There are few things more satisfying than a good start. Those days where you wake up ready to knock out the to do list and you actually do. It’s what you decide to do after the good start that changes your day. There is the temptation to quit while I am ahead because I earned a little
Doing something is always a choice. The choice to do a little better today takes less effort than the choice to continuously justify not doing it. Take a step back and consider that while the mental effort of pushing takes more initial effort than not pushing, eventually the required effort diminishes as momentum is developed. I believe
Intentional systems of communication and feedback need to not only be implemented, they have to be seen by the team culture as vital or they will feel like homework. If the leader wants to improve but the teams is content with the status quo, reporting will feel like busy work. Teams that are committed to improve and
No news isn’t always good news because perhaps I just don’t have a system to intentionally receive news. When we want nothing to be wrong, we believe that the lack of obvious dysfunction confirms that desired belief. A leader that truly desires to improve the team needs to actively look for areas of improvement that are found
Great teams are made of great teammates that will eventually leave that team. When a team loses a great teammate for any reason, the team suffers a loss. There is a period of adjustment that must take place because the absence of someone you counted on daily will be felt for a time. The team will adjust
If leadership waits for a vote and consensus to make a bold move, then that move will likely never happen. The difference between leadership and everyone else is the ability, and therefore the responsibility, to move things away from the status quo. Those without that vision will protect the status quo. That’s okay because their vote represents
Often times the person that takes initiative in a direction the leader wouldn’t have picked is the better choice for the leader role. Initiative is more difficult to teach than method. Therefore it makes sense to find someone with initiative and work with them to learn the best way to serve the team. Perhaps we should give
We often see things backwards when we try to empower others to lead. We tend to like those that make our jobs easier and those people usually do what we like when we like it. Too often those people find favor with a leader because they are a safe choice. These safe choices for leadership will likely
One of the best ways to spot a leader is to look for people that are not afraid to make and own a decision. If someone waits for circumstances to make a decision for them, they are not acting like a leader. If they only want to make a bold move after surveying everyone to get a
Initiative is an important attribute for a great teammate because it demonstrates a recognition of proactive thinking and self motivation. Ordinary teammates require a prompt of some kind to do their job. This prompt can come from a leader, circumstances, or both. Great teammates see potential problems and solve them before they become an issue. Taking initiative