Are you the “fix it” person? High-performing leaders often fall into a "fixing" cycle. When something goes wrong, they always come to you. And sure enough, you are able to fix it – whatever “it” is. Over time, this creates a toxic dependency. The more you fix, the less others have to. Your reliability effectively masks systemic issues, allowing broken processes and … [Read more...] about Don’t Let Your Reliability be a Liability
Bring Your “A Game” Every Day
One of the promises that I make to students in my courses on the first day of class every semester is that I am going to bring my “A Game” to every class. This is the standard that I set for myself – and I remind myself of this every day. This does not mean that I do a perfect job in every class – far from it. I always have ideas on how I can do better. But I go for it … [Read more...] about Bring Your “A Game” Every Day
How to Show People You Care
Early in my career a few people I respected recommended that I read the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. I was not interested! I didn’t need to “win” friends. I was already good at “making” friends. And the “winning friends” part made me suspicious that the “influencing people” part was about “how to manipulate” people. Not … [Read more...] about How to Show People You Care
Do People Trust You?
What kind of leader do you want to be? The research on trust is very clear. Leaders who are trusted are much more effective. Teams that trust one another are more effective. And organizations in which high levels of trust exist among employees are more effective. This all starts with you as a leader. Can people count on you to be honest with them and to tell … [Read more...] about Do People Trust You?
Is Your Change Effort Ready to Launch?
Leading change is one of the most important – and challenging – senior leadership responsibilities. Unfortunately, research shows that most change efforts fail. While having a “sense of urgency” is widely regarded as important to a successful change effort, ironically – many efforts fail when a change is launched too soon. It takes a wise leader to balance the tension … [Read more...] about Is Your Change Effort Ready to Launch?