Life is full of risks. Risk is the chance that something will go wrong – from mere inconvenience to catastrophic loss of life and property. Humans have managed risk pretty well over the millennia. We know that, because we’re still here. Leaders have led teams who have worked to get…
123. How do you get Courage?
Great leaders model courage. They have that ability to overcome fear, and step into danger when needed. Real courage is it’s not an abstract thing. It shows in your actions. Or doesn’t. Courageous leaders inspire trust, with or without fanfare. People follow that. Pretending to be brave doesn’t cut it,…
118. Are you pain tolerant?
Change is a popular topic in the leadership industry. Everybody want to be a change maker. Or at least they want to get credit for successful change… If change is so popular, why aren’t more leaders good at it? Many fail at leading change, not because they make mistakes, but…
117. How do you treat Mistakes?
Great teams make mistakes. Lots of them. What makes teams great isn’t their mistakes but how they treat them. Great teams don’t punish mistakes, or hide mistakes, they use them. Not because they like making mistakes but because they don’t. Teams who punish mistakes make a really basic error. Their…
116. What puts you to sleep?
Great leaders get bored. Any job can get boring and repetitive. Even very senior roles, or in large organizations where there’s a lag between thought, action and results, and lots of organizational process. There’s a thing that good business owners or senior leaders do that is open to you at…
115. Why get off the couch?
Great leaders are all risk takers. Me? I like a good couch. So does my dog. We especially like it when it’s raining or cold outside. We prefer the comfort of staying inside together rather than risk getting uncomfortable. Why is it that inside seems more comfortable when outside is…
98. How Brave are you?
“Change Management” is often described as if it’s like building a wall. One brick put neatly on top of another. “Define the problem” “Implement the solution” etc…“tick the box”. Anyone who has led real change knows it isn’t like that. Real change only looks certain in hindsight. You don’t know…
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…
6. Trial and Error
Everybody wants Innovation If there’s one theme that dominates Leadership writing, its the idea of having the courage to step into new territory, to try something new. If you’re not Innovative you’re not doing the right thing – and you’re definitely not cool. This positioning of Innovation as a “moral…