Recovering Leader

3 Fun Self-Coaching Questions to Kick Off 2013

Start off the new year in a "leader's way" by asking yourself three questions, then checking in throughout the year. Read more →

7 Powerful Ways to Know When to be Hands-on or Hands-off

Executives need to have a good sense of when to zoom in, and when to zoom out, on a problem or situation. Here you will find steps to choose the right level of involvement. Read more →

6 Reasons We Hang on to Marginal People, and What to Do About it

Recognizing and addressing your pattern of holding on to a low-performing person helps your organization, and is the right thing to do. Read more →

One Secret of High-Functioning Boards and Exec Teams

Boards of directors and executive teams that develop and maintain working agreements appreciate having clear rules of the road. Read more →

The Many Rewards of Spotlighting Your Team

It’s all too common for an executive to be the spokesperson for their people in high-visibility / high stakes situations. Yet it’s often good leadership to do the exact opposite. By focusing the visibility spotlight on your people, you enhance their contributions and learning, and upgrade your own ability to participate, gaining useful perspective on their solutions, ideas, and results. Read more →

2012 Survey: Grade Strengths of American Managers / Leaders

This is a simple, one-question survey about your experience. Once you complete it, you can see the results. -David Peck Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. Read more →

How to Eliminate “Update Meetings” And Be Glad You Did

Many executives, particularly in larger organizations, spend 80 percent or more of their time in meetings. All of that valuable time is highly effective only when used substantively. That means to brainstorm, pitch, discuss, debate, problem solve and/or decide something important to the majority of participants, relying on the capabilities and experience in the room. Yet much more often we... Read more →

Leadership Lessons From Recovering Alcoholics

Fear, force, greed, and need are all tried and true ways to lead. Yet none positive or sustainable. When it comes to greatness, and lasting for the long haul, look no further than 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA. Its membership has grown into the tens of millions, fully global (since well before Walmart or even Sears Roebuck, for... Read more →

Truth About Leader Development: People Can Change

The subjectivity of change bias and the three ingredients for sustainable change. In my line of work, I’m often asked whether people can TRULY change. The short answer is: yes. The longer answer is: yes and it takes three ingredients. Before we look at these key ingredients, it’s important you watch out for your own bias. Essentially, sad but true,... Read more →

Why a Leader's Emotional Impact Matters ... A Lot

“Why do I need to worry about my people’s feelings? Why don’t they automatically just FEEL like doing their best? They’re lucky they have a job! Am I there to coddle them?” These are bottom line beliefs and questions among my executive clients who tend to be more task / directive / deadline-driven. Some are thinking these things mainly when... Read more →

Land Critical Conversations Right the First Time

Many key discussions end with one or more people in a holding pattern. Unfortunately, it's often after the fact that we realize something was missed or left unaddressed. Whether an interview, tough discussion, sales opportunity, executive team or board meeting—the many variables in the room (personalities, agendas, politics, etc.) can take you off course, diverting you from your main objective(s).... Read more →

3 Powerful Practices for Aloof or Distant Leaders

If you tend to be introverted, shy, too busy to be responsive, or intentionally aloof/distant, as I posted recently, approachability’s pragmatic leadership value is likely eluding you. That wall you’ve built around you, whether intentionally or not, alienates you from critical ideas, feedback, input, and your people’s higher-level motivation/engagement—needed for them to do their best work. So what to do... Read more →

Over-thinking Challenging Situations

The outcome you achieve after facing a challenging situation—for better or worse—is limited by your assumptions or “story” going into it. In fact, walking into almost any potentially difficult conversation, our understanding is at best incomplete, no matter how much forethought we’ve given it. It’s human nature to prepare for what may be difficult, particularly if we are under normal... Read more →

Listening to Your Struggle’s Message

In Western culture we tend to think anything worthwhile should be difficult. Along those lines, it’s easy to miss when a struggle is trying to tell you that it’s time for a change. Fixated on our goal, we soldier on, trying ever harder. Then, exhausted, we see in hindsight that the signs were reading, “I need a change” all along.... Read more →

