
The Blog
A collection of ideas and resources.
What made my vacation so great (and how to replicate it)
I recently spent an unforgettable week at a dude ranch with my family. This trip turned out to be my favorite vacation ever, and you may be surprised to know why. In this video, I share one of the biggest factors that made the experience so great and how we can implement it in our daily work and personal lives.
What to do when you don’t know the answer
Recently, my doctor didn't know what to do with an issue I brought to her. How she responded bolstered my trust in and respect for her even more. I think we can learn from her example in this Two-Minute Tip.
Do we even need managers?
Sometimes, we feel stifled by management, believing we could do our work more easily without the hierarchy in the way. Do we even need formal leadership structure in place if we have smart, high-performing employees? Google experimented with this idea in 2002. Find out what happened.
The best way to build trust with your team
We all recognize the absolute importance of building trust on our teams, yet sometimes we're unsure of how to do it.
In this video, I draw on a recent parenting analogy to illustrate what I believe to be the most effective method for building trust with your employees.
The lowest-scoring leadership practice
Thanks to extensive research conducted by Kouzes and Posner, we know which leadership behaviors are exercised most frequently and which are neglected.
Want to know which one ranks at the bottom? Watch this quick video to find out and learn how you can start leveraging this critical practice more effectively.
Even the best servant leaders do this
Even though servant leaders are passionately committed to caring for their teams, sometimes I see their ability to serve well fall short when they forget to consistently practice one of the most important, basic leadership functions. Find out what it is and make sure you're not neglecting this practice.
Are you sure they agree?
Have you ever confidently expressed your opinion, believing everyone was in agreement, only to later discover you stood alone? This phenomenon is known as false consensus effect, a cognitive bias causing us to mistakenly assume others share our perspective. It permeates workplaces, leading leaders to assume unanimous consent from their teams.
You’re playing favorites (without realizing it)
We all want to believe that we treat everyone around us equally, or at least fairly. But the truth is that by human design, our brains automatically play favorites. This quick tip will help you do something about it.
The thing that got me through the workout I despise
Most of us find it easy to praise our “top performers”—the overachieving employees, prized students, and dutiful children—but we struggle to consistently affirm those who aren't quite as easy to lead. Unfortunately, this only further deteriorates effort and results. Try this approach instead...
Improve your feedback skills with this one trick
If you want your team to be more open to feedback; and you want to see them actually absorb and apply it, then this tip is a must-watch for you.
How to receive feedback
The ability to receive tough feedback is one of the most important, yet neglected, leadership skills. In this video, you'll learn a simple trick to help you become a master at receiving difficult feedback, even when you disagree with it.
A 10-minute team-building activity
You know your team would benefit from more frequent team-building, but you don't know what to do or how to do it (and you certainly don't have time to research or design a bunch of activities!). Don't worry, I've got you covered. Watch this video to learn how to incorporate quick team-building activities into your regular team meetings without any pre-planning required.