Guaranteed Bull’s-Eye: How to Put Goal Achievement on Automatic
How can we be sure our efforts will lead to goal achievement? Here’s a unique way one person answered this question, and what we can learn about how to make sure our own efforts result in the goal achievement we hope for.
How to Build Influence: Go From Gofer to Go-To with These 3 Simple Steps
“How do you build influence if you are the low person on the totem pole?” We all have to start somewhere, and usually that somewhere is at the bottom of the heap. So how is it that some people seem to climb higher faster than others? It really comes down to doing three simple things […]
Leadership Interview: 7 Ways to Talk About Leadership Experience When You Don’t Have Any
“In any leadership interview, they are going to ask about your experience. What if you don’t have any?” Everyone has to start somewhere. Moving up in the organizational hierarchy often involves taking on a formal leadership role. But if you haven’t had one before, how do you respond when they ask you about your leadership […]
Team Leadership: 4 Simple Steps to Getting Stuff Done
“Can Team Leadership really be boiled down into four steps?” Leaders are always busy, and whatever we are involved with, things only seem to grow more complicated over time. As complexity grows, it can help to view our roles as leaders in the simplest terms possible. What should we be doing right now? What should […]
Leading Experienced People: How to Overcome 3 Dilemmas That Make it Hard
What is it about leading experienced people that makes it so challenging? They know more than we do. They have been there longer. They already have their ways of doing things. Then we walk in and we’re expected to tell them what to do, and when to do it. We want to produce results sooner […]
Bad vs. Good: Why Does the Bad Seem to Outweigh the Good?
“When it comes to Bad vs. Good, why do bad things get all the attention?” There’s a struggle between good and bad and it’s happening on our teams. The bad news? The “bad” is far more powerful than the “good.” The good news? As leaders, we can use the power of bad for good. Here’s […]
What’s the Difference Between Manager and Leader, and Why Does It Matter?
Why should we care about the difference between manager and leader? I was having coffee with a new friend last week. He had been recently promoted to his first supervisory position. As we talked about the challenges he would face, we found ourselves discussing the differences between a manager and leader. When first given a […]
Seeking Discomfort: 7 Ways to Embrace Uncomfortable Feedback
No one likes to hear that they are not doing well, have weaknesses, or are not measuring up in some way. As leaders it often falls to us to give this kind of feedback to others, and those can be difficult, uncomfortable conversations. But what about receiving critical feedback? Most people aren’t actively seeking discomfort. […]
The Power of Asking Questions: 7 Ways Questions are More Powerful Than Answers
How can asking questions be more powerful than answering them? In the effort to demonstrate our worthiness to lead, often we find ourselves in a hurry to provide answers. People want guidance, direction, and need to understand priorities. But if we’re playing the Shell Answer Man all day, we miss the opportunity to do something […]
Getting Them to Listen: How to Get People to Hear What You are Saying
Why should anyone listen to you? If you’re trying to lead people, one of the first challenges you face might be just getting them to listen. This can be doubly challenging if you happen to be newer to the team or younger than the others. When it comes to getting people’s attention, there’s one thing […]
Refining the Plan: Hamburgers on the Tennis Court?
How do you know if your plan will work? Having a solid plan is one thing; knowing that it will work is something entirely different. In the transition from idea on paper to success in the real world, refining the plan though testing is probably one of the smartest things we can do. And as […]
14 Ways to Make People Feel Important
She started her own business late in life and turned it into a multi-million dollar enterprise. She donated millions to worthy causes. She was once named the most outstanding business woman of the 20th century. Much of her success was the direct result of good old fashioned hard work and determination. But another key to […]
