Great questions can take you places you’ve never been before. This is true whether you are asking or being asked. Recently, someone was attempting to understand my point of view on leadership. They asked: What are the things a leader should never do?
Category: Today’s Challenge
You can determine a person’s priorities by looking at their calendar and checkbook – the same can be said for organizations. As many of you are finalizing your 2016 plans and budgets, you will be confronted with seemingly countless options for the new year – investing in leadership development will be one of them. Today’s Challenge: Why don’t organizations invest more on leadership development?
Not every bet is a winner – that’s why true bets are never a “Sure Thing.” This is a principle leaders understand and embrace. We are called to place countless bets over the course of our career. We make bets on strategy, products, systems, the use of our time, people and more. We place no bigger bet than the ones we place on other leaders. Today’s Challenge question comes in two parts: Have you ever bet on a leader and lost? And, what do you do then?
Leaders face obstacles daily, and often, we may not even think much about it. Challenges are just part of what we do. But what about a new leader, what issues does he or she face? Today’s Challenge question is from a leader who writes: What mistakes do you see new leaders make that could be avoided?
“How long do you work with someone before you make a tough decision?” This was the question two different people asked me this week after a speaking engagement. Both had inherited a person who was unable or unwilling to do their job.
How many times are you tempted to answer a question with a question? This is actually a good leadership practice. The more we help others think, the better for everyone involved. I want to answer today’s question, “How many people can I lead?” with a question, “What do you think leaders do?” Your answer to my question may help you answer yours.
I open some of my talks by telling the audience the presentation they are about to hear is not for them. After I let that sink in, I ask them to think of a leader they know who has failed to live up to their potential or perhaps the person who comes to mind is stuck in their career. I then tell them, “This talk is about how you may be able to help your friend.”
Have you ever had the feeling that something in your head or heart was so clear you were convinced it must be clear to others? Only to realize you had deceived yourself, what was crystal clear to you was NOT clear to others. That is the context for today’s question: How do you achieve clarity with your team regarding what’s most important?
Today’s question comes from a leader who is familiar with some of my past work, specifically, The Secret of Teams and Chess Not Checkers. If you are not, here’s a really quick overview: one is about the power of teams and the other is about the largely untapped potential resident in our organizations at large. The question from this leader: “How are the two ideas connected?”