This is the second in a series of Play notes about leading well during different times such as this one. “This not that. Here not there. And here’s why…” With daily distractions, project deadlines, and competing priorities, our teams can get unfocused. Add something like a global health challenge and they’ll likely get really scattered. […]
We all struggle from time to time for all sorts of reasons. Though most leaders aren’t trained as therapists, we are all very well trained as humans. Privately, matter-of-factly remarking to a team member that they seem to be struggling then listening without trying to fix or solve is a very good start. In […]
Our job as leaders is to build an environment where others get valuable stuff done together. Our job is made easier when we coach people to become masterful at doing this valuable stuff together. Simple, yes? In your corner, Mike PS: Funny, there’s no mention of having to be the one with the answers, the […]
Never do for another what they can do for themselves. Often we see people dropping the ball and we think, “If you want something done you gotta do it yourself,” or, “It’s just faster if I do it for them.” So, we jump in. We figure things out. We solve the problem. This works for us because the […]
As great leaders, we understand ourselves. We know our strengths, blind spots, and biases. And we consistently grow ourselves. We do all this for three reasons. First, self knowledge and growth are valuable in their own right. Life becomes more and more rich, beautiful, and fulfilling as we learn about and become more of ourselves. Second, […]
When we are concerned whether another person can or will follow through on a task she or he has committed to, we often pick the wrong next questions to ask. We ask, “What happens if they don’t? What’s the risk? What’s the exposure?” And so we tend to jump in, try to control things, or […]
Just for today, let’s use the word ‘strawberry’ to mean a solution, an answer, an idea, or a bit of advice. If the object of our work is to come up with strawberries, we as leaders tend to jump in and give people strawberries. Strange as it may sound, people would rather we didn’t. It […]
Out of concern that things will go wrong, we make ever more complex rules, procedures, and policies. Or, out of concern that rules, procedures, and polices will suffocate our work, we wing it. What we really need to keep our organizations running smoothly are a few rules and some strong coaching. For rules, think of […]
We can tell people what to do (or ask them forcefully) and it can cause them to act or to change their behavior as we had wished. But it won’t work for very long. People may go along with our demands, at first, because we are the authority and because they, like all of us, […]
We leaders (with or without title) have some significant and often unmet needs. We need to know we are making good decisions. We want to work through our thoughts and options. We need an unbiased sounding board. In other words, we need a coach. Without this support, we can feel a little or a lot […]