3 Powerful Communication Questions
Everyone reading this post would be a millionaire if they collected one dollar every time they heard someone mutter, “we need to communicate better.” What, exactly, does that look like? While the questions that follow do not solve every communication problem, they solve about 95% of them. Memorize them and put them into action: What […]
The Ultimate Growth Question
John Maxwell is known to ask his team members, “What are my blind spots?” Think about that: Maxwell has written numerous best-selling books about leadership, and is arguably one of the most well-known speakers on the topic of leadership. Yet, he still wants to get better by hearing from others about his blind spots. This […]
Staying Interviews
Forget exit interviews. What are you going to learn? “You need to improve.” Shocking! You did yesterday, you do today, and you will tomorrow. Leaders should notice patterns however: If people reporting to the same boss keep leaving, it is obvious you have a problem. Why don’t you ask the people staying what they are […]
Special Post: WHOOP and COVID-19
WHOOP exists “to unlock human performance. We believe that every individual has an inner potential that they can tap into if they can better understand their body and their behaviors. … We summarize your sleep, your recovery and your strain, and we look at everything through that lens.” (Author’s note, I changed the personal pronouns […]
Where Are You Looking?
Author’s Note: Today launches a new series I am calling Summer Shorts: Leadership Insights in 100 words or less. I will run this through the beginning of September. A leader is someone that looks outside the organization and surveys the horizon. This allows them to set the pace, and for others to follow. Given the […]
Necessary Endings
(Author’s note – I wrote this post in early February and delayed posting it due to COVID-19 and more time-relevant posts) Should Tom Brady leave the New England Patriots? While in some ways sports differs from business organizations, here are three reasons to embrace necessary endings. Necessary endings allow for upward mobility in an organization. […]
Why Wait?
Do you ever experience regret? Unless you are not human, of course you do. And so do I… Regret often occurs from the failure to do something that you intend to do. It is obviously much deeper than this, but in the context of “social distancing,” it feels timely to think of regret in this […]
One Rarely Discussed Problem with Multitasking
I have been using COVID-19 to make observations about myself in an attempt to grow as a leader and I encourage you to do the same. Today’s post originates from one such observation. I have noticed that I am constantly “doing” multiple things at the same time. Many, if not most, of these things are […]
I Do Not Know…
Growing up in suburban Chicago I had the mistaken notion that racism was a thing of the past. When a long-term friendship with someone from a different race morphed into a dating relationship, I learned how mistaken this notion was. The first time we walked into a restaurant as a couple, people glared at us. […]
Planning Vs. Preparing
No one could have adequately planned for COVID-19. Not only did it come unannounced, it has changed things at such a rapid pace that what you thought you knew yesterday is outdated by the time you drink your morning’s coffee the next day. This is a crisis, which means you cannot plan for it. But […]