As a leader you must project optimism. But when you cross the line into exaggeration or hyperbole, your leadership is facing significant risks. A leader in my orbit once described a very average meeting we had been in as “Quite possibly our best meeting ever!” The statement was so over-the-top, and so removed from any…
Can Your Team Feel Your Kindness? Surprising Tips for Showing You Care.
“The kindest form of leadership is the truth.” – Jack Welch The problem many leaders have with the concept of kindness is that they think it means to avoid speaking truth, in order to spare someone’s feelings. In fact, speaking the truth is the very essence of kindness. This is not to say that leaders…
Why Your Team Needs You to Disappear (Sometimes)
Leadership is about “showing up”; it’s often about leveraging your presence in a room in order to influence, to cast vision, to bring alignment and to build teams. But effective leaders are just as strategic about leveraging their absence in order to move their organizations forward. But here are four types of leadership absences that can…
How To Avoid The Perils Of “Watch Me Swim” Leadership
Have you ever encountered a “watch me swim” leader? This is the person who insists on letting you know about every accomplishment they’ve achieved, no matter how small or insignificant. The attitude is very similar to the child splashing around the swimming pool, desperate for the grown-ups to notice their aquatic abilities. For children in…
Five Ways “I’m So Busy” Undermines Your Leadership Credibility
In a world that has attached a strange nobility to the notion of being busy, effective leaders stand out by avoiding the “I’m so busy” trap. One of the most effective leaders I’ve ever known was highly productive, and yet operated at a pace that was somehow both urgent and yet unhurried. This leader had…
