Don’t throw out the lightbulb just because it showed you an uncomfortable truth
Don’t throw away the light bulb because it showed you an uncomfortable truth. Transparency doesn’t build trust. Transparency creates awareness; actions build trust.
Leadership
The simplest tool for empathetic leadership: Don’t ask why.
“Why” is a way to get answers, but it’s also an accusatory, aggressive question to ask. Empathetic leaders don’t ask why. Here’s why.
The best leaders understand motivation. Push, pull, self-propel, or drift. Yes to all of it.
Leaders need to understand the four basic types of motivation and how they can exploit them all to get their teams moving forward.
Celebrating milestones: an important leadership practice
I’m celebrating milestones today. It’s important for a person, and it’s especially important for leaders. We don’t pause to celebrate milestones often enough.
Lead your team to a consensus, not conflict
Getting people to consensus, not conflict, relies on sticking to the basics of leadership. Meetings that devolve into opinion free-for-alls serve no one.
Middle managers struggle with mental health at work, too
Middle managers are squeezed, having to look out for the mental health at work of their teams, while also driving performance for the company.
Miscommunication: so much depends on which definition you use
Miscommunication isn’t always one person’s fault. It can come from different understandings of what individual words mean. But it’s often the root of conflict.
The stabilizing influence in the room
Being the stabilizing influence in a crisis is great until it’s not. Calm is a good trait in a leader, but leaders need a diversity of opinions around them.
Structural bias at the buffet
If you can see the structural bias in the buffet, you can fix your organization’s dysfunctional workplace culture. Also, water faucets.
How paperweight wisdom can kill critical thinking
We like paperweight wisdom because it reinforces our own values and worldview. It absolves us of having to think deeply. Don’t be one of the shallow thinkers.