A ‘bias towards action’ is a central quality in leadership. But to be truly effective, you also need to know when to look at the assignment on you plate and declare, “I am not going to tackle that.” The key is knowing which projects to keep, and which to set aside. I once worked with…
How To Spot Leadership Character With 10 Easy Signs
To build a team on talent, just look at their resumes. But to build a team on character, listen to their words. Finding leaders for your team who exhibit the highest standards of character is the ballgame when it comes to building a world-class team. The question is, how do you find these people? I…
This Is What Leaders Do When The Dogs Start Barking
At the first signs of trouble, the first steps you take are the most important steps you’ll take as a leader. This is called “walking towards the barking dog”, and I learned many years ago that this is an instinct that’s vital for leaders to develop. When confronted with an actual barking dog, the instinct…
Why You Need To Know Which Team You’re Really Leading
Every leader leads two teams; there’s the team you inherited, and there’s the team you built. This key truth has been one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned with respect to team leadership. The team you inherited were already in place before you showed up. They had been assembled by your predecessor, and…
How to Recognize the Moments of Truth that Establish Your Leadership
Leadership is a role that must re re-established every day, by passing through a series of “moments of truth”. The key is to recognize those moments when they come along. A moment of truth takes the form of opportunities to do the right thing, over doing the easy thing. This morning my first moment of…