Approachability's Pragmatic Leadership Advantages

Being seen as “warm and fuzzy” is not needed to lead effectively. Yet leaders with higher levels of approachability achieve better outcomes than their pricklier colleagues, because they receive more information. No matter how well-intentioned they may be, execs that are introverted, intimidating, harsh, or dismissive—or just short on relational graces—make those around them hesitant to come forward. That shuts... Read more →

Excellence in Leadership Means Being Savvy in Four Systems

Achieving, Relating, Culture, and Influencing: these four “systems” silently but surely surround us in any organization. Understanding each of them is key to maximizing your own contributions as a leader. I share this because most of the feedback I hear on the up-front interviews I do about executive clients falls into one or more of these areas. If I did... Read more →

Leadership and Getting Real

It's been said, "No plan ever survives its first contact with reality." Achieving a vision or dream requires a leader to be realistic about plans, expectations, resources, people, and circumstances; pilots call it “situational awareness.” You need a clear, open mind, and a sharp focus. It also means standards and milestones to chart your course—and reasonable expectations about progress. When... Read more →

Six Simple Steps to Ensure Your Best

What does it take for you to be doing your best most days? How do happy, effective leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals, workers, and athletes manage to bring their A-game the majority of the time? It’s simple: either deliberately or not, they have an index—one that acts as a compass to align / realign them to their best. Before I explain that,... Read more →

Effective Team Meetings: Subtracting Bad Behaviors

If you’re like most people at work, you probably wish you spent less time in meetings. I remember as a COO, my colleagues and I used to estimate the cost per minute of the aggregate salaries around the table in “leadership team meetings” and wish we could spend the money on something more worthwhile. Yet search the web for “effective... Read more →

Self-test: Doing and Being at Your Best at Work

Are you doing your best work and happy at work, most days? Here’s a tool I use with some executive clients to self-assess what may be standing in the way of being at their best and happiest at work, and what to do about it. Take a look at the graphic below and place yourself in the square that reflects... Read more →

Three Key Principles of Believe-In-You Leadership

Never has there been a more important time for leaders of organizations, communities, and governments to believe in their people—for each of us to believe in each other. That’s the world I want to live in, and the organization I want to do business with. Yet it's in major short supply. People in organizations and communities around the world are... Read more →

Six Questions to Help You Avoid Protestors at Your Doorstep

I’m puzzled by the puzzlement over the growing protests across America. While the media is stumped at how to cover the early days of a post-conventional, web-era movement, exemplified by the Wall Street "live in," we all know what they’re talking about. As one protester’s sign says, “Dear 1%, We Fell Asleep For A While. Just Woke Up. Sincerely, the... Read more →

Leadership: Loving and Leaving the Chronically Marginal

Most leaders eventually have a chronically low or marginal contributor among their team. While avoidance and rationalization in such situations are quite common, they simply amplify the problem. In my experience as a leader and executive coach, clarity, compassion, and consequences are the keys to skillful handling of persistently problematic performance: CLARITY that you expect their best on an ongoing... Read more →

Know Why You Do What You’re Doing?

Are you at your best professionally? Are you doing your best work ever? If not, then maybe you need to take a look at your purpose, and the premise behind it... Talking to the leader of a Fortune 100 company several years ago, I asked: when you fall from the tree of life, how would you like to be remembered?... Read more →

Four Ways to Upgrade Your Situational Awareness

“Over 100 emails a day, 30 plus meetings a week, travel, 11 people reporting to me—and all of their needs; then try and do some actual work—so many distractions that I worry I might miss something important.” Most leaders I coach deal with this type of thing, and more. They would agree that it’s critical to understand how you keep... Read more →

Revaluing Your Pack Mates

We humans are basically pack animals. We surround ourselves with many of the same faces day in and day out. Over time, that familiarity tends to limit our clarity and curiosity about our “pack mates.” We inadvertently discount their ideas and contributions, often in small ways that can really add up. It’s as much a problem for leaders as it... Read more →

