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
“You’ve lost your edge,” the new VP declared. Just eight months ago, the same contrarian thinking had earned my client the company’s innovation award. Same brain, same approach, different verdict. What changed? I’ve been on both ends of the performance/perception spectrum myself. One year I was| 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
The blue-collar approach to knowledge work| thelsweekly.substack.com
Understanding different types of power is crucial for effective leadership. Coercive power is a controversial yet sometimes necessary and effective tool. I delve into the nuances of coercive power, its applications, why leaders shouldn’t avoid it, and Elon Musk as an example of coercive leadership. What is Coercive Power| 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
Changing/quitting careers in midlife is hard. A collection of 35 of the most useful frameworks when changing or quitting careers in midlife.| Leading Sapiens
Leadership development is usually about positive abilities. Negative Capability is often forgotten but equally critical. What is it and what prevents it?| Leading Sapiens
Ever wonder why that particular initiative of yours never got traction? Organizational politics kills more initiatives than people realize, and happens both at leadership and individual contributor levels. Understanding some of the dynamics can help to better navigate the terrain. Three organizational layers and their experiences * The individual contributor: You| 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
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
Excellence is more mundane than we think. Understanding its nuances increases our likelihood of success. Not doing so sets us up for failure.| Leading Sapiens
In their book, Business Experimentation, Rob James and Jules Goddard highlight two approaches to strategy that are diametrically opposite to each other. The lone big bet is still the norm First is the traditional big bet approach characterized by centralized once a year planning, while the second is a culture| Leading Sapiens
Naïveté is considered a liability. But is it really? We've been oversold on the merits of sophistication and cleverness, meanwhile missing out on the benefits of a considered approach to naiveness.| Leading Sapiens
What's the role of confidence in leadership? Is it a requirement for being an effective leader? How confident are you about your confidence? Confidence, on sale Looking at the brochure of one leadership program, it seems confidence is necessary to be an effective leader and that all successful leaders are| Leading Sapiens
Leaders are often cautioned to watch their actions and behavior because it sets an example and gets replicated through the organization. Which begs the question: why do people copy leaders? The common explanations tend to be psychological. But it goes beyond simple carrot and stick notions from behaviorism. There's a| Leading Sapiens
Why you don't need a complicated "formula" to get outstanding results| thelsweekly.substack.com
Why positivist goals miss the point and an equally effective alternative approach| thelsweekly.substack.com
A deep dive into Amazon's leadership principles, complete with videos and reading recommendations.| Leading Sapiens
In The Fifth Discipline, there's a useful primer on systems thinking that I keep going back to. Senge calls it the laws of the fifth discipline, or in other words, laws of systems thinking. [1] Senge's ground-breaking book was published in the early 90s, and yet in the ensuing decades,| Leading Sapiens
Almost everyone has the term “problem-solving” featured prominently in their resumes. Conversely, barely anyone uses the term “problem-setting”. Except in complex domains like leadership, problem-setting is often more critical than problem-solving. What is problem-setting, how is it different from good old problem-solving, and why is it critical to effective leadership?| Leading Sapiens