A leader’s success can easily be predicted by how pressure affects performance. But while the pressures that organizations routinely place on leaders can be tremendous, it’s the pressures leaders put on themselves that are often more powerful…and debilitating. Pressures Imposed by the Organization The list of pressures that organizations put on leaders is near-infinite. Here …
When Will You Stop Sabotaging Yourself Like This? Read More »
I was recently reminded of a helpful leadership tool I sometimes recommend – and a number of my my clients continue to use. (If memory serves, I think I got the idea from Tracy Goss’ “The Last Word on Power.”) The big idea is this: Listen for ‘what bosses listen for’ – and then frame …
The Super-Secret Way To Get Your Boss To Listen Better Read More »
Great bosses use their authority to unlock important doors for their staff. Is another department causing problems for your team? Use your authority (by calling who needs to be called) to get things moving in the right direction, again. Is there some sort of roadblock that’s slowing down an important project? Use your authority (by …
Leadership Moves #31: Use Your Authority to Make Good Things Happen Sooner Read More »
Quit pretending you’re perfect – even trying to be is a ridiculous timesink. Excellence versus Perfection Striving for excellence is good. Striving for perfection is not. To help clarify the difference… Striving for excellent is a three step ‘competency plus’ model: What do I need to do to meet the minimum requirements of the assignment? …
Leadership Move #30: Model How To Handle Failure Read More »
To quickly undermine your credibility, as a boss, just mismanage your budget. Routinely spending too much is, obviously, bad. But it’s important you know that spending too little is also problematic. Why? Because routinely striving to come in UNDER budget – an approach that (far too) many leaders take – also proves you’re ill-equipped, or …
Leadership Move #28: Maintain Strong Fiduciary Controls Read More »
Who hasn’t overheard this type of conversation between a boss and employee: Boss: Do this. Employee: Why? Boss: Because I say so. Given this reality, no wonder employee morale and engagement is so often as low as it is! Sure, there are times when a crisis or tight deadline might require extreme employee responsiveness, but …
