public
Cognitive Flexibility: Rewiring How Leaders Respond
Why do some people thrive in complexity while others buckle under pressure? A key factor is the level of cognitive…
Leadership
Most of the widely disseminated information on leadership is just plain fluff or borderline useless, disconnected from the reality of what practicing managers and leaders face on a daily basis.
I try to cut through the noise and uncover actionable, proven frameworks that lie further upstream.
82 posts
public
public
Impression Management: How Effective Leaders Balance Perception and Reality
Is leadership about substance or perception? The truth is, it's both. You must not only be effective; you…
public
Fundamental Attribution Error: Why It’s Always Someone Else’s Fault
Training in biases is standard fare these days. However, I see managers regularly fall for one particular bias: the fundamental…
public
Psychological Safety vs. High Standards: A Misunderstood Dynamic
The term “psychological safety” is often misleading. When managers hear safety, many dismiss it as a soft style that implies…
public
Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles: The Multifaceted Nature of Leadership
Henry Mintzberg was one of the first to identify a comprehensive set of managerial roles that captured the reality of…
public
Leading Loosely: Leadership in Loosely Coupled Systems
This is part II of a series on loosely coupled systems. Building on Karl Weick's notion of loose…
public
Loose Coupling: Rethinking Control in Organizations
Traditional management emphasizes strict control, clear hierarchies, and uniform processes. This approach, rooted in industrial-era thinking, promises efficiency and predictability.…
public
Self-Disclosure: A Balancing Act in Leadership
In conventional leadership, competence is about maintaining composure, projecting strength, and exuding confidence. However, truly effective leaders do something more…
public
Metaphors of Organization: Beyond the Machine
Effective leadership hinges on the ability to view organizational challenges from multiple perspectives. Gareth Morgan's eight metaphors of…
public
Humble Inquiry: How Asking and Situational Humility Create Psychological Safety
Humility and inquiry aren’t usually associated with effective leadership. The traditional view is “loud”: vision, setting goals, and driving…
public
Organizational Learning Disabilities: Responding as a Leader
In coaching leaders across industries, I have observed a consistent pattern: highly capable individuals grappling with invisible organizational forces. These…
public
Project Aristotle: Implications and Challenges
Project Aristotle was a multi-year research initiative by Google to understand what made teams effective. Some of its findings, psychological…