How to Go From “Tell Me What to Do” To “I’ll Take It From Here”
One of the biggest struggles for developing leaders is getting things done. It's easy to think that productivity comes down to motivation, discipline, or other "x-factors", but even the most motivated managers struggle to achieve if they don't feel confident in how...
Why Even Good Leaders Stop Growing
Aside from its alliterative appeal, the Peter Principle makes a basic kind of sense - any skilled employee is destined to be repeatedly promoted until they surpass their level of competence. Most people "get" the Peter Principle because everyone can recall working...
Three Leadership Lessons to Take From the Basecamp Fiasco
If you're looking for leadership case studies in real life situations, you won't find many richer than what played out at Basecamp this week. If you're not familiar, I'd encourage you to read Jason Fried's announcement and Casey Newton's article about the...
It’s Time To Rethink How We Use Meetings at Work
Everyone wants fewer meetings - they're inefficient, lack consistent structure, and waste valuable time. In the extreme, our days are full of other people's priorities, leaving us toiling into the early evening to catch up. Meetings are where we do our worst work....
How to Ace Your Job Interview (by Doing The One Thing People Overlook)
How do you convince someone you deserve a job you've never done before? This question has plagued college graduates and career-changers, who have learned to expect a polite "we're looking for someone with more experience". How can anyone get experience if no one gives...
Should Leaders Care How Employees Behave in Their Personal Lives?
Consider a hypothetical situation: you're in a neighborhood convenience store over the weekend and happen to see one of your employees. They don't notice you but you overhear them, in the midst of an argument with the cashier, use a racial slur. You intervene,...
The Only Motivation “Hack” That Works on Everyone
The biggest mistake leaders make when trying to motivate their employees is thinking that motivation comes from carrots and sticks. Real motivation is internal and the only sustainable way to get real motivation from your team comes from helping them find purpose in...
A Scene From “The Crown” Every Leader Should Study
The Crown is my favorite show on television. Netflix's prestige drama has created a moving drama inspired by the lives Queen Elizabeth and her family, and like all great dramas, it has the best characters - fully realized in their strengths and shadows. The Crown...
How to Build Leadership Skills When You’re Not in Management
One of the biggest challenges for developing professionals is building leadership qualities. Most young leaders never make it out of this phase, believing that wanting to be a leader is a fair substitute for behaving like a leader. These same people assume leadership...
How To Tell Your Coworker They’re Frustrating (and have them thank you for it)
Everyone has a story about working with someone incapable, inconsiderate, or otherwise impossible. Unfortunately, we don't get to reshuffle the cards just because we don't like the hand we're dealt. And while we can't choose our coworkers, what we can choose is how we...
The Three Types of Listening (and how knowing the difference can make you a better leader)
I've written frequently about listening. As a leader, working closely with other people means being responsive to the preferences of others, how they work, and what motivates them. Consistently, the best way to learn these things is to listen effectively - being...
How to be a supportive boss without burning yourself out
When you manage others, it's easy to get spread too thin. Our compassion and desire to be good leaders causes us to sacrifice our mental and emotional well-being in service of our employees. Employee problems become our problems and, over time, employees learn to...
The best way to lead others is to learn to lead yourself
Leaders get the teams they deserve. Our teams are reflections of us - our strengths are their strengths, and so are our weaknesses. But when seeing these weaknesses reflected back at us, we often fail to understand their origins; we accuse our employees of lacking...
The only way to start a hard conversation
Have you avoided a hard conversation recently? If so, I wouldn't blame you. No one's really any good at them. It's one of those things you hope to be "not terrible" at. Even the best leaders struggle when confronted with opposing opinions, strong emotions, and high...
A better way to motivate employees
Leaders rely on their teams not just to get the job done but to get it done with excellence. This means having motivated, driven employees who don't need micromanaging for great results. Unfortunately, no one gets high-performing employees handed to them. They're...
How to address Black Lives Matter (or any sensitive topic) with your employees
"I'm worried I'll say the wrong thing." I've heard this statement a lot recently, as the national conversation on race has entered the workplace, following the killing of George Floyd and companies taking to social media to express solidarity with the protests across...
How to be great at coaching employees (and why so many leaders fail)
The Karate Kid Coaching employees is hard because every employee is different. They’re motivated by different things, have contrasting skills, and respond to feedback differently. Ignore this uniqueness and you end up with rigid standards that poorly match your team....
How to overcome that “I don’t belong here” feeling as a leader
Every day, many people head into work feeling like fakes - anxious about their age, lack of experience, or that stupid thing they said yesterday. They give too much credence to that internal voice that says “you’re hopeless, why do you even try?” Sure, they know it’s...