How Leaders Turn Problems Into Opportunities

Every leader deals with problems. Projects stall. Communication breaks down. Good people miss expectations. Customers get frustrated. Teams lose momentum. Processes that worked last year start creating confusion this year. The strongest leaders do something useful...

When Good Intentions Break Down Communication

Most leaders are surprised to know that the majority of communication problems do not come from bad intentions or deliberately negative actions. Much more often, they come from the ways we try to help. Someone brings us a problem, and we engage quickly. We want to be...

Solving the Right Problem

Leaders are expected to respond quickly. When something goes wrong, the pressure is to act, correct, and move forward. Speed and decisiveness often feel like competent leadership. However, the risk is that fast responses often come before full understanding. This...

The Discipline of Leading Without Labels

Leadership requires constant interpretation of people. In order to move quickly and make sound decisions, leaders naturally categorize behavior. Our brains are very good at recognizing patterns and categorizing those behaviors. A problem arises, though, when we begin...

The Leadership Skill That Makes Leaders More Effective

Most leaders believe they listen well. I believed it too. Then I started paying closer attention to what people actually need from the person leading them. I learned something that surprised me. People do not want a perfect answer, or a brilliant solution, or wise...