Two Quick Keys to Leading an Excuse-free Organization

Excuses and blaming have reached epidemic proportions in many organizations. It’s human nature, particularly during high-unemployment, high-uncertainty times like these for people to fear for their families and livelihoods, and for that to translate into butt-covering. Unfortunately, there’s a tremendous amount of time wasted on such behavior. It's ultimately fruitless, as often those who think they're protecting themselves are doing... Read more →

Imagination and Leadership

Couple an active imagination with a healthy amount of pragmatism, and you will move mountains. Whether you’re a facilities manager, CFO, or running the project to develop the next generation of cancer therapy, all of which my clients have done, doing your best work starts with using your imagination. What we imagine solves problems, sparks us to do our best,... Read more →

Ask Your Team the Hard Questions, Like…

Much has been written on how to upgrade team performance. Not rehashing that here, but rather underlining the usefulness of asking REALLY tough questions, and providing several specific suggestions for you along those lines. When evaluating a group that thinks it wants to be a higher performing team, I always ask three “raise the stakes” types of questions. If you... Read more →

5 Ways to Test Your Readability as a Leader

"For a while I loved the role, and did some of my best work. But my CEO was unreadable, and over time, I just lost interest." -High-potential / high-performing exec who jumped ship to a competitor. Being "readable" is better leadership, and enables greater achievements, than unreadable. If people can read you--what's important to you and why, what fires you... Read more →

Being in the Flow of Leadership

You're in the flow of leadership when you're 100% in this moment, feeling your feelings, and 75% sure anything good can happen. Yet life has a way of distracting us from the flow. Fear, anger, strife, pessimism and crisis are everywhere in the world. The challenge is to accept--and not deny--these tragedies and not to buy into the gloom. You're... Read more →

Best iPad App for Meetings? The Off Switch

I love my iPad. That’s not in dispute. In the loo, resting on the couch, airplanes, trains—it’s manna from Apple. However, if I were compelled to stock-watch, email, game, surf, or otherwise entertain myself when someone else was presenting or leading a meeting, I would leave, or not attend in the first place. I’m not coaching here. I’m asking you:... Read more →

9 Steps to a Happier, More Effective Work Life

One of the top lessons I’ve learned in my career of 26 years and counting: the best work I’ve ever done and the best jobs I’ve ever had were situations where I designed the job I wanted to do, then chose my boss. Worst were “getting promoted” into, or “chosen” for a job I wasn’t seeking, and/or working for a... Read more →

5 Ways to Lead with Trust

There’s nothing worse than behavior from your boss that says s/he doesn’t trust you, particularly if you don't deserve it and they don't intend it. Failure to give you responsibility along with authority, not introducing you to a VIP, and micromanaging are all simple and avoidable ways a leader may be sending a motivation-killing signal on the trust front. To... Read more →

3 Great Ways to Approach Failure

Some “experts” go around saying failure’s great. After all, they repeatedly mention, Edison had 999 failed filaments before the one that illuminated the first light bulb. Let's not kid ourselves: failing professionally sucks, particularly during trying times. As most of us are NOT Thomas Edison, the 10th or so filament might in fact be career limiting / bending / ending,... Read more →

How to Upgrade Your Leadership through EQ

Does what we feel drive how we think, problem-solve, and lead others? I used to think not. I’ve recently discovered it’s time to rethink, or, more aptly, re-feel that. Going through the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in Action certification course last week, I gained a new appreciation for how feelings drive everything we think and do. Like it or not, neuroscience... Read more →

Why It's Great that Your Job’s at Risk.

