Try this quick experiment. Place your hand above your head as if you’re going to trace a circle on the ceiling with your index finger. Now, trace an imaginary circle in a clockwise direction. While continuing to trace the circle, …
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False Assumptions About Being a Compassionate Leader
Many challenges leaders face in being compassionate stem from their false assumptions about unwanted outcomes. Here are some examples .
If I’m compassionate, they will think I agree with them.
Some leaders worry that if they show someone compassion, that …
How to Lead with Compassion
You are meeting with several of your direct reports who have just told you that the division’s latest acquisition is not going well. Key leaders of the acquired company are not cooperating and they’re finding that the culture is so …
Jointly Design Next Steps with Your Team
Jointly designing next steps is one of the Ground Rules for Effective Teams. When you jointly design next steps, you make decisions about what to do next by involving others rather than deciding privately and unilaterally. You’re transparent, curious, and …
Genuine Curiosity
If you want to get all the information out on the table so you can make the best decision possible, you need to be genuinely curious. That means asking genuine questions.
Unfortunately, many leaders think they are demonstrating genuine curiosity, …
Leading from Every Chair
Most leaders still cling to the one-leader-in-a-room approach because we have difficulty imagining a better alternative. We think leadership is based on control, and that prevents us from realizing the benefits of shared leadership.
For example, we think our role …
Are You Undermining Your Goals?
When we worry that people might not support how we plan to achieve our goals, we sometimes keep our plans or the reasons behind them private. When we do this, we undermine our chances of success by creating risks we’re …
Escalating Disagreements with Peers
What do you do when you and a peer need to agree on a decision and you can’t? You’ve probably been in this situation. Both you and your peer have strong views on the topic, the stakes are high for …
Does Your Team have Solid Structures?
Just as a building’s structure creates support for activities to occur within the building, so too do team structures create support for a team’s activities that help it accomplish its goals.
When most people hear the word structure, they think …
Go Broad Before You Go Deep
How often do you have a meeting in which your team needs to make a decision and yet only a few people are talking? By the end of the meeting, you have no idea what many of the team members …
