Because they (and you and I) are wired to seek delight, growth, and freedom. How is doing what we say they should do at all in line with that wiring? “But we’re paying them to do their jobs. Isn’t that good enough?” we might ask. All the evidence says, “Nope. Certainly not these days.” And […]
“I have to know or figure it out. Others will judge. I have to make it happen.” Hmmm. “I don’t know how it is going to happen. I don’t need to know, really. Others will help. I am excited to see how it all works out.” We think the former will work but it actually […]
If we generally expect people to act poorly or well, they generally will. In your corner, Mike PS: So where do you want to place your bets? Today’s photo credit: rachel_titiriga Expectation via photopin (license)
When choosing whether to do something ourselves or to give it to a keen but possibly inexpert team member, we’re almost always better off it we err towards them doing it. Once they learn, we are free to tackle the valuable things that we couldn’t get to because we were busy doing their stuff. […]
Our emotions dramatically influence others. Negative emotions push people away, put them on the defensive, and make it harder for them to do their jobs. Positive emotions invite them closer, inspire them, and make getting stuff done so much easier. So we must tread extremely carefully when we notice that other people’s behaviors may delay […]
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 the rocks of micromanagement and the shoals of overwrought strategy by leading instead of deciding or doing. We have more than enough to do as captain of the ship. Our […]
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 hard, and being soft. We’ve talked about vision, roles, and targets. I’ve corrected them and given them perks and incentives. Sometimes I’ll see small bumps in productivity but nothing gets […]
We can give consequences so that people don’t screw up. “If you don’t complete this by Friday, we might as well kiss the Fortuna deal goodbye!” Or, “We really need to cut this check now or it’ll delay the project.” Threats like this can work in the short term. But they will damage trust and […]
A great leadership adage goes, “If I tell you, I still own it. If you tell me, you own it.” If we as leaders say, “Get this done by Wednesday,” then they can feel very justified in thinking, “No way; can’t be done. Or it’ll be done poorly. You just don’t understand reality.” On the […]
If we ask, “How do I get them to do this thing I want them to do?” we’ll be asking the wrong question. The right questions are, “What do they deep down want? And how can what I/we do/want help them get there?” This is true always, regardless of who they are, what they want, […]