Change and improvement are two words that are often used interchangeably. But is change really a synonym for improvement? And vise versa? Let’s face it, change has earned a bad reputation in recent years. Many of us have had to endure change for change’s sake each time a new leader takes the helm of an [...]
Every now and then I sit through the credits at the end of a movie. The list seems endless with credit given to anyone and everyone who possibly contributed to the film. From the leading actor to the truck drivers and foley clappers, everyone gets their name up on the big screen. While we all [...]
Fear is one of our most primal emotions. It helped our cave-swelling brethren survive – and they presumably passed on their successful genetics to us. Unfortunately, that hard-wired emotion of fear is still with us millions of year later. Fear is a leading cause of procrastination. Seth Godin argues in his book Tribes that it is often the fear of [...]
It’s said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Leaders should heed this advice when they are developing their teams. A team is nothing more than a collection of individuals. And each individual brings a unique set of skills and competencies to the job. As Aristotle said, the whole is greater [...]
No leader ever sets out to deliberately do a bad job. But sometimes a leader is given the task of having to fix someone else’s bad job. This can be a daunting task especially if the damage and toxicity caused by the previous leadership has become a core element in the team’s culture. That said, [...]
Some people find themselves in leadership roles quite by accident. Someone quits or retires and overnight you are thrust into a leadership role. Maybe, after the latest restructuring, you are the last man (or woman) standing. Or, worse, you find out its simply your turn to be leader. Conversely, I often wonder whether people choose [...]
The burning platform metaphor is often used to make a compelling case for change. The argument is that resistance to change is not an option and change must be implemented urgently to ensure the very survival of the organization. There are a a lot of problems with the burning platform. First and foremost, it’s overused and [...]
There is a difference between thinking you are a leader – and actually being a leader. Many of us have had the misfortune of having to deal with people who think they are leaders. There is the “Phantom Leader” who is there on paper but is, for all intents and purposes, invisible. The result is [...]
Real leaders know that sometimes we have to roll up our collective sleeves to solve a problem. Whether we caused the problem or not. We pitch in, share accountability and deal with the issue. Seth Godin in his book Linchpin talks about Matt Dayton, a nordic skier in the 2002 Winter Olympics. According to Dayton, the winner [...]
The Christmas season is a perfect time to take stock about our work as leaders. A lot of us are spending time a few days with family and friends before heading back to work. And a lot of us are going to head back into what could be best described as overstressed organizations. Overstressed organizations [...]