Typically when we think of abrasive personalities we are talking about aggressive people who seem to have no filter on either what they say or how they say it. In some cases the abrasive person might be a no-nonsense straight-shooter who is perceived as abrasive but is actually constructive in an overly passive work environment. Let’s deal […]
Category: Leadership
Culture of Curiosity
This past week I had the opportunity to read Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book What The Dog Saw. Gladwell wrote the best sellers Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. What I like most about Gladwell’s books is that they are fueled by a curiosity about things that most of us don’t think twice about. In What […]
Addicted to Being Right
Are you addicted to being right? Being right always feels nice but it could be holding you back from greater success. My wife Robin is right about many things and she is kind enough to let me think some of those things are actually my idea. We’ll explore the issue in greater depth below. Addicted […]
Check Mark Thinking
Achievers can fall into the trap of check-mark thinking. They view corporate change as a to-do list. Mission statement – check, Vision – check, Told them what I expect – check, Metrics in place – check. The busy executive then moves on the other things because he or she thought they had “done” everything on […]
Self Deception
What do people really think of you? Do you even care? Do you care too much? Many of the managers and executives I coach and train start off by being surprised and maybe even slightly insulted to think that they need to improve their leadership skills. After all, they wouldn’t have been promoted if […]