Feature Stories
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: New Leaders Need to Transition Smoothly
November 30, 2011
In today’s fast paced work environment, leaders transition frequently between organizational roles, company sites, and even among companies. How the leader deals with these transitions predicts the success or failure of the team. I have seen a number of new
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Good Leaders Use Effective Delegation Techniques
November 15, 2011
In my first month as a coal miner, there were many learning opportunities. After I had worked in the mines for one month, I was offered the opportunity to work a weekend shift for time and a half pay. Since
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Leaders Must See Change as Vital Function
November 4, 2011
Shift work in the coal mine was quite a physical challenge for me at eighteen years of age. Prior to working my first midnight shift, I had stayed up all night only a couple of times for high school proms.
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: New Workers Deserve a High Level of Protection
October 19, 2011
I started working in the coal mine in September of 1972 at the age of eighteen. My orientation lasted all of ten minutes. After less than a year of coal mining, I quit to attend my second year of college.
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Leaders Learn Lessons Through Mistakes
October 5, 2011
In my experience, the coal mine supervisor had some leeway when filling out the pay sheets. At times, he could leave a couple of miners underground between shifts to perform a needed job. Other times, miners would be asked to
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Building Teamwork Pays Off in Stressful Situations
September 28, 2011
As a supervisor in an underground coal mine, one of my responsibilities was to limit the mine’s exposure to explosions. A number of federal and state laws were directed at that same purpose. One set of laws had to do
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Safety Shortcuts Are Bad for Business
September 6, 2011
Accidents in the coal mine often occurred at the most unexpected times. I guess that is why they are called accidents! One day on a routine ride to our production section, one of my worst accidents occurred. Two men rode
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Good Leaders Seek & Implement Input from Followers
August 23, 2011
When I was a roof bolter in the coal mine, I once worked for a period of time for a supervisor named Cloyd. Cloyd was a nice enough guy but he had a difficult time accepting advice from his crew
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: Good Leaders Focus on Team, Not Self
August 10, 2011
One of the indications of authority in the coal mine in Ohio was the “buglight.” The proper name of the instrument is the Koehler flame safety lantern. This lantern replaced the cannery as the primary tool for detecting deficiency of
Real Life Mining Stories With Leadership Lessons: High Emotion Often Leads to Extreme Decisions
July 26, 2011
In 1972, two months before my 19th birthday, I joined the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at North American Coal Company’s Number 6 mine. It was a closed shop (all miners were required to join the union) so I
