“Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life.” — Miyamoto Musashi ∼∼∼∼∼ Successful teams require more than great players — they need people … Read more
What It Takes to Build High Performing Teams
Effective teamwork is a fundamental building block to creating a thriving business. Just as car engines are defined by their horsepower, a company’s … Read more
Why Some Teams Succeed While Others Fail
“Do you believe in miracles?” Those words, uttered in the final seconds of the game, memorialized the great, and improbable victory by the U.S. … Read more
What Do You Mean By Teamwork?
Think of all the corporate town hall meetings and newsletters stressing the importance of teamwork. Picture the array of teamwork posters lining hallways … Read more
Overcome Your High Performer Bias to Improve Your Whole Team
Everyone loves high performers — hot shots who deliver exceptional work on a regular basis are unique. However, there’s a problem I frequently observe … Read more
Encourage the Quiet to Give Voice to the Sounds of Silence
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? That’s a tricky question. I have a hard time answering it myself. That’s the problem of binary questions — you are … Read more
Hire For a Mission, Not a Job
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in the event of … Read more
The 21st Century Way to Getting Your People to Do Great Work
Leading is like parenting — everybody thinks they do a much better job than they actually do. There’s a definite gap between how most executives assess … Read more
The Not So Obvious Reasons Your Teams Are Underperforming
Imagine you are sitting in an airport waiting for your flight. The airport is busy and you are at that low ebb in the day where you are looking for any … Read more
Leadership Lessons from the Golden State Warriors Locker Room
On June 8th, the Golden State Warriors basketball team won its second consecutive National Basketball Association championship. Observers agree that the … Read more
HR’s Job Should Be to Encourage Conflict
For years we’ve been hearing the drumbeat about making the workplace fun. So, as Amanda Ono tells it, we drank the Kool-Aid, installing ping-pong … Read more
Why Not Let People Form Their Own Teams?
“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