Why real leadership can’t be found in a manual.
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Teams
Legacy
What do you want people to say about you at your funeral? Before you read any further, stop right now and think of at least one thing you would want people to say about you. Do you have something in mind? Good. If you haven’t thought of something yet, this is your...
Coaching Up
Flowing feedback upward in your organization We are disinclined to bite the hand that feeds us. This basic truth means that most learning which happens as a result of differences of opinion and direct feedback from others will primarily go in a downward direction in...
Employee Performance in Limbo?
How LOW should you let your employees’ performance go? Many of you may have caught wind of the recent “leaked memo” from Meta detailing their direct and well, blunt plan for managing negative attitudes and low performers. And because I love a good leaked memo, I...
Injury prone
I used to ride my bike a lot. For 10 years, I joined the bike ride across Iowa every July sponsored by the Des Moines Register. Each year after about 200 miles, my right knee would be a problem. Each downstroke on the pedal brought a shot of pain. The problem was...
You’re just not that big a deal
“You’re just not that big a deal.” These are the words (poor grammar and all) printed on a big sign that hangs just inside our front door here at the Slingshot25 office. Why would we display a giant insult to greet all our guests? Because we believe in sharing wisdom...
The climb
In change, we often talk about the “J” curve. The ultimate drop that every person, team and organization will feel as a result of the change. We talk about the leap, the fall, the fact that leaders get to “skip the dip.” What has been less visible, less talked about,...
Like it or not
Performance is a function of likability. Like it or not. If you want to get a great deal done, you will have a better shot if people like you. When people like you, they say nice things about you, they will do favors for you if asked, and they are pleasant and...
Invisible glue
We were in the middle of a very important, super complex project. The expectations and the pace were high. The room for failure and excuses was nonexistent. We were seeing delays, feeling stress, and dealing with challenges due to data integrity issues and unclear...
Hit it next time
People know what to do. They don’t always know how to do it. Ever watch a youth sports coach say something super helpful to a kid like, “hit it next time?” When coaches give that kind of feedback, a sarcastic comment might float through your head like, “oh, thank...
There’s a fine line
The line between what’s real and what’s imaginary can be a fine line. Real leaders exist. You’ve worked for them. You might be one. You may even consider yourself one of the best. Just as real is the fact that many people call themselves leaders who don’t actually...
