Insights: Communication
Don’t Climb Alone
I recently wrote about an experience I had trekking in Nepal and how its lessons apply to leadership. Another powerful lesson came to me when I was sick, scared and alone in a remote village in the foothills of Mt. Everest. Ask for help The village of Namche Bazaar is one of the most unusual places I’ve […]
The Art of Receiving Feedback
Recently I wrote about the importance of giving feedback to your direct reports and others—openly, candidly and in a way that’s actionable for them. I think 50% of the feedback equation rests on the side of managers, who have to be willing and skilled in giving it. Today I want to share a few tips […]
Saving Your Job
Sometimes I coach leaders who are afraid they are at risk of being fired. They may have good evidence to support this. For example, they may have just been transferred to a different department or moved to a more junior position; or they may have gotten direct feedback from their boss, HR, or others that […]
Feedback: A Recipe for Improvement
I doubt most leaders fully understand the incredible power of giving feedback, or the suffering that can result from withholding it. I’m talking about situations where a manager has important concerns about a direct report’s performance and doesn’t share them–or doesn’t share them well. Leaders worry that giving tough feedback will hurt motivation, damage relationships, […]
Habits of the Mind
We all know there are simple things we can do to have a more healthy body, like eat well, rest and exercise. But it only dawned on me recently that there is an equivalent sort of hygiene for the mind. Here are three powerful “habits of the mind” that I believe contribute powerfully to long-term […]
Increasing Speed in Leadership
I was recently asked a broad question about how to increase speed when leading projects with incredibly smart, opinionated colleagues. While each of the steps below may seem to be things that would slow you down, in the big picture they will help you speed up your results: Relationships. Having coffee or lunch with the […]
The Power of Matching
In his book To Sell Is Human, Dan Pink writes about the importance of attunement as part of selling, whether the selling is formal (actual sales) or less formal (influence and persuasion). One approach to attunement is matching. By subtly matching body language, tone of voice and choice of words, you can create greater attunement and more […]
The #1 Leadership Communication Mistake
I have come to the conclusion that there is one pretty universal communication mistake that is the most damaging and causes the most mischief for leaders. Are you ready? The mistake is: not preparing well. Yes, I know this is not very sexy, but it is incredibly ubiquitous. People just don’t think about preparing in advance for […]
Technology update
Earlier this year I published a post or two about technology and productivity tools. Here is an update based on some additional experience: Shoeboxed.com is terrific. Shoeboxed.com is a subscription service that lets you snail-mail business cards, receipts or other documents using prepaid envelopes. Their system then scans these documents, reads the printed text, does […]