Is there such a thing as being too nice? I once coached five members of an executive team in an online retail business. The CEO complained of “communication issues” and some people not pulling their weight. Three of the members were co-founders of the company and long-time friends. To sit in a room with them,…
What do leaders and lottery winners have in common? Hint: it’s not luck. We’ll get there, I promise, but first, a more relevant question: Why is management so difficult? If you understand the answer to this question, you can become a great leader. If you don’t, you can only become less bad. Management is like…
“Why aren’t my people just honest with me?” my client lamented. “I keep finding out what’s going wrong far too late!” It’s a common and serious issue. The larger the organization, the more important it is for key information to travel quickly from the front line to management. But if that cycle takes too long,…
Jim was raw, I could tell. He spoke with hesitation, as if he might cry if he wasn’t careful. Something big was up. He had my full attention. “You know I’ve been a rebel for a long time,” he said, “You used to coach me about it. It’s changed a little, but apparently not enough.”…
Managers hear a lot of excuses. I know because they tell me. I also know the reason is because they make a lot of excuses, only they do it more subtly. One of my martial arts teachers once said to a group of black belts, “Watch the white belts very carefully. They make the same…
Mary, a manager in a manufacturing company, recently told me about a very stressful performance review she conducted. She gave her employee, John, some challenging feedback about how poorly he did his job. John was aghast. Not only did he think he was doing well, but he had been expecting a raise. He left the…
Control is overrated. Your unconscious need for it could be holding you back. Nate was a CEO and partner in a manufacturing startup who contacted me to help him improve his management team’s communication and help them become more efficient. Poor communication and inefficiency were symptoms, but they weren’t the real problems. The eight-person management team…
The other day I was having a check-up, and I decided to have a little fun with my doctor. I asked, “What’s the difference between a living body and a dead one, assuming nothing is broken on the dead one and the person died of natural causes?” “Well, their organs aren’t working,” the doctor began,…
The business is a reflection of you. Your life is the sum of your choices. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Change and personal growth begins within. Be the change you want to see in the world. When you point a finger, there are three others pointing…
Dear Millennials, You’re amazing. You shine with a light humanity has not seen before. Your energy is boundless, your passion inspiring, and your sense of freedom and possibility may very well be what saves humanity from its own shadow. But you’ve got a shadow, too, and I’m concerned. I’ve coached many of you and seen…