We Need Leaders Who Are Realistically Unrealistic
To get things done well, we need to be realistic. We need to understand and rely on concrete things such as priorities, constraints, people’s talents …
Leading
Tips and Insights about influencing people toward shared goals.
We Have To Call Them On This Stuff
Social conventions tell us not to say anything when we witness less-than-effective (or worse!) behaviors such as BS, bad-taste jokes, drama, or poor treatment of …
In A World…
…of insanity, you are the antidote. Sit amidst the uncertainty. Bring the calm and perspective. Ask the deeper questions. Set the tone. Be the leader …
What it Means to be Professional
We think being professional includes remaining detached and objective. Only this way, the thinking goes, can professionals exhibit their technical competence and do their job. …
Choose the Story
The story we tell drives our results. Tell a story of how rough it is, how terrible they are, how blah blah blah and our …
The Siren Songs That Tempt Every Leader
Trying to figure it all out and get it all done are the siren songs of leadership. They snare us every time. We can avoid …
Better Ask
A leader once met a sage. The leader said, “It’s so hard to get people to do stuff at work. I’ve tried pushing, asking, being …
Praise Early, Praise Often
We have also been taught not to praise. Maybe it’s supposed to spoil people or something. Regardless, we don’t do it enough. Praise, done well, …
How Vulnerable Are You?
Vulnerability, intimacy, caring, and emotional risk. Mostly we’ve learned to avoid these at work. But, adopted with care, these become our power tools. They build …
Don’t Try To Fix It
We have been trained to believe that we have to fix what’s wrong. Nah. Don’t try to fix it. It’s waaaaay faster to grow what’s …