The Greatest Bosses Have This Peculiar Dichotomy
The greatest bosses seem to have a peculiar dichotomy that allows them and the teams they lead to thrive: They are at once both a rock and a chameleon. They are the Rock of their team. They are reliable, trustworthy, consistent, and unerringly confident in their...
What Do You Do When Both Sides Are “Right”?
Recently, I was working with a group that was having severe conflict. A new director had been brought in, and some members of the team didn’t like the way he was doing things. They had a difficult time following his direction. The new director, for his part, has...
The Lesson Of The Hula Hoop
The Hula Hoop Lift is a profound lesson for teams in my workshops because it illustrates some vitally important points. First, it shows not only how easy it is for two people to stay in sync, but it demonstrates the illusion that could represent. Notice, when it’s...
The Hula Hoop: A Tell-Tale Of Great Teams
Try this with your teams. Divide into groups of 6-8. Starting with two people facing each other around a hula hoop, have them stick out their pointer fingers with the rest of their fingers wrapped in a fist, holding their hands about chest high. Then have a 3rd person...
Some People Wouldn’t Even Open It. Seriously.
Imagine for moment that within your hands you hold the most beautifully wrapped gift you’ve ever seen. It’s about the size of a large iPad box. The paper so beautiful, it’s almost a crime to tear it; the ribbon so elegantly tied it looks more like art then gift...
Sailing The America’s Cup
There are boats -- little, tiny dinghies -- that can be easily managed by one person. You don’t need, and often don’t have room for, more than one, or maybe two, people. But those ships can’t travel very far in the open sea. They can’t maintain much speed. They have...
My Goal Is For Your Team To Stop Working Together.
Imagine walking into your team meeting and written on the board is the day’s objective: By the end of the day, we will no longer be working together. How would you feel entering into that meeting? Excited Nervous Confused Angry Curious Cautious... I’ve gotten all...
Is Your Team THIS Courageous?
In a recent workshop a team took a courageous step. They looked at each other and owned a common, though seldom named, reality. They like each other, that much was true. They enjoy their jobs and the company. But, when it comes down to a core truth -- they don’t...
Leadership is Thankless
Leadership is about doing what is right, not what is easy, and it can quickly become a thankless job. Especially if people don’t agree with what we have to do in our role as leader. We may, in fact, harm someone by the choices we make. In fact, anything you do might...
Accountability Is HARD.
It’s a funny thing about being human: Looking backward is easy. Doing the same thing over and over is easy. Of course it is -- you know exactly what you’re doing. You’ve figured out the rules, and you can coast without much stress. You can even live in the past, if...
