Communicate! It’s important! Explain change! Tell your people what’s going on! See what I did there? TELL. Tell your people about the change. Tell them about the goals and objectives. Tell them what’s expected of them. But telling ain’t communicating, it’s announcing. Even though that’s how so many leaders approach the all-important and admittedly essential need to … communicate. I’ve …
The system is working as designed
The system is working exactly as designed. Mental health. Burnout. A lack of resilience. Toxic culture. Employee disengagement. Manager disengagement. And so on – and on – and on. We talk about these problems a lot. And a lot of the time, we talk about them as if they’re individual issues – “they” need more resilience, “they” need mental health care, …
Projects aren’t widgets
“You don’t manage people, you manage things. You lead people.” (Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper) That quote is at the bottom of every page of my website. Somewhere along the line, we got this mixed up. It was probably literally on the line – the assembly line – where the confusion started. On an assembly line, people pretty much are managed …
Is Change the New Black?
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I don’t think that’s true any more. I think things are becoming rather extraordinarily different from what they’ve ever been. More relevant, in my view, is the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Because oof, are these times ever way “interesting”! and it’s dizzying and disorienting. And with all …
The improv approach to change leadership
I’ve always wanted to take an improv class, but I’ve never actually done it. So why am I writing about improv as it relates to change leadership? Well, if you’re even slightly familiar with improv, you know one of the primary principles is to say “and” instead of “but.” Resistance to change often shows up as “Yes, but!” Whether that’s …
Frustration kills brain cells
I had an important meeting to attend. With plenty of time, I hopped in my car, pressed the power button, and… oops. That horrible crackling noise? Dead battery. Engine trying to turn over, to no avail. Nothing to be done, except … growl at myself for not taking action on that little niggle in my head that said something’s not right. …
What did you learn?
Did you know that Proctor & Gamble has a “Wall of Failure” in their internal museum? Or that Coca-Cola’s unfortunate New Coke misstep is a popular feature in their publicly-available archives? Or that, on a more positive note, Coca-Cola was able to plumb those archives for historical information about the 1918 influenza pandemic to glean ideas for how to handle …
Is individuality a problem?
Yes. And no. There, clear as mud, right? Let’s look at the opposing arguments. Yes, individuality is a problem… … when it takes over and squashes good management and leadership. There are too many instances of the Star Employee! who’s So Great! and responsible for So Much! that they Can’t Possibly Be Fired! Even though they’re bullies, undermining team morale …
Do you conversate?
It’s weird. As I said to someone this morning, we just assume we know “how to communicate” because we know how to talk and how to write. Dare I say – HA! And as I’ve said before, too much so-called “communication” is actually telling, and not communicating at all. It’s all top-down telling, whether from leaders to managers and employees or, …
Moss, trees, and root cause
Have you ever really looked at moss? Many years ago, my mother and I went to a botanical garden where all the “lawns” were moss. (How many years ago? Somewhere around here, I have the VHS video cassette from that garden, promoting the concept of moss lawns!) I could argue that moss wants more shade than most lawns, and that it’s …