Author: Steve
-
Have you outgrown your network?
I often encourage new and emerging leaders to be purposeful in building relationships with people in departments that are adjacent to theirs. But as you advance in your leadership career, you’ll need to take your relationship building a step further. Sure, as you move up or around in the org chart, you’ll find different departments…
-
Decision Maker or Facilitator?
Last week I explored the difference between the problem solving manager who personally figures out a solution and the decision making manager who arbitrates among alternative solutions offered by their team members. As you advance in your leadership career, there will come a point where even arbitrating competing ideas is no longer an appropriate role…
-
Embrace Risky Delegation
Learning to delegate effectively is more than just finally letting go of the idea that “I can do it better myself.” One of the things that makes delegation so hard to do well is that the whole idea of delegating changes as you advance in your leadership and as each of your team members advance…
-
Problem solver or decision maker?
As you advance in leadership, one thing that changes is how you respond to problems that arise for your team. When you are a technical lead or a manager of junior technicians, you may often need to offer your experience and expertise to directly solve problems that your team members face. With more senior team…
-
The two-word question that drives action
The meeting is coming to an end, and you’ve captured your collective decisions and action items. Or maybe you’re having a personal conversation with someone, and they just agreed to do something. There’s a two-word question that dramatically increases the likelihood that people will follow through on what they committed to do. Here’s that question:…
-
Great leaders serve their teams
Terms like “servant leadership” often take on a life of their own. What starts as a healthy, helpful approach is misunderstood or misapplied, often leading to confusing and conflicting results. In contrast with a top-down, command-and-control approach, servant leadership tends to result in stronger teams with higher engagement, better decisions, and more positive results. But…
-
Career growth is earned, but not deserved.
I often hear frustration over what people feel is a stalled career. “I’ve done everything I’ve been asked to do,” they say. Or, “I’ve been stuck in the same position for seven years. I feel like I should have been promoted by now.” Some people suggest that because of their seniority and obedience in their…
-
Four causes of low expectations
I was talking the other day with someone who works in a place where teams consistently fail to deliver on their commitments, and leadership doesn’t seem to care. Someone else recently shared with me that they had been assigned to a project, but they were told that they shouldn’t worry about completing it because nobody…
-
Lead by numbers, but not those numbers
When we think about a leadership scorecard, it’s easy to fixate on the numbers that our employer is tracking to evaluate a promotion, bonus, or other direct compensation. I’d like to encourage you today to expand your personal scorecard with numbers that reflect your leadership in four different directions: 🔵 Leading in – self leadership.…
-
Work friction and home friction
“Wherever you go, there you are.” It sounds silly because it’s so obvious, but there is something profound hidden in that statement. Many times, I’ll be in a conversation with someone, talking about work-specific challenges. As they gain new self-awareness, they’ll recognize a pattern in their behavior – something that creates friction with their colleagues…
-
You are smart enough for what’s important
“I could never do that.” “I’m not that smart.” “Oh, that’s beyond my pay grade.” “I’m just not good with new technology.” One way coaches like me help our clients is by encouraging them to reconsider some of their long-held beliefs. We ask them to evaluate whether those beliefs are, in fact, true. One challenge…
-
Not-So-Reasonable Requests
Favors… They can be one of the most delicate leadership issues to master. On one hand, skillful granting and asking of favors can position you as a collaborative leader who is ready to drive progress. On the other hand, there are many ways to fumble favors. One of those ways is by asking a favor…