Teams don’t make decisions. Individuals make decisions. Every decision must have someone’s name written next to it. The idea that there is such thing as a “team decision” is one of the biggest myths in leadership. And correcting that myth could represent a significant leadership breakthrough. Someone must own the outcome. Someone must pace around thinking…
How To Know When Your Eye Is Off The Leadership Ball
One of the most important roles of the leader is to ensure that they, and their team, are keeping their eye on the ball at all times. That means providing clarity of focus and helping each person know which priorities require attention. Many years ago this hit me with full force during a particularly hectic…
How To Escape The 5 Dangers of Fire-Drill Leadership
If everything is an emergency, nothing is an emergency. The truth of this leadership axiom is lost on many leaders who seem to lurch their leadership, and their team, from one panic-riddled crisis to another. I was once on a team led by such a leader. “All hands on deck!”, “Emergency meeting!” and “Everyone into the conference room,…
How To Avoid the Leadership Credit Mistake
One of the single biggest team-building problems leaders face is found in their inability to identify who it is who is always coming up with those great ideas. As a leader, you need to know who your big idea generators are. And of the biggest reasons so many leaders fail to identify their top idea…
How To Use a Tuning Fork to Drive Clarity
As a leader, one of the most under-rated instruments in your toolbox is a simple tuning fork. You might not carry the actual instrument with you, but I’ve learned that watching for “tuning fork moments” can be a crucial leadership tool. I learned this in conversation with a teammate who didn’t seem to understand the…
