I came across this concept of “confident ignorance” long enough ago that I don’t remember where I saw it, but it stuck with me. What does it even mean? And is it a bad thing, or a good thing, or what? I’ve concluded that, like so many things, it depends. Let’s look at both sides. The “bad thing” side I’ve known …
Understanding ≠ Agreement
Throughout your career and your life, you’ll experience different levels of agreement, disagreement, and conflict. These days, some of it (maybe most of it) will be about the current state of politics and, well, All The Things going on. Some of it will be about what’s happening in your workplace. And some of it will be about Life Stuff. All …
Is AI “killing” change management?
That’s a question asked in a recent Fast Company article. The article suggests, with some validity, that change comes too fast these days for traditional change management to keep up, especially now that change has been accelerated by AI. No question there. The article starts out by claiming that: I don’t disagree that change leadership is about managing resistance, at least …
A group is not a team
I’ve said it for years: a group of people in a room (or a Zoom meeting or a Slack workspace) is not a team. It’s just a group of people. It takes more than sticking them together under the auspices of a manager or team lead for them to become a team. And I trust you’ve read enough of my …
Do you understand?
You’ve been to class, you’ve read books and articles, you’ve watched videos. Whatever you’re studying, you’ve … studied it. Do you understand it? Unless it’s quantum physics – which I’m not sure it’s possible to understand, even by the people doing the science – and assuming you really have studied, you’ll probably say Yes, yes! I understand! Okay, then. Can you do the …
Hey! Are you listening?
As leaders – as people – we are often exhorted to be better listeners, whether by our employees, our managers, or our families. There are books, articles, and online courses aplenty attempting to teach listening skills. But intellectual understanding doesn’t equate to in-the-moment skill. Developing a skill takes practice. Repetition. A willingness to make mistakes. That said, here’s a quick rundown of what not to …
Hacks, Habits, and Practices (oh my!)
A thoughtful reader wrote to me after last week’s article “Un-Hack your life“. (Thanks, Mark!) He was wondering about, as he put it, where to draw the line between “hack” and “advice.” Was it about the amount of effort needed, or was there something else? I replied, saying that I thought we were basically in agreement about the sorts of …
Un-hack your life!
Life hacks. Career hacks. Fitness hacks. Health hacks. Maybe weirdest and creepiest of all: brain hacks. We’re exhorted by influencers to #hackyourlife. Supposedly, this is about quick tips and tricks to make life (career, fitness, health, … brains? why am I now thinking of zombies?) more efficient, faster, productive. And it sounds great. It seems like a good thing, right? Who …
Lights! Camera! Action!
When I teach workshops on the tools of change leadership, I always end by jumping up and down on one essential final point. Which is that these tools are less than useless – they are actually damaging – if you do not take action on what you’ve learned by using them. Wait, what? Damaging? Yes. If you go through the …
The courage to lead
Leading takes courage. (I’m about to get political, just for one paragraph – it’s way past the point where I can take refuge in “professionalism” to avoid speaking out.) Look at the Republicans in Congress right now. The majority, if not all, are failing to lead, in my opinion mostly because they’re afraid. And yes, you can say the same …