“The truth changes.” The first time I heard that sentence, my inside voice pushed back. It was a reflex from my belief in absolute truth. (Perceptions of it may be flawed, but it exists.) My friend wasn’t talking about absolute truth. Instead, he was describing the rapid-even-sudden way that reality “on the ground” changes, leaving […]
Conversational Capacity by Craig Weber
(As an Amazon Associate, Outsider earns from qualifying purchases.) A client recommended Conversational Capacity to me in advance of an off-site. I bought the book and we applied a couple of Weber’s ideas, such as the line (conversational capacity) marking the boundary between productive and unproductive conversations. Much of my work involves increasing cohesion within […]
The Transition Mission by Herb Thompson
(As an Amazon Associate, Outsider earns from qualifying purchases.) I “met” Herb Thompson on LinkedIn. I think a contact had commented on one of his posts, so it showed up in my feed. I really liked the post. It was about how meaningful it is when someone higher up in an organization calls to check-in […]
The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
(As an Amazon Associate, Outsider earns from qualifying purchases.) Several years ago I was preparing for my first off-site “on my own” – representing my own business. Before that I’d worked for a larger consulting group, where I’d received excellent training and mentoring in the leader / organizational development space. In preparation for the event, […]
Feedback is great. But when it comes out of nowhere, it can feel like a punch in the face.
If you haven’t had the experience, Mike Tyson summarized it well before his 2nd bout with Evander Holyfield, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” (Incidentally, Tyson lost the match, Holyfield part of an ear.) It goes like this:
I used to work for a company that hired a lot of translators. But they weren’t linguists.
The role was one of “forward support representative.” A former soldier would serve as liaison between the engineers designing new technology and the soldiers using it.
Why was this job even created? Because engineers and soldiers do not speak the same language. Sure, in the U.S. they’re all speaking English, but they are not speaking the same language.
“Just tell me how I can improve – I don’t need hugs or campfire songs to do my job!”
Ever hear a seasoned team member say something like that? Or said it yourself?
I’ve seen the value of both critique and encouragement. But what’s the right balance?
Stop Talking, Start Communicating by Geoffrey Tumlin
(As an Amazon Associate, Outsider earns from qualifying purchases.) I first met Geoff Tumlin in the early 2010’s. He was delivering a seminar to leaders in the Austin area, and I’d been invited to observe with a couple colleagues. What struck me was Geoff’s ability to take significant concepts and hard research and deliver them […]
“You’re overly critical and don’t reflexively care for others’ needs.” I was reading the results of my personality assessment at work, and these were key takeaways. Upon reflection, they were quite accurate. I tried to think of practical steps toward change. My office layout was low hanging fruit. At that time, my standing workstation was […]
Are you a good delegator?
As leaders, our tasks are endless – and range from crucial to trivial. A few are things only we can do. What if we delegated the rest?
Here’s 6 helpful actions:
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