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“Steve, it’s only fair to let you know this. I never cut anyone from my soccer team, and you’ll be able to wear a jersey and sit on the bench, but you probably won’t get much time on the field.” That was not what I wanted to hear after soccer tryouts in my senior year…
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Humility, Inclusion, Compassion, Servant Leadership, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), etc. … Someone once told me, “Steve, you’re one of the nicest people I know.” When I heard that, I thought I must really be doing well at all of those contemporary leadership “soft skills.” But that’s not what it meant. Sometimes a leader can become so…
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I had success all wrong. As an individual software developer, when my code did what it was supposed to do, the way it was supposed to do it, that was success. Then I became a leader of software developers. In that role, when our team project delivered what it was supposed to deliver, the way…
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Before I write this, let me check if I got a response to my question yet. Oh, and I needed to order more paper for the printer. And there are those three unchecked boxes on my to-do list. They’ll only take me about five minutes each and they’re just nagging me! Even if you use…
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Some leaders want to advance in their career. They make a pitch that they get good results and their team members and coworkers are happy. They connect with other departments to gain visibility and let other teams know they’re open to bigger opportunities. They tell their boss they want to be the first person in…
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“Don’t fall into the comparison trap” is a confusing warning. You can’t avoid comparing yourself with others. But you can avoid falling into a trap. What matters is how you respond to what you notice. If they’re better than you are at a certain skill: ✅ You can admire them and find inspiration to become…
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“Our people are our most valuable asset,” they say. Careful. It’s a trap. And if, as a leader, you believe that your people are your most valuable asset, you’ll miss a more important point. “Your” people don’t belong to you. And when companies start to act like human beings are assets, they stop treating them…
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“Stop fixating on your weaknesses; focus on developing your strengths.” That’s what they say. I get it. And I don’t completely agree. Sure, you can often get a much greater return investing your time and energy on further strengthening what you already do well. After all, what you do well is how you create value.…
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Freedom to make our own choices. That’s what we’re celebrating today in the United States. ✅ Freedom to sustain life.✅ Freedom to pursue happiness.✅ Freedom to think our own thoughts and to say what we think. But also… ⛔ Freedom to make mistakes.⛔ Freedom to embrace erroneous ideas.⛔ Freedom to face the consequences of our…
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The words were painful to hear: “I’ve always enjoyed working with you. I’ve always hated working for you.” These words came from one of my direct reports in a one-on-one. In our company, they had a reputation of being hard to work with. They were technically brilliant. And like many technically brilliant engineers, their people…
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My family knows I’m obsessed with the idea of large glass picture windows giving an unobstructed view to a natural back yard. Most of the time, that dream seems ideal. But after the sun goes down, that complete transparency is no longer the best thing. ❌ Other people can see into the house, introducing a…
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When you level up as a leader or join a new organization, you get about 30 days of grace. Here are a couple of ways you can use your newbie status to your advantage. ✅ Schedule 1:1s with as many people as you can meet. People know you don’t know them, so these requests won’t…