Say you walk and take the subway even when taxis might be faster or more comfortable. You rarely use the air conditioner in the summer and keep the thermostat low in the winter. You carry my compost a few blocks to drop it off. Why do all that when it takes extra time, energy, and resources? Air conditioning is more comfortable. As far as I can tell, most people I[…] Keep reading →

We don’t consider a quarterback great for running the plays well. We consider him great when he plays well when the play breaks down. How does he get great at playing when the play breaks down? Ironically, by running plays so many times he knows them unconsciously. It’s the same in any other place leadership shows. You have to practice what you can prepare for as much as you can[…] Keep reading →

Any performance-based skill development follows a similar pattern. I’ll describe it for playing guitar, but it follows for leading, acting, sports, any other musical instrument, singing, etc. The instrument: First you have to learn the instrument. If you don’t know its parts and how it’s assembled, you can’t do anything with it. Your skill: Next you have to learn how to move your fingers. You can’t play music until you[…] Keep reading →

Ultimately leading effectively is about the people you are leading and the community you are serving. You develop skills with experience so you act effectively, but you focus on them and their interests, which you share or have complementary ones if you want to lead with authenticity and integrity. Some people want authority to use others to get more for themselves without meeting those others’ interests. I call that “using”[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series of alternative responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicists, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on others, here is my take on today’s post, ”Slaughter for Hire” (The New York Times Magazine seems to be doing a special issue this weekend without an Ethicist column so I’m pulling up an old one, from May 30, 2014.) I have recently been[…] Keep reading →

The more I work with leaders and leadership, the more I distinguish between The skills to lead and The authority to coerce people to comply The more I look at concentrations of authority—mainly titled positions in corporations and government—the more I see people interested in the second who aren’t interested in the first. I used to think the main purpose of the Constitution was to describe how to run the[…] Keep reading →

I wrote before about the two meanings of competition. I’ve also noticed two distinct feelings of exhaustion. I think most people think of the exhaustion as something they don’t like, like at the end of a long day of work they didn’t want to do or didn’t enjoy. Another is similar, but I think distinct because we like the feeling so much. The second exhaustion comes from doing something we[…] Keep reading →

“Working here sucks.” “My boss is incompetent.” “No one there knows what they’re doing.” I hear comments like these all the time from frustrated people. The more I coach, the more I see them indicate incredible opportunities. I see them as leadership vacuums—situations where no one is leading effectively but that lack leadership. People without skills to act effectively get frustrated, angry, impatient, etc and the more they feel powerless[…] Keep reading →

In April I spoke by invitation at NYU-Stern, MIT, Columbia Business School, and Princeton, I’m proud to say. As best I can remember it was my first time visiting MIT, though I may have visited my senior year in college. I remember competing against their ultimate team in college as well as competing with some of their players, including at Mardi Gras one year. In MIT fashion, the board behind[…] Keep reading →