At one time or another you’ve probably used the expression “deer in headlights” when describing yourself or someone else in a stressful situation. As it turns out that analogy might be more accurate than you think. In his book, What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People, Joe Navarro talks about …
Read more “Fight, Flight, or Freeze. Leading when our brain shuts down.”
We all have a data footprint. Your data footprint is the amount of data, both relevant and extraneous that you project onto others when you communicate. Traditionally, leaders have had a very large data footprint in their presentations. However, research on how our brain processes information suggests that might be misguided. Conventional wisdom says that …
Most people would agree that good reports simply and clearly answer questions. Yet, while most reports provide the information that is needed to answer a question, many fall short of actually answering it. Here is a simple test that you can use to see if your reports are designed effectively. Give the report to someone …
Read more “Can someone unfamiliar with your business understand your reports?”
Managing change is important. That’s obvious. Any company that has been through a major (or even minor) change initiative knows the perils of not managing the change process. The change management industry is booming and companies are scrambling to build “change management” into their leadership competency models. This is probably a reaction to the many …
Read more “Manage people, not change. Two myths of change management”
I often hear people say that true leaders aren’t defined by an organizational chart. Real leaders are people that others are willing to follow. We’ve all heard the cliché that people don’t leave companies, they leave bosses. So why is it that in most organizations leaders get to choose their “followers” rather than the other …
Read more “What would happen if employees chose bosses instead of bosses choosing employees?”
Read any article on Big Data these days and you will inevitably run into the seemingly obligatory statement, “Remember, correlation does not equal causality.” Often, if two things move simultaneously, especially if one is an “input” type variable and the other is an “output” type variable, we tend to conclude that the first has an …
Read more “Correlation does not equal causality – but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it”
Many organizations use shared goals as part of the performance management process. The rationale is that if multiple people have the same goal, they will tend to work toward the same thing, collaborate and hold one another accountable. I’m not sure that always works. In my experience, shared goals reduce clarity, can create contention, and …
The other day I received an email from an on-line retailer. They noticed that I had items in my shopping cart but hadn’t checked out. To entice me to complete my transaction, they offered a discount on the shipping fees. Unfortunately for them I had already purchased the item from one of their competitors. Like …
I was recently watching the reality show Undercover Boss. It’s great to see leaders leave their boardroom or corporate offices and move to the front lines. The shows are often transformative for the leader. While I appreciate that the various leaders are open to learning and changing, I’m often saddened to see that most of …
Well, it’s not “It’s a Wonderful Life” but it’s as close to a Christmas classic as we can get here at The Question of Leadership. So we proudly present, digitally remastered in full color, the Twelve Days of Leadership Christmas.By the way, the PNC True Cost of Christmas (the cost of buying all of the items and …