Leadership
Don’t Let Social Distancing Create More Relational Distance
I hadn’t heard the term “social distancing” until a couple of weeks ago. Now, social distancing is changing the way we work, live, and connect. If early-wave countries like South Korea and Singapore offer any guidance, this trend will be with us for months, perhaps the rest of the year. This pandemic isn’t just a global disruption; for many it’s
The Problem With Solutions
Problems get a bad rap in business. They’re so negative! So much so that in some organizations there are no problems, only euphemistic “opportunities.” Another common refrain employees sometimes hear from their managers is, “don’t bring me a problem without also bringing me a solution.” The intention behind these sentiments is understandable. Problems are easy to call out without taking
The Personal, Evidence-Based Case for Appreciating Others
Most of us aren’t great at appreciating others. Were better at seeing what’s wrong than what someone is doing well. That’s not a surprise; throughout our lives our teachers, coaches, bosses – even our loved ones! – are far more likely to point out our mistakes than our successes. Its natural for us to do the same. In informal polls
Book Summary: Trillion Dollar Coach
I recently read a book about the coaching methods of Silicon Valley’s legendary “Trillion Dollar Coach,” Bill Campbell. Campbell was the behind-the-scenes coach and confidante for the likes of Steve Jobs and many other tech executives, especially those at Google. There he coached the founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page; long-time CEO and Board Chair Eric Schmidt (who is the
The Commitment Ladder (A Short Course in Increasing Employee Engagement)
A mentor of mine, the late Gordy Myers, was a master of organizational change. Over the years he watched leaders create change plans that presumed the people impacted by the change would be on board or get on board quickly. Rather than get dazzled by the plans or the bright future ahead, Gordy was a “commitment” guy. Knowing that change
Listening For Truth From Power
Last month I saw an article about a courageous flight attendant in the UK who noticed ice on the plane’s wings as it began take-off and alerted the pilots at the last moment, potentially saving the lives of everyone aboard. As the article makes clear, what made this act courageous was that the flight attendant spoke “truth to power,” potentially
Do You Undermanage Your Underperformers?
Are You An MbA? What kind of problems keep you awake at night? We’ve asked this question of thousands of managers who have participated in our workshops. After giving them a minute to make their list, we ask them to put a “P” by the problem if it’s a people problem and a “T” by the problem if it’s a