“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” — Michael Jordan Hiring the right talent is not enough to build a high-performing … Read more
Why Teams Need to Be More Like a Jazz Band Than a Symphony
The ability to deal with uncertainty can make or break a team. Famous jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald made her biggest career mistake on a German stage back in … Read more
Can Culture Be as Simple as Just 19 Words?
It’s well understood that culture can make or break a workplace. Understanding what “culture” means, however, is a whole other matter. As a working … Read more
Your Teams Need ‘Boxing Rings’ and ‘Campfires’
Senior leaders were asked to estimate how much “wasted time” had cost their companies. Their average answer was nearly $15.5 million! It seems that our … Read more
Beware the Myth of the Super Leader
“We will all learn together. I want to learn from you as well as you learn from me.” This, from a new CHRO who sits on the executive committee for a global … Read more
3 Conversations to Help Your Team Get Through a Reorg
A while ago, I was counseling a senior executive of a government bureau who was two years into shaping his agency to be more customer and results-centered. … Read more
6 Ways Real Leaders Turn Insincerity Into Inspiration
The biggest barrier between leaders and followers is distrust. And the window dressing for distrust is insincerity. People put up with a lot of quirks in … Read more
Decision-Making Doesn’t Always Require Collaboration
Collaboration is in vogue today. It’s a favorite theme for how to be a great leader and in how to solve most business problems. I’ve always tried to be … Read more
Don’t Break Down Silos, Bend Them
Conventional wisdom tells us that the best way to deal with organizational silos is simply to break them. Whether it’s the inward focus of HR departments … Read more
Four Ways to Create a Growth Mindset Team
In my experience leading and working with teams — whether they’re startups, groups of engineers, or global leadership — there are a few things that have … Read more