I once worked in a team that set new priorities every week. Our leader regularly used their weekends to come up with fresh ideas and send out detailed directions, often followed by high energy discussions on Monday morning. Those same directions would often be swamped by new ones the following…
146. Where’s the Mess?
It can be tempting to walk around something that’s not working. Especially if it’s not your something. A broken chair, a dirty bathroom, an argument between colleagues, a project thats late. The funny thing is that a single event, say a waiter drops a plate of food in a restaurant,…
145. Why get organized?
Discipline is boring. That’s exactly why it’s useful. If you only want stimulation and excitement, you won’t get much done. We all have to do boring and repetitive things to stay alive and to prosper. In the end we do the interesting things better because we spend time on the…
144. Is Ego a Problem?
The problem with being accountable is that you might have to accept that you were wrong. Your ego might have to take a hit. Some leaders have a problem with the truth, or accepting they might be the cause of some problems – because their egos are too sensitive. Their…
143. Are you Accountable?
Strong leaders know accountability is a superpower. Not just holding their teams accountable- but focusing first on themselves. Not as a weapon but as a burden they carry. All the time. The impact of accountability is felt most when it’s erratic. Weak leaders pick and choose what they’re accountable for.…
142. Is Balance your Strength?
In the rush and nervous haste of life, we mostly don’t have time to stop and think about what we see. We just react. We look for simple answers, even to complex problems. But simple isn’t always best. Strong leaders don’t follow formulae, they seek balance when it matters. On…
141. How do you know what’s right?
Life is a stream of decisions. Some big, most small. Some slow, most fast. Our ability to judge whether something is good or bad, safe or dangerous, is vital to our survival. As an individual you can rely on instinct and react as quickly or slowly as you like. It…
140. What makes sense?
Some things just don’t go to plan, do they? Especially when you’re tracking progress honestly and not shifting the goal posts. Barriers and walls and delays come up – some external and outside your control, often inside the organization. Maybe some self-imposed. This is normal for effective teams, no pain…
139. Why follow Rules?
Our brains are lazy. They look for any shortcut to answer a problem in the shortest possible time. That’s why seeing patterns in the world is so useful. We predict outcomes based on what we see, so we don’t have to think it through. We stereotype people, or brands, or…
138. Can you face the Truth?
Great leaders are not just willing to speak the truth, they’re willing to accept it. Comfortable or uncomfortable. Truth can be a motherhood statement. Of course we all want it, don’t we ? After all, we’re honest, aren’t we? There’s a reason that insecure leaders avoid uncomfortable truth – if…