It’s no secret that fear of losing your job will hinder your quality of work, and even put that job in jeopardy. Yet anxiety about job loss is rampant. Layoffs, changes in job, boss, colleagues, and companies have put many on a mental edge and/or ledge. In my work with leaders I see that excelling in this “new normal” means... Read more →

Great Leaders Ask Better Questions

You're paying your people too much to think for them. Guide them to do their own best thinking, and their contributions multiply exponentially. Directive behavior does the opposite ... it shuts people your up, and shuts them down. "Why doesn't she do what I tell her to do?! " This CEO mentioned he was having trouble getting one of his... Read more →

10 Areas to Upgrade Your Effectiveness

“How can my organization be even more effective?" It's a great question from my clients, and one answered first and foremost as an “inside job”—that is, I suggest and help the executive to look at their own leadership choices in 10 practical areas and identify opportunities for improvement. Thinking about your own leadership and organization, how about giving it a... Read more →

Five Steps to Superb Delegating

Delegation at its best sets up capable people to do their best work for you in their own way. Low-yield delegation is command and control. Here are five simple steps to delegation excellence, based on many executive coaching assignments where I worked with clients on developing their best in this area: 1. Engage the best person or team. Look with... Read more →

6 Ways to Know if You're a Change Maker or Change Breaker

The leader’s innovation challenge is how to make major changes produce pragmatic results. So much is written about "innovation" that I think misses the mark on actually innovating. There are way more “great ideas” than can be done, but not enough leaders capable or willing enough to do them. Leaders and their organizations are used to being and doing things... Read more →

Leading in Sync with Organizational Heartbeat

Organizations--like people--have a heartbeat that speeds up, slows down, and rests at a certain rate. Put your finger on that pulse and lead according to what you discover. You gain greater precicison about what's needed, how to be at your best as a leader, and how to help your colleagues do the same. It's a powerful practice--and surpisingly uncommon--to be... Read more →

Leadership and Frustration: 5 Steps to Respond rather than React

Life in general, and the workplace in particular, seem designed some days to test our ability to deal with frustration--our own, and that of others. It takes awareness and skill to behave well—rather than react—when facing a frustrating/angering person or situation. Since there’s no shortage of these, it’s well worth it for a leader to develop strong mental muscles for... Read more →

Try NOT to Manage Perceptions

Wondering what your colleagues are thinking about you lately? What’s the buzz on you at exec team or board meetings? Good. Go for it—it’s important to understand how others view us. Not to pretend or try and manage it, but in order to develop ourselves, and to care for the impact we have on others. So go ahead, glimpse yourself... Read more →

Addressing Dressing

Perhaps this is an awkward topic for some, but the way you dress and groom shouldn't be a factor in how you're evaluated or perceived as a leader. By that I DON'T mean let your fun or freak flag fly--I mean, don't dress yourself as a distraction. Things are more complicated today--when and how to be formal, casual, in between,... Read more →

Doing Your Best / Best You Can Do

EVERYONE is doing the best they can do, all the time. How you think about others—strangers, friends, family, people providing you services—sets the stage for what comes next between you, for better or worse, in every moment of your life. Thinking about particular colleagues, directs, boss, or others in your organization—or even people in your life—you may laugh at my... Read more →

Leadership and Complexity: Think Like a Child

Leadership requires the simplest thinking and actions when facing the most complex dilemmas. In fact, imagine a four year old facing your most pressing business or organizational issue. It would be worth it if they did. Wielding the sensibility of a young, inquiring mind (the average four year old asks 450 questions per day) is a canny and refreshing way... Read more →

How Does Your Organization Impact the Common Good?

My workforce research showed most workers put organizational integrity ahead of financial gain. Yet in the current practice of capitalism, as organizations grow, gaining financial sustainability, influence and impact on society, they tend toward self-protection and self-interest. What's a well-meaning worker to do? When buying a car, or a mattress for that matter, we'd look at Consumer Reports. When taking... Read more →

Leaders: Understand Your Impact

As a leader, it’s important to understand the nature of your impact on the world. For better and worse, you are affecting your people, and, collectively, you are all affecting communities and lives beyond your organization’s walls. No need to wait until some unintended consequence or difficulty makes you take stock of how your leadership is touching the world. Better... Read more →

Leadership and Responsibility

Leadership requires the discipline to claim responsibility when something goes wrong. It may be daunting, but it’s necessary—it propels those affected by the problem from confusion to solution, enabling the right actions to be taken. Concerns about saving face, job security, and/or institutional liability are no foundation for leadership. In fact, the longer you delay, the more collateral damage you... Read more →