Leadership means asking questions. What is the problem? What can we do that is new and better? How do we tackle this issue? What if we do something else? How can I help you? If your days, your meetings, your interactions are filled with answers, you are doing something else entirely. Take Gary Kaplan, who … Continue reading Questions and answers
Tag: entrepreneurship
Sit or stand
In the face of adversity, we can sit down and complain, or stand up and do something. A couple of things. Sitting down and complaining makes us complicit in the adversity. If it was not our fault to begin with, it is after we make the decision to merely sit there. It does not matter … Continue reading Sit or stand
Disappointment
Disappointment is about anticipated rewards. Sometimes the anticipated rewards are the result of our ambitions, aspirations, dreams, desires, experiences. We are active part in building up our expectations, to the point that it often becomes impossible for the actual thing to satisfy them. Sometimes they are set by others with their ads, content, hype-building tactics, … Continue reading Disappointment
Bridge
When one gets squeezed between two opposing forces, it is quite usual to start depicting both forces as enemies. Lousy middle management is a great representation of this. Middle managers are at the crossroads of contrasting needs and ambitions, and the result can easily get to "management has unreasonable expectations" and "my team is lazy … Continue reading Bridge
Building relationships
The way you communicate reality is often more important than reality itself in building bonds. Or breaking them. Say you have to share a decision with your team, one that is not fully fair, one you were not involved in making, one that will not make them happy. You can state the fact, and say … Continue reading Building relationships
Putting off
When you put off something repeatedly over a period of time, you should face the fact that it is never going to happen. And so, you should either delegate that or remove it entirely from your schedule. Every other action you are taking (marking as unread, moving to tomorrow, making a post-it, setting a reminder … Continue reading Putting off
Ideas out
When you put your idea out, it is the whole world to you. For anybody else, it is just one of the hundreds heard in the past few days. This is a gap that drives a lot of misunderstanding ("that's not what I meant!"), frustration ("they do not care!"), and missed opportunities ("I give up!"). … Continue reading Ideas out
Gripes go up
If you are in a position of power, be mindful not to complain to people who report to you. Work is probably tougher, you are asked to juggle a load of different tasks, you are supposed to find time to talk to people, you negotiate, compromise, often work after hours, and I am sure at … Continue reading Gripes go up
Not listening
Not listening is not only ignoring. It is also finding weak reasons to continue on the path that is less risky, motivating the current situation with urgency, hiding behind busyness, coming up with own ways to define reality, diminishing the arguments of others, expressing agreement with words and not follow up with actions. And most … Continue reading Not listening
Better not ask
Sometimes we do not ask because we do not want to be an annoyance. Our team needs a new tool to do their job, but the company is going through a difficult period, better not ask. Our customers need a new feature, but Product already has their hands full, better not ask. Our prospects do … Continue reading Better not ask
