What gets attention gets done. What we like, think about, follow, are motivated by. These all help define us, and our lives. They especially help define leaders, and what they’re good at. And what their teams pay attention to. So too, however, does what we’re not interested in. Not just…
65. Where do you stand?
Sporting analogies are used a lot in the Leadership Industry. Teams, coaches, winners, losers, tenacity, grit, inspiration… Most people who follow a team sport can name a great Coach who has led teams to success. There’s one aspect of the “Coach as a Leader” story that’s critical but often missed,…
64. What can we learn from Flowers..?
We can learn from Flowers. But not usually leadership lessons. Here’s one… Flowers are part of a plant’s reproductive process. They’re vital to the creation of new organisms. They’re also temporary. Many flowers come and go over the life of the tree. Cherry blossoms get a lot of attention but…
63. Do you follow the Rules?
Humans invented Rules. Rules were invented to make societies work. Individuals’ actions are limited to enable the group to survive or thrive. Don’t cause harm, don’t steal property, drive on the left. wash your hands before eating. Order drives Progress. Rules also make compliance & power easier to manage, but…
62. What have you done?
Every leader must carry it. The need to Achieve. Not success, though everyone enjoys success. The need to get things done. Achievement isn’t just about targets or deadlines, though these can mark the spot where achievement is gained. Achievement is that inner drive to gets you to the target, the…
61. Not Personality ?
Beware the Personality trap. Personality can get you authority but it won’t help you make better decisions. Popularity or Power can be achieved by managing Perceptions. By Personality. Is the key to leadership in how you interact with others? Empathy, assertiveness, listening, inspiring, or dominating? Maybe it is? If personality…
60. Your Leadership Journey
You may have a job as a leader but that’s not a fixed state. Leadership is not a destination. It’s certainly not a place. Leadership is not a trophy to put on the wall or a badge to wear. Leadership is a journey. It’s an important journey that often starts…
59. Important Work Ahead..
Life is complicated. How we perceive the world is barely understood by scientists. That we perceive anything is some kind of miracle. DNA + upbringing and conditioning help us sort masses of inputs into a picture of the world around us. Our brains take that and tell us what to…
58. Q5: How long do we need?
Routines run the world. What we do every day, every week is what determines our fate, not what we wish we’d do. It’s nice to wish that a problem could be solved quickly but what do we do with those that can’t? Any leader can ask “when will you finish?”,…
57. Q4: Where are we Headed?
Knowing where the team is, is a fundamental responsibility of leadership. Keeping track of progress is a serious task that should occupy a reasonable part of all leaders’ time. But knowing where you are isn’t enough. Knowing whether you hit the target or not, isn’t enough. All Leaders ask “Are…