âI donât want to set a precedentâ might be the laziest sentence in leadership. Here’s why. Too many leaders obsess about setting a precedent when making a tough decision. Because it’s too often used as a kind of get out of jail free card to…
When someone messes up at work, is your first thought “what an a***hole”? Next time, try these two things before making any snap judgements. First, reflect on the question “why would a reasonable, rational and decent person do this?”. We usually assume that others behave…
Last week, I had the good fortune of driving around northern Italy. And the misfortune of stalling the car in front of a queue of irate Italian drivers đ. I was driving out of Como when I stalled the car at the lights. Multiple cars…
âLeadership is doing the right thing, even when it hurtsâ. This is a quote I picked up from Scott Galloway recently. And I think itâs a good point. Weâre so often faced with a choice – in leadership, as in life – between whatâs convenient…
You can’t performance manage people anymore – you’ll just be accused of harassment. I’ve heard this so many times đ. And it’s just not true. So, why do people say this? I think some are genuinely misguided, but I think what many are really trying…
Itâs not HRâs job to manage your team for you. Some managers seem to think that when the uncomfortable parts of their role (e.g. performance managing or firing people) get tough, itâs time to hand the task off to HR – or their own manager.…
Dreading sharing some bad news with a team member? Hereâs 3 steps to approach it đ. If you have bad news to share with someone, the kind and effective way to do it is directly and with compassion. Donât beat around the bush or procrastinate.…
What we learn at work about relationships often helps in our personal lives too. And vice versa. Leadership is fundamentally about developing strong and healthy relationships with other people. Because, organisations are social structures. At their core, theyâre a collection of interpersonal relationships. Both in…
It breaks my heart how often people would sooner sacrifice something they love – for example, a job or a relationship – than have a difficult conversation. Difficult conversations are difficult. And vulnerability is scary. But a life less than the one weâre capable of…
Hard conversations are called ‘hard conversations’ for a reason. They’re hard. But they’re critical to relationship building. And they’re the price of admission to meaningful relationships. When we shy away from tough conversations, we limit the depth of connection we create (whether itâs with a…
What do you do when a team member does something âwrongâ or âbadâ? Instinctively, we want to write them off and judge their character (this is called fundamental attribution bias). Sometimes our instincts are right. The misdeed was a wilful attempt to cause harm. But…