Hi Reader, I'm a big fan of process and structure. They've helped me lead some incredibly complex projects over the years. But one project taught me that even a good process can create a blind spot if we're not careful. Here's the story behind one of the many leadership scars I've collected over the years. I was leading the development of an entirely new family of HVAC products. The program touched engineering, manufacturing, procurement, product management, quality, and nearly every other...
3 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I should have known better. It only took a couple of minutes of crying over my favorite clamps, which were now pitted with rust and corrosion, to realize what I'd done. I’d put them in an environment that was going to destroy them. Not on purpose of course. But that’s what I did. This got me thinking about how we can do the same thing to the people in our businesses if we’re not paying attention. I’ll tell you why my previously awesome clamps look the way they do in a minute, but...
10 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, As Sid and I wrapped up our discussion, it was clear that he now saw the pattern that had been holding his teams back for years. He was a guy with all kinds of ideas and a “bias for action.” And when he was an individual contributor, that served him well. Most of the time anyway. He would have an idea about how to solve a problem and he would go do it. Immediately. He didn’t waste time getting input from others or analyzing multiple options. His ideas were usually pretty good, and...
17 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader, “I didn’t realize I was doing all of this.” Those were the words of a woman I was coaching a while back. I’ll call her Marie. Marie and I were talking because she felt stuck and wasn’t sure what to do. She was looking for another perspective. So she called me. She was overwhelmed and feeling like she was starting to burn out. Sadly, Marie used to truly enjoy her job, but that was no longer the case. She was still doing outstanding work, but she now dreaded coming to work. Marie...
24 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader, Last week, I had a surprising realization. A few years ago, I probably wouldn't have hired...me. If someone had told me: "I help leaders who feel like everything still depends on them develop their people so their business can grow." or "I help you build a team you're proud to lead." I would have immediately thought, "Well, that doesn't apply to me." Not because I disagreed with the idea. That wasn’t the problem. I simply didn't think I was the kind of leader those statements were...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader, “What are you doing?” I was in the university welding shop when my boss asked me that. He had more years of experience than I’d been alive and I still had a lot to learn. But the answer to that question seemed pretty obvious to me. I had a push broom in my hands, and I was using it to transfer dirt from one location of the concrete floor to another. Perhaps he wasn’t aware that I had also masterminded a plan to later move that collected dirt into a dustpan and then into the trash...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Hi Reader, If you’re leading people, you should be thinking about verbs. A lot. Now it may sound ridiculous to suggest that parts of speech are a critical aspect of developing your people and building an effective team but hear me out. To be clear, I don’t have anything against nouns, pronouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Prepositions, participles, and gerunds are fine too. To be honest, I’m guessing about gerunds because I can’t remember what those are, but I’m sure they serve a worthwhile...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader, The Light Bulb Moment The look in her eye told the whole story. I didn’t see it but my wife, Kiersten, did. I was coaching a young couple at our dining room table. They’re longtime friends of ours from church so Kiersten was there with us. This couple had recently started a business together. I was walking them through their two-person Working Genius team map when she had a “light bulb moment.” She suddenly realized that his probing questions about her ideas weren’t negative...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, A few weeks back I was running my weed eater through what turned out to be a whole bunch of poison ivy. And, while that in itself could be enough of a lesson to share with you today, I’m going to pass along something else I learned while I was cleaning up that ditch. As I was depositing itch oil on my arms, I was putting something helpful in my ears. (Thankfully!) I was listening to an episode of The Nathan Barry Show and Bryan Harris, founder of Growth Tools, told a story that got...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, She was hurrying down the aisle of the crowded exhibition hall when our eyes met. She slowed her pace just slightly, then she stopped. I introduced myself and we began to talk. Jen’s story is fascinating. But the encouraging conversation that I’ll share more about in a moment almost didn’t happen. Why? For the same reason we can work beside our coworkers for weeks, months, even years without really getting to know them. Why We Don’t Really Know Our Coworkers You’ve likely read the...
2 months ago • 7 min read
