Rapid Deliberation: 7 Ways to Hit the Target While Under Stress
In times of high stress, reacting in haste is a recipe for disaster; what we need is rapid deliberation. In this post we take our cues from Wyatt Earp, and Army paratroopers, and talk about 7 ways to respond with accuracy when the chips are down.
Visualization Techniques: 5 Simple Ways We Can Influence the Future
Can visualization techniques help us see into the future? I think they can. Better, I think they can help us shape that future the way we want it to turn out. Done well, visualization techniques are a great tool for simulating future experiences before they happen so we can influence the outcomes. Here’s one way they helped me just last week, and several ways they can help you.
Dealing With Critics
Any time we venture out of our comfort zones, it can feel like we’re sticking out, vulnerable to criticism. Someone is likely to say something. Here’s how to deal with the criticism when it comes.
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, one leader achieved great feats of endurance and survival to bring his men safely home. […]
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 enough to make us want to quit. Where can we find the strength we need […]
The Ransberger Pivot: How to Win an Argument By Not Arguing
“Do you ever really ‘win’ an argument?” When someone says something that we don’t agree with, our first impulse is often to contradict or correct them. They are wrong. We are right. Then they argue back. The debate becomes heated, personal, and ultimately counterproductive. No minds are changed. If anything, both sides are more deeply […]
Leadership Mistakes: 3 Things to Do When You Really Step In It
What should a leader do when they make a mistake? Nobody likes to “step in it,” but leadership mistakes will happen. What you do when they occur makes all the difference. Do these three things well, and you may end up with a stronger team than you started with.
How to Stay Optimistic: 3 Questions to Ask Before You Give Up
How can you stay optimistic in the face of failure? Failure is a natural part of doing business, of being human, and of attempting to do things you haven’t done before. And when we fail, there’s a natural tendency to want to give up. It’s hard to stay optimistic. But before you pull the plug […]
Keeping Your LeaderShip Afloat: 4 Ways to Get Your Head Above Water
Does it sometimes feel like your attempts at leading are like, oh, I don’t know, paddling a half-submerged pumpkin down a river? Last weekend I had the privilege of watching people attempt to do exactly that. Join me for a video of what happened, and some thoughts about how to keep your LeaderShip afloat, even […]
Pulling Together: What it Takes to Build Group Cohesion
When you all pull together, it pulls you all together. What happens if you have two groups of people who don’t like working together? How do you get them to function as one? In a strange experiment over 60 years ago that evokes images of Lord of the Flies, a researcher discovered one very effective […]
Howling at The Moon: One Way to Handle Criticism
It can be tough to handle criticism. As leaders we need to be open and ready to listen to the good, the bad, and the ugly. How we respond to that criticism after listening can take many forms. The story is told of a man out walking with Abraham Lincoln one day.
Independence Day: 7 Ways to Defuse Conflict and Assert Your Freedom
Do our reflexive reactions cause unnecessary fireworks? Conflict is inevitable in any human enterprise; how we handle that conflict is where leadership comes in. Too often we seem bound to react instinctively: voices rise, pressure grows, and soon it’s fireworks like the 4th of July. But to lead effectively requires us to cast off the […]