Dr. Andrew Bennett, Subdeacon & Cantor at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian-Catholic Shrine in Ottawa and Canada’s first Ambassador for...

Jeff and Renée Lockert spoke about the love, life and challenges found in family at the Prince Albert Diocesan Family Conference.

A few weeks ago I continued my practice of learning from other leaders who I admire by interviewing them and downloading their experiences. I...

There it was on the schedule, February 24th, 2016: an audience with Pope Francis at noon. It was part of a two day conference...

  On October 16, 2017 I spoke with Alex Havard on the CCO Reads Podcast on a wide range of questions including his background,...

What is at the heart of good leadership? Last week I spoke with Dan Freeman on the CCO Reads Podcast on a wide range...

I grew up in Saskatchewan. I was born and raised in Moose Jaw and went to university in Saskatoon. In the summers during my...

When people hear the word “magnanimous”, their first question is usually: “what is that?” The dictionary describes magnanimous as “generous and noble”. The roots...

A few years ago I was in Rome during the Synod on the New Evangelization and I had the opportunity to speak with many...

A few weeks ago I attended a 2-day leadership conference called the Global Leadership Summit. It was a content rich, dynamic two days with...

  A couple of weeks ago both my assistant and I returned from time away on summer vacation. I had been to a wonderful family...

Leaders are Readers! The following are excellent resources for personal and leadership development. Foundational – I recommend these as starter books for anyone beginning...

Last week I attended the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) in Chicago. It was an incredibly enriching time. At the Summit they launched a Smart...

Here’s a great way to improve your time management: take time at the end of every day to “right-size your calendar”. What does this...

One of the words that I use to describe the experience of a great leadership team is: Sobornost. It is actually a Russian word...

Whenever you make a presentation, think about these principles shared by Simon Sinek in his famous TED talk.   .

I want to invite you to take 5 minutes and do some summer reading that will enrich your leadership development. This past week I...

Recently CCO Alumnus Marlena Loughheed wrote a moving article on her decision to leave a successful career in communications to pursue a religious vocation...

One of my favourite places in the entire world is somewhere many aren’t even aware of. It is the crypt chapel in the Basilica...

If you aren’t growing as a leader, you are dying as a leader. So how can a leader assess the areas that they need...

If you aren’t growing as a leader, you are dying as a leader. So how can a leader assess the areas that they need...

Leaders are required to make many decisions to enable their vision and mission to move forward. Sometimes these decisions can be simple and straightforward...

If you aren’t growing as a leader, you are dying as a leader. So how can a leader assess the areas that they need...

  Recently, I have been coaching a number of people in the areas of leadership and personal effectiveness. We’ve discussed a number of areas...

There are three primary ways that one can learn leadership (See Leaders Must Be Learners): direct personal experience, through the wise counsel of others,...

Last year I decided to run a half marathon. That’s 21.1 km – the longest distance I had ever run in my life. But...

Today, October 22nd, we find a unique intersection of three heroes – three men who should serve as inspiration for any virtuous leader.  ...

The challenge we have as leaders is to effectively invest our time. There are so many things that we can be doing, and managing them...

I have spent close to 20 years in the personal and professional study of leadership. And believe me there is a lot written about...

Canadian Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis brings up the topic of virtue as it relates to society and liberty. He makes some interested and...

A few years ago, I created a series of “Character Conversations” around the four Cardinal virtues. When my kids were 12, I would take...

When you look at the people you lead – direct reports, employees, volunteers, people in your organization, movement, community – what do you see?...

I recently attended an event where a presenter relayed a conversation he’d had about leadership. He was in Aman, Jordan where he was invited...

Think of a great person, and consider why they are great. At first you might reflect on things they’ve done or causes that they...

I recently watched an intriguing webinar from VitalSmarts that look at research into personal motivation. Joseph Grenny interviewed Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick, researchers...

In a previous article I wrote about the need to propose a new definition of balance, in order for leaders to be truly able...

At The Global Leadership Summit in 2012, Bill Hybels talks to leaders about how to best manage their work habits.Bill Hybels poses this question...