Modern organizations worship at the altar of efficiency, focus, and relentless execution. We follow suit at the personal level as well by trying to optimize everything to the hilt. While mostly helpful, this often misses the point. The same organizations that tout “innovation” also create environments that stifle it. Productivity| Leading Sapiens
"I'm just not strategic enough for that role," Joe told me, shaking his head. With fifteen years of stellar technical leadership and a track record of flawless execution, he seemed like an obvious candidate for the open VP position. But he wouldn't even consider applying. He disqualified himself before anyone| Leading Sapiens
Why do some people thrive in complexity while others buckle under pressure? A key factor is the level of cognitive flexibility. In this piece, I examine what cognitive flexibility means, why it’s critical to leadership, and strategies for building it. A World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report ranked| Leading Sapiens
In conventional leadership, competence is about maintaining composure, projecting strength, and exuding confidence. However, truly effective leaders do something more surprising: self-disclosure. They share their fallibility as well as strengths. Self-disclosure is a misunderstood skill of effective leadership. How much is too much? And how can you ensure that opening| Leading Sapiens
We don’t usually think of courage in the context of careers and organizations. But this is a mistake. Courage is more fundamental than we think, and equally relevant. The key is to understand the specific type of courage required, and how it applies to an ordinary work life. Ordinary| Leading Sapiens
Managing effectively using data is all the rage today. But most of it is shallow "hard data". The real challenge is to get so called “soft data”. How do you get the real pulse of your teams, or your customer’s true opinion? There’s a simple method that can| Leading Sapiens
How do you view your role of leader or manager? Is it as a chess master or a gardener? The lure of control Often unknowingly, leaders and managers suffer from the myopia of control. The underlying ethos is of knowing everything, solving problems directly and having everything under control. It's| Leading Sapiens
Would you rather be a pro or an amateur? How about choosing between sophistication and naiveté? Most of us choose to be sophisticated pros. But consider the fact that expertise comes with its own pitfalls, while deliberately staying an amateur has its counter-intuitive upsides. The trick is in balancing the| Leading Sapiens
When intelligence becomes a liability and foolishness an asset| thelsweekly.substack.com
The direct vs oblique approach to reaching our aspirations| thelsweekly.substack.com
Johari Window is a 2x2 matrix that captures how we communicate based on self-knowledge and how others see us. It’s a disclosure-feedback model of awareness based on principles of feedback and learning. It can be used for increasing levels of openness, self-awareness, and self-understanding. This makes the Johari Window a particularly relevant tool for leaders and managers.| Leading Sapiens
A deep dive into Amazon's leadership principles, complete with videos and reading recommendations.| Leading Sapiens