ALL POSTS
Leading Experienced People: How to Overcome 3 Dilemmas That Make it Hard
What is it about leading experienced people that makes it so challenging? They know more than we do. They have been there longer. They already have their ways of doing things. Then we walk in and we’re expected to tell
Bad vs. Good: Why Does the Bad Seem to Outweigh the Good?
“When it comes to Bad vs. Good, why do bad things get all the attention?” There’s a struggle between good and bad and it’s happening on our teams. The bad news? The “bad” is far more powerful than the “good.”
What’s the Difference Between Manager and Leader, and Why Does It Matter?
Why should we care about the difference between manager and leader? I was having coffee with a new friend last week. He had been recently promoted to his first supervisory position. As we talked about the challenges he would face,
Seeking Discomfort: 7 Ways to Embrace Uncomfortable Feedback
No one likes to hear that they are not doing well, have weaknesses, or are not measuring up in some way. As leaders it often falls to us to give this kind of feedback to others, and those can be
The Power of Asking Questions: 7 Ways Questions are More Powerful Than Answers
How can asking questions be more powerful than answering them? In the effort to demonstrate our worthiness to lead, often we find ourselves in a hurry to provide answers. People want guidance, direction, and need to understand priorities. But if
Getting Them to Listen: How to Get People to Hear What You are Saying
Why should anyone listen to you? If you’re trying to lead people, one of the first challenges you face might be just getting them to listen. This can be doubly challenging if you happen to be newer to the team
Refining the Plan: Hamburgers on the Tennis Court?
How do you know if your plan will work? Having a solid plan is one thing; knowing that it will work is something entirely different. In the transition from idea on paper to success in the real world, refining the
14 Ways to Make People Feel Important
She started her own business late in life and turned it into a multi-million dollar enterprise. She donated millions to worthy causes. She was once named the most outstanding business woman of the 20th century. Much of her success was
Leading When Things Go Wrong: Playing Soccer on the Ice
What do you do when things go wrong? Leading can seem fun and easy when things are going our way, but it’s when things go wrong that true leaders emerge. In this example from an Antarctic expedition gone disastrously wrong,
Could Your Incentive System Be Hindering Performance?
What if that carrot we offer actually slows them down? In the effort to motivate our teammates, we are quick to offer carrots we think will incentivize them to greater efforts. But as this story of the Soviet Union’s most
The Leader’s Triple-A Club: How to Navigate the Hazardous Highways of Leadership
Not long ago, my son called me from Oregon. He was driving some friends to the airport when his car suddenly quit and wouldn’t restart. Beyond attempting to diagnose the problem over the phone, there was little I could do
Running 50 Miles: 6 Lessons in Perseverance
What’s it like to run an Ultra-Marathon, and how do you motivate yourself to finish any great challenge? Today’s post will be a little different. In 2014, the year I turned 50, I somehow came to the notion that I
Unstoppable: 12 Ways to Find the Courage to Continue
“How do you find the courage to continue?” Teddy Roosevelt once reminded us that “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.” But in our struggles to achieve, that difficulty can be
The After Action Review: A Leader’s Guide
How do you improve your team with an After Action Review? The After Action Review (AAR) is a deceptively simple yet powerful way to stimulate the growth and performance of any group of people. As an organizational learning tool it
Who’s in Your Canoe? 5 Things to Consider When Building a New Team
I’m building a new team; who should be on it? Often we just inherit the teams we lead, but occasionally we have the opportunity to build a new team from scratch. How do you know who to pick? Here
