Bridging the Gap to Your Goals: Building a Span That Lasts
If there is a gap between where we are and where we want to go, often the way across is to construct a bridge. But if you ignore the environment the bridge is built in, you risk spectacular collapse, as the engineers of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge learned in 1940. Whether you are building a […]
Listening Skills for Leaders: 8 Ways to be Sure You Get the Message
Have you ever been in a situation where you had something to say, but people didn’t seem to be listening? How did that make you feel? I’m guessing your response would not include words like “understood,” or “respected.” Listening skills are are often overlooked in leaders and yet are so essential to our ability to […]
Creating Unexpected Wins: Leadership Lessons from “Team Short People”
[Guest Post*] Everyone loves an underdog story, but much of the time, we only perceive the underdogs as such because we are overlooking the strengths that really matter. In the story of David and Goliath, the fact is, much of David’s unexpected win boils down to the fact that his sling was more powerful […]
Influencing Outcomes: 3 Ways to Get the Ending You Want
Can we change opinions by changing expectations? A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seems to think so. He conducted a simple but revealing experiment that speaks volumes about how humans form opinions. Spoiler alert: we are not nearly as independent-minded as we like to think. But that’s good news if you happen to […]
Stage Magic: 3 Ways to Amplify Your Leadership Message
Getting our leadership message across to the team can be a challenge. But as leaders, we can forget that by virtue of our position, we are up on a stage. And like the stage occupied by actors and musicians, there are some great tools available to us, if we’re smart about how we use them. […]
The Secret to Growing Good Tomatoes (and People)
Of plants, tomatoes seemed the most human… – John Updike If what John Updike says of tomatoes is true, my neighbor is reminding me of an important lesson about working with people.
Pulling Together: What it Takes to Build Group Cohesion
When you all pull together, it pulls you all together. What happens if you have two groups of people who don’t like working together? How do you get them to function as one? In a strange experiment over 60 years ago that evokes images of Lord of the Flies, a researcher discovered one very effective […]
Building Bridges: How Leaders Grow Loyalty
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across. – Sun Tzu, Art of War How do you grow loyalty? Consider this story. A marketing specialist was given her first major assignment to test market a new product. She worked on the project diligently, giving it her best effort. But when the results came in, […]
Book Notes – Blue Ocean Strategy: How Leaders Drive Change
Leadership is about influencing people in a specific direction, but sometimes that direction needs to change. A book I just read provides a great framework to figure out when you need to change, and what strategic direction to head. But more importantly, it also provides several effective tools to help us drive change when the […]
Howling at The Moon: One Way to Handle Criticism
It can be tough to handle criticism. As leaders we need to be open and ready to listen to the good, the bad, and the ugly. How we respond to that criticism after listening can take many forms. The story is told of a man out walking with Abraham Lincoln one day.
How to be Decisive: 9 Ways to Make a Decision You Won’t Regret
How can you be decisive if you don’t know what decision to make? Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” That sounds like good advice, but how do you decide which fork to take? Which one will have the greatest payoff? Which will you be least likely […]
The Golden Rule, With a Twist
No written word nor spoken plea, Can teach your team what they should be, Nor all the books on all the shelves, It’s what the leader is himself. – from Wooden on Leadership The most powerful form of leading is personal example. It’s a simple idea. Be the way you want others to be. Do […]
