As you climb the ladder, who’s gonna call you out?
With fewer people around us, who do we turn to for a candid assessment of our work? ike many leaders in most organizations at this time of year, you probably find yourself in the midst of year-end performance reviews. But as an ascending leader, you may find yourself without the benefit of honest feedback – few are bold enough to give criticism at this critical time in your career.
A leadership lesson from my 18 year-old son…
I’m the proud father of four sons. Miles is my oldest still in the house, a senior who outperforms academically, while also serving as the captain of the high school wrestling team at 160 lbs.
He has a certain quiet confidence about him. His presence is generally calm, yet attentive – taking in his surroundings and being thoughtful when it comes to how he manages circumstances around him.
Book Review: “The No Asshole Rule”
In “The No Asshole Rule,” author Robert I. Sutton tackles the often overlooked but significant issue of incivility in the workplace. Sutton, a professor of management science at Stanford University, defines an “asshole” as someone who is rude, disrespectful, or aggressive towards others. These individuals can have a detrimental effect on a workplace, creating a toxic culture that can demoralize and demotivate employees.
Does your organization or team need rewiring?
The first time I found myself thinking about the actual physiology of the brain as it relates to leadership was the seminal TED Talk by Simon Sinek, The Golden Circles. In a passing comment, Sinek points out that the brain is organized in a very specific way which impacts the way we process information vs. emotion.
The Agile Transformation: It ain’t easy…
“Agile” is a software development approach that prioritizes flexibility, collaboration, and continuous delivery and testing. Unfortunately, over the past several years, Agile has become the panacea for typical project delivery challenges and has sought to replace the more traditional Waterfall method that is found in nearly every other sphere of Project Management.
Remembering September 11th, 2001
As you know, today is a day of remembrance for us…our Pearl Harbor…a day as a country, we lost an unspeakable number of people in a short sweep of the hour hand.
It is a particularly meaningful day for me. I was in NYC, working just four short blocks from the World Trade Center on that day. In fact, my daily commute from NJ typically landed me in the lower level of the WTC Path Station.
Book Review: “Five Dysfunctions of a Team”
Perhaps one of the most influential books of our time, Patrick Lencioni leverages an innovative writing (at least for business books) style (at least for business books) which leverages the power of parable to explore a complex topic. In his book, “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” Lencioni uses a model based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to describe the common problems that prevent teams from performing at their best.
