Checking Your Work: 7 Simple Questions Smart Leaders Ask
The secret to making good decisions and leading effectively lies in the ability to ask simple questions. here are seven to get you started.
Get Curious! How to Overcome Adversity with Two Simple Words
There’s no shortage of ways our plans can run off the rails; one sure way to get them back on track can be summed up in two words: Get Curious. Here’s how it works.
Lines for Leaders: What do You Think?
To lead effectively we need to be able to think clearly; here’s what one highly accomplished author said about how she learned to think with clarity.
Plans are Worthless: Why We Should Plan Anyway
Eisenhower told a roomfull of military planners that “plans are worthless.” Here’s what he meant and how understanding his intent can help us face the next emergency.
Planning to Be Lucky: Are We Betting on the Wrong Thing?
Can we really plan to be lucky? He said, “Luck is the residue of design.” Who was it, and what did he mean? And more importantly, how can we put his idea to work so that the lucky breaks come when we roll the dice? All that and more in this edition of Lines for […]
Team Leadership: 4 Simple Steps to Getting Stuff Done
“Can Team Leadership really be boiled down into four steps?” Leaders are always busy, and whatever we are involved with, things only seem to grow more complicated over time. As complexity grows, it can help to view our roles as leaders in the simplest terms possible. What should we be doing right now? What should […]
15 Pretty Good Virtual Team Building Ideas
What kind of virtual team building can I do with my distributed team? We all know that teamwork is critical to getting things done through people. Building cohesive teams is already a challenge when everybody is face to face. But developing trust, communicating well, collaborating readily, and problem-solving effectively become all the more difficult when […]
Problem Solving Steps: 3 Steps to Take Before You Take Any Steps
Is the first problem solving step really ‘Identify the Problem?’ If you’ve ever watched someone who is tired or emotional struggling to solve a problem, you know that somebody forgot a step in the problem solving process. People can get so wrapped up in the problem of having a problem that they can’t think straight, […]
Sharpen Your Thinking: 25 Ways to Hone Your Thinking Skills
Leaders should be independant thinkers. Whether you are trying to develop a vision statement, solve a problem at work, or influence the team, leaders have to think about where they are going and how they are going to get there. The good news is that thinking is a skill, and it’s one that we can […]
Creating Unexpected Wins: Leadership Lessons from “Team Short People”
[Guest Post*] Everyone loves an underdog story, but much of the time, we only perceive the underdogs as such because we are overlooking the strengths that really matter. In the story of David and Goliath, the fact is, much of David’s unexpected win boils down to the fact that his sling was more powerful […]
Why You Should Value the Nonconformist
I’m not paying you to agree with me. I’m paying you to think. That’s Colin Powell’s approach to leadership. When it’s time for planning and problem-solving, the best leaders aren’t looking for unity and agreement. They want the opposite. They want dialogue, a clash of ideas. It’s not the time to get comfortable. It’s the […]
The Stink Test: Why Leaders Need to Listen to Their Noses
During a long trek deep in the woods, we were faced with a mini-crisis that could have ruined the trip. But by applying the “Stink Test” we averted disaster and finished the hike as intended. Here’s what the “Stink Test” is, and how you can use it to make smart decisions as a leader.