The world is made of somebody’s work Leadership isn’t an abstract topic, it’s a contact sport. Contact between what the leader thinks and does, and what those in the team think & do. Between what you think and what they do… If you’re not making contact are you leading, or…
86. Are you Decisive ?
“More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind…” Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman, 106-43BC Leaders are paid to make decisions. How they make them matters. An indecisive leader isn’t just slow, they’re uncertain, and likely uncommitted. Maybe afraid of…
85. What’s your real Mission?
Everyone has at least 2 Missions. Their team’s mission and their own. The one they talk about and the one they don’t. It could be that your own is so deep that you don’t know it’s there. Or don’t want to admit it’s there. Less like an elephant in the…
84. What catches your eye?
Doing something you like is easy. Leadership requires spending time on things you don’t like. That means as a leader you need to be very aware of what you like and what you don’t. What games can you play to ensure you pay attention to what’s important but isn’t attractive?…
83. Do you follow rules?
Whatever you think of the NBA or Netball Australia’s different handling of their players’ and sponsors concerns, you have to admit that both were big Leadership tests. And maybe be grateful that you didn’t have to decide for either… Making decisions based on principles or values is a good thing,…
82. Be careful what you pay attention to.
You can tell a lot about an organization by the quality of the leaders it appoints. Did you ever appoint someone to a role who failed badly? Did you ever have an incompetent peer or boss and wonder how they got promoted? Did you ever fail in a role you…
81. Are you an imitator?
A rabbit’s owners wanted it to help them. So they convinced the rabbit to copy how they buy food from the local supermarket. It did well. It could put items in the trolley, go to the checkout, pay, and even carry them home. Sadly the rabbit wasn’t much help to…
80. Are you a survivor?
The world is a tough place. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we all try hard to survive – physically and emotionally. If you’re not conscious of staying alive, you’re privileged. Or maybe naïve. Survival as a leader might not involve physical safety but does include success, or maintaining…
79. The Agile contradiction
We all want to be Agile. Why not? Who doesn’t want to be flexible, fast & responsive? If you value flexibility & speed, why not apply it to everything? Create a new silver bullet and give it a name. Call it “Agile”. The trouble is that righteous adjectives can become…
78. The choice to Lead.
It’s true that citizens don’t choose royalty but they do choose their elected politicians. The twist comes on the question of choice. A modern monarch doesn’t choose to lead us any more than we choose them, while elected leaders choose themselves! All leaders who are selected or elected make an…