“How long have you known each other?” What seemed like a simple question to me generated some interesting looks during a recent meeting I was in with a client. (An anonymized client, of course, to maintain confidentiality.) I was talking with the leadership team of a small, but operationally complex business. And they didn’t really …
Better Communication Starts with Better Understanding Read More »
Ariel, a first-time supervisor, has big problems with her team dynamics and she doesn’t even know it. She can’t see what’s really going on with Monica and the rest of the people on her team, and it’s costing her time, money, and trust. Favoritism, as Monica said she was experiencing, will do that. That’s where …
What Team “Favoritism” Often Reveals Beneath the Surface Read More »
Imagine you’re Ariel, leading a team for the first time. You’ve been an individual contributor your entire career and you just got that promotion you’ve been working hard for. Congratulations! Welcome to being a supervisor…and to tricky situations like this one involving Monica, your direct report. What Do I Do with This? Monica was recently …
I remember standing in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the summer of 1996, listening to our tour guide, George. You’d think that the most vivid memory I have from that experience would be George’s explanation of the world-shaking protests that occurred there just a few years earlier. But it’s not. George was doing an outstanding …
The Search for the Expert What’s your approach when you’re trying to learn something new?I tend to start looking for “the expert.” The person who’s done it longer.The person with more experience.The person who knows what they’re doing. So far, so good. I’m on the right path.But then I start veering toward a trap. I …
Who Can You Learn From? More People Than You Think. Read More »
I was walking our dogs this week, listening to one of my favorite podcasts, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, and got pretty annoyed. Annoyed in the convicted sort of way. Pat, Cody, and a guest were talking about stress and how people with each of the six types of Working Geniuses respond in …
Do you ever wish you had a time machine so you could go back and do things differently as a leader? Last week I found myself wanting to climb into Marty McFly’s DeLorean. I was thinking about accountability and remembered a situation I would approach differently if I had the chance. The Conversation I Didn’t …
The Conversation I Didn’t Have (And What It Taught Me About Accountability) Read More »
On Friday, I had a conversation with a good friend who’s going to retire soon. She’s waiting, but not in the way you might expect. I’m curious how you’d answer this question:Do good leaders wait? My friend is. But she’s not waiting like some people do when they’re near that retirement date they’ve been working …
My dad had a poster hanging on the arched wall in the tiny bathroom of his Quonset hut blacksmith and welding shop where I grew up working.I saw it several times a day. And it taught me something important about assigning work to people. I don’t know where it came from, but there’s a pretty …
A Leadership Trap Almost Every Manager Falls Into Read More »
You’ve probably been given some bad leadership training somewhere along the way. In fact, you may have been taught one of the most common leadership ideas in business: A leader’s job is to help people improve their weaknesses. It sounds reasonable. But it’s one of the most damaging assumptions leaders carry with them. Here’s how …
Your Team’s Weaknesses are NOT Problems to be Solved Read More »