The best leadership books aren’t about leaders. Especially if they’re about the author. “What I did to be successful or rich” will likely feed their ego but not you. It’s not that there’s nothing to learn from Richard Branson or Bill Gates or Elon Musk. It’s just that the chances…
70. Are you a Remote Leader?
You’ve started a new job in a new organization. You can’t go to your workplace. Every interaction with your peers and your leaders is online. What are you missing? You are a sales representative who’s job is to convince customers to buy your company’s products. You can’t visit them face…
69. Are you lost?
As a teenager I did a lot of hiking. I learnt a rule that I thought might save my life. The rule was: if you’re lost in the wilderness, head downhill. The idea was that eventually you’ll find a watercourse which will cross a road or lead to where people…
68. Are you an Operator or a Strategist?
I once worked with a cleaner who helped his factory achieve great success. He used a pattern of cleaning across a factory that targeted the critical hygiene areas and times of day when they were accessible. The factory shined thanks to him. Visitors remarked on it and Quality was helped…
67. Why do we fail?
Why is it hard to pick winners from losers in a job interview? Why do some plausible and seemingly capable leaders fail catastrophically? There’s a surprisingly fine line between failure and success and it’s hard to see. Especially if you only look quickly. Bad behaviors are easy to see at…
66. Are you paying attention?
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…