Reflections on Leadership The Caliber of the Leader Leadership Drift This Week The Caliber of the Leader Organizations spend considerable time evaluating employees. They measure performance, assess competencies, identify weaknesses, and debate whether they have the right people in the right positions. When results disappoint, they typically look to the employee first to explain. That is a logical and habitual response, but it’s the wrong place to start. Worry less about the caliber of the...

Hi Reader, You know the conversation needs to happen. Do you know what you're going to say? Every manager faces situations that require a difficult conversation. An employee ignores procedures. Someone resists feedback. A colleague avoids responsibility. Expectations aren't being met. Knowing something needs to change is one thing. Knowing how to address it is another. A good accountability conversation requires more than finding the right words. It requires clarity about what happened, why...

Reflections on Leadership The Problems We Keep Trying to Solve Leadership Drift This Week The Problems We Keep Trying to Solve Organizations are busy. Leaders make decisions, employees work hard, and problems receive attention. Yet important priorities keep getting crowded out. Capable people become frustrated. The same problems return, even after considerable effort to resolve them. When this happens, the instinct is to work harder, introduce another process, or ask people to do better....