I’ll admit it: I like to be right. When I’m right, my ego glows with satisfaction. I love the feeling of closure when the two sides of my hypothesis turn out to match. Growing up, I thrived on being a good student and achieving high grades. Being right: what’s not to like?It turns out that … Read more
Success. It’s often defined as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. Deciding what to aim at is a deeply personal experience. Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People wrote: “If you carefully consider what you want to be said of you in the funeral experience, you will find … Read more
People don’t naturally embrace change, and for good reason: Change = Uncertainty = Fear People are used to the familiar. There’s a reason they call it “The Comfort Zone”. When you start forcing people away from the familiar, they can have a range of potential responses. Their reactions are influenced by your skill in leading … Read more
The research firm Universum recently queried over 2,000 business leaders and professionals, asking: What’s the most important quality that you expect future leaders to possess? The #1 response (41%): They empower their employees. Empowerment. It became a business buzzword twenty years ago, and has been in and out of vogue ever since.At it’s core, it’s about … Read more
Working with others means that you’ll eventually face conflict and disagreement. Conflict isn’t bad: we need work cultures that support differing perspectives, multiple opinions, and divergent thinking. However, how we communicate our disagreements can either help or hinder our workplace relationships and results.A new paper in the Academy of Management Review identifies four distinct categories of conflict expression: how … Read more
Are you tired of spinning your wheels? Working hard to get ahead, only to find yourself in the same place yet again? Progress is the mother of all motivators. According to research, when you feel you’re moving forward in your job, you feel and perform at your best. Conversely, those times when you spin your wheels drain your drive … Read more
Some months back, I shared a post about how we’re no longer in the information age–we now live in the interruption age. Do you feel more overwhelmed and distracted than you used to? If your experience is anything like many of the leaders I work with, you probably answered yes. Part of the reason we’re so … Read more
OK, I have a confession to make. I finally gave in. After months of pleading with me, my 10 year old son Alexander has convinced me to let him join in the phenomenon known as Clash of Clans. In case you don’t know what that is—it’s a mobile massive online multi-player strategy video game.It’s hugely popular … Read more
I’ve traveled to Europe twice in the last month: to France and Germany. Both times, I stayed in hotels with a master key. You can see it in the picture above. (This is from my hotel in Munich.) The master key works like this: when you get into your room, you put the … Read more
Emotional Intelligence. For more than a decade, it’s been shown time and again that Emotional Intelligence is a bigger predictor of success than education and skills. So why do so many emotionally stupid leaders still walk the earth? Last week, I was at a conference of a Fortune 50 company in the Energy Industry. Over 1,500 of their … Read more
