Reading Time: 2 minWhen you decide that there is something you’d like to better at doing, there are two possible reasons: Finding the balance can be tricky. If you’re a baseball player who is a good hitter but a poor fielder, which one should you work more on? Should you try to become an excellent hitter, or work […]
Leadership
Kindness is about the recipient
Reading Time: < 1 minFor years, I thought that a key to being a good leader was to treat your staff with kindness. That’s not wrong, but research into various personality profiles (such as enneagram and DISC) have shown me that “kind” is different depending on who you’re talking to. An old business coach of ours laid it out […]
Being kind doesn’t mean you’re a pushover
Reading Time: < 1 minWe could all stand to see a bit more kindness in the world but I think it’s often seen as the opposite of “toughness”, even though the two can go hand-in-hand. You can be strong and relentless in all you do, while still being kind while you do it. If you think you need to […]
Clear is kind
Reading Time: < 1 minIf you follow Gary Vaynerchuk very much, you’ve probably noticed that his big push lately is for “kind candor“. In his earlier years he did well with the “kind” part, but hid from the “candor”, which was a big disservice to those on his team. You don’t need to hide from the truth, but don’t […]
Reliability makes work easier
Reading Time: < 1 minI’ve long said that the level of trust that I have in my team helps make my life much easier. Among other things, I know that if I send an email to one of them to get something taken care of, I don’t need to remind myself to follow-up — it gets done. However, a […]
Calm is contagious
Reading Time: < 1 minIf you’re in a suddenly stressful situation, freaking out is likely to make things worse. It can be hard to control, but staying calm, particularly if you’re in a position of leadership during the event, can make a huge difference. From Ryan Holiday’s excellent book “The Daily Stoic“, he shares: There is a maxim that […]
Is reading work?
Reading Time: 2 minIn episode 179 of The Long and The Short Of It podcast, hosts Pete and Jen argue that reading for knowledge should be considered “work”, and therefore it’s acceptable to do during the workday. I don’t disagree, but it’s tricky. I read quite a lot, and most of it is for the benefit of our […]
Leadership means you do more
Reading Time: < 1 minAs people grow in their roles, the thought is often that they’ve earned the right to do less work, and perhaps that’s valid. However, simply having the ability to work less generally isn’t the right thing to do if you’ve moved into a leadership role. While your work may largely shift from manual tasks to […]
Being the best talker doesn’t mean you have the best ideas
Reading Time: < 1 minThis is something a lot of organizations struggle with – the loudest and/or best talker in the room often gains the approval of those around them, based solely on their manner. They may happen to have the best ideas, but those two things don’t necessarily go together. In her book “Quiet“, author Susan Cain sums […]
Assume good intentions
Reading Time: 2 minAs digital communication continues to expand into different formats, it can be increasingly difficult to determine the intentions of the person you’re talking to. Of the various common ways that we might communicate, I think intention becomes more difficult to discern as you work down this list: On the other hand, you can essentially flip […]