John Doerr highlights common pitfalls when creating OKRs that he learned from Intel CEO Andy Grove under what he calls "Dr Grove's OKR hygiene".| Leading Sapiens
Do you consider yourself an effective leader? What about parenting? When you think of getting better at something, what's your first instinct? Our default approach is to look outside for help. But an equally fruitful and often better approach is to look inside — the natural process of learning from our| Leading Sapiens
How do effective leaders maintain their composure when everything seems out of control? They’re adept at discerning what they can control vs what they can’t, and what they can influence. The circle of control, influence, and concerns (acceptance) framework or CIA — is a “leadership triage” tool that helps| Leading Sapiens
"Radical transparency" is often touted as a leadership virtue. So why do leaders still struggle with openness? Using the Johari Window's Quadrant 1 (Open/Arena), this article examines the complexities of leadership transparency and presents a nuanced approach to mastering openness in leadership. Through the lens of Quadrant 1 (Open/| Leading Sapiens
Confidence is overrated. A more effective, scientifically-grounded approach to improve performance is self-efficacy. We often hear about the importance of confidence. "Believe in yourself," the advice goes. Although intuitive, it's not as helpful. What exactly is confidence? Is it innate? Or can you work at it? Self-efficacy is a more| 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
Henry Mintzberg was one of the first to identify a comprehensive set of managerial roles that captured the reality of managerial work. Later, he updated this original list into an overall management model. In this piece, I examine the importance of Mintzberg’s managerial roles and management model, and how| Leading Sapiens
Humility and inquiry aren’t usually associated with effective leadership. The traditional view is “loud”: vision, setting goals, and driving the team towards success. However, this overlooks a crucial but “quieter” aspect: asking questions and listening. Humble Inquiry, developed by Edgar Schein, challenges the traditional view by emphasizing how humility| Leading Sapiens
Traditional authority—titles, commands, and rewards—has lost its edge in the modern workplace. What compels people is trust, respect, and admiration. This is the essence of referent power—a subtle but effective form of power that inspires loyalty and performance without coercion. It is effective but rare. In this| Leading Sapiens
What makes some folks and certain teams more powerful than others in organizations? What is the source of their power? In contrast, why do others despite having competence and positional authority are ineffective? This is one of a series on power in organizations. I focus on Gareth Morgan’s classic| Leading Sapiens
Leaders have to master the basics of the human OS. We examine these core attributes that underlie all frameworks of human peak performance.| Leading Sapiens
Leadership like any skill is something we can learn. Paradoxically though, it cannot necessarily be taught. Coaching can help navigate this conundrum.| Leading Sapiens
The ladder of inference is a powerful tool to make better decisions by uncovering hidden mental models and understanding how we reach conclusions.| Leading Sapiens
The systems thinking iceberg is a useful thinking model for leaders when dealing with intractable problems that never seem to go away. Part of the challenge is what the model calls “events” — surface level issues that are constantly on our radar — which are essentially fire-fighting, but that never really address| Leading Sapiens
For leaders and managers, the art and practice of doing regular reflection is essential to functioning at peak levels. The challenge is that the environment surrounding them enables anything but reflection. It's designed to do the exact opposite. Are there basic guidelines that can help to reflect more often and| Leading Sapiens
We think action comes from the right mindset. This can be counter-productive. Often mindset follows action. It's easier to control physical action.| Leading Sapiens
How important is emotional intelligence to your career and where does EQ stand relative to IQ? Overestimating the importance of EQ Ever since Daniel Goleman's 1995 bestseller Emotional Intelligence popularized the concept, EI(emotional intelligence) and EQ(emotional quotient) have become part of the common vernacular in companies. Thanks to| Leading Sapiens
Paradoxes are built into the nature of management and leadership. Understanding them beforehand can be extremely useful in avoiding frustrations.| Leading Sapiens
Our actions, and by extension performance, stem from thinking that is based on a set of hidden mental models. How do you uncover these mental models and change them? One way is to understand and practice the concepts of single-loop and double-loop learning. Professional sports teams use postgame films and| Leading Sapiens
Most common discourse on mental models takes an additive approach. But this tends to be half-baked, often useless in practice. There is equal value, even more so, in a subtractive approach to mental models. The key is in understanding the difference between hard and soft mental models. How is the| Leading Sapiens
Is chess a good analogy to describe decision making and strategy in organizations? Tetris might be a more fitting analogy.| Leading Sapiens
Watch out for these when stuck| thelsweekly.substack.com
7 personal qualities that build power| thelsweekly.substack.com
The art of observing the observer| thelsweekly.substack.com
Understanding systems thinking is a must for modern leaders. In Reading the Room, David Kantor outlines a list of leadership capacities based on systems thinking and structural dynamics. They are particularly useful as a reference for developing your own leadership philosophy, practice, and model. Some of the terms Kantor uses| Leading Sapiens
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
Everyone recognizes the importance of creative breakthroughs, but it continues to be a misunderstood phenomenon. Our need for creativity and insight also means a profusion of perpetrators promising easy solutions, and plenty of misconceptions. How do we increase the likelihood of insights? What can we do, or stop doing, to| Leading Sapiens