Why the best leaders learn to turn the dial
Most leadership tensions show up as either/or, and most of us pick a side and call it a style. The best leaders know which dial to turn, and when.
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What Your Unsolicited Qualifiers Are Telling You
A counselor called me ‘the king of unsolicited denials.’ Turns out, the things we deny and rationalize before anyone asks point to what we’re protecting.
What Is Creating This Behavior? A Self-Awareness Tool for Leaders
When a team is stuck, most leaders ask what is wrong with the person. The sharper question, and the one that starts with you, is what conditions are making the behavior likely.
Before You Hire a Leadership Partner, Ask These Three Questions
Most organizations vet a leadership partner on credentials. The questions that actually predict whether the work sticks are about something else: what happens after they leave.
Why You’re Still the Bottleneck (Even Though You Know How to Delegate)
Most leaders who are the bottleneck already know how to delegate. They don’t, because being the one everything runs through gives them something they’re not ready to give up.
Trust Is Built in the Rhythms You Keep
We think trust is built in the big moments: the offsite, the vulnerable speech, the crisis handled well. It is built in the small rhythms we are most tempted to cancel.
Why Decision-Making Feels Harder Than It Should
Decision-making feels heavier than it should when leaders default to one mode without noticing. The relief comes from matching the level of involvement to the decision in front of you.
Eliminate These Three Hedge Phrases for Greater Confidence and Influence
Three small hedge phrases (kinda, sorta, a little bit) quietly make confident statements sound tentative. Cut them, and let a pause do the work.
Why Leaders Still Avoid Hard Conversations (Even When They Know Better)
The leaders who avoid hard conversations usually know exactly how to have them. What stops them is a quieter calculation, and courageous humility is the way through it.
What’s It Like to Be on the Other Side of You?
We grade ourselves on our intentions. Everyone we lead grades us on our impact. The gap between the two is where trust is won or lost, and most leaders never see it.