What is leadership Archives

4 Questions People-Centered Change Leaders Ask

Leadership is about change management. Here is a story about a coach of a football program rich with tradition, and he was not successful. It had nothing to do with him being a good coach, because he has proven he is a great coach – in the right situations. Getting the most out of your talent and leading effectively is about people-centered leadership. In transition, this is even more important, and here are 4 questions to ask and a proven process for navigating that change.

Leadership as a Buffer

Colin Powell shared some leadership lessons with me recently and here is one I took away – sometimes as leaders we need to be a buffer. Being a buffer could be protecting your ‘turf’ and it has a possibility to be so much more. It can have huge benefits to your organization if you do it well. It is the leaders job to be a buffer, and here are 3 tips to make it a way to build a healthier organization.

If you want to go fast, go alone . . .

If you want to go fast, go Alone. If you want to go FAR, go together. All leaders, teams, and organizations will hit the ceiling if they Go Alone. It happens, and moving past it is part attitude and part practice. The entrepreneurial operating system (EOS) is a tool I use to help leaders/teams do that, and here are some key steps to starting the journey. Call it team building and leadership development using your business as the classroom.

Passion and Art: Why does it matter?

The passion of the artist. Where does it fit in the performance equation and how do we find it? Here is the where, and a little bit of the how, but the how is a much bigger conversation. Here are four beliefs about passion and a few tips to shift your perspective about how to seek it.

What do I do?

I connect students to parents and grandparents. What do I do? When there is a purpose, cause, passion around our work – it looks different. Leaders who have it lead differently.

Good Question – Great Question

What if we asked more questions? You might be thinking that you do ask more questions, at least compared to the people around you. Here is some research on kids that I believe applies to adults. Do you really think the graph starts going back up AFTER the age of 18? It comes down to being aware of how our EGO gets in the way and committing to asking GREAT questions vs GOOD questions.

3 Questions that help create a culture that SUPPORTS performance

Is a performance conversation you are having with your own leader, peer, or direct report laced with adjectives and/or emotions? Too often they are, and it clouds the real issues that need to be talked about. Here are some tips for creating a culture that supports performance – whether you are a leader or someone being led.

Read Seth

People who want to be there best find ways to feed their thirst for excellence. For me, Seth Godin is a voice that feeds me. He takes a fancy corporate slogan like Entrepreneurial Spirit and makes it simple, real, and actionable. I have two questions I ask people to see how hungry they are for knowledge and personal excellence – Do you read Seth? and What is your favorite TED talk? Here is a few thoughts for leaders and individuals.

Change – 3 things you can do to lead it from ANY role

Change is not easy, and we make it harder by not being masters and processing it well regardless of how effective our leaders are at managing it. Here are three tips to make you a force for positive change. People that do this are on their way to becoming Linchpins (thanks to Seth Godin for coining that title) in their organizations.

Relationships or Performance?

When relationships matter, process trumps outcome. Leadership does not have to be about relationships or performance, and yet there are circumstances where performance do trump relationships. Great conversations start with a question. Here are some questions to help you think about how you are aligned as a leader.

Jackhammers and Leadership

What was your first leadership lesson? Mine happened when I was 19 and learning how to operate a jackhammer. Here is what I learned, and how it frames my work as a leader, a coach, and even a father. Some thoughts, and a question for you: What are you challenged with today that you have to learn to let the jackhammer do the work? Great conversations start with a question. Lead well and go have one.

Becoming Adaptable

Are you adaptable? Success in business and in life means understanding and managing the changes that approach. Transitions as leaders, parents, spouses, friends are full of moments where the current way of doing things/reacting will not work, and we have to ask ourselves – Are we willing to change? Here are 262 words to process this a little . . .