Tag: Leadership
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Protected: 2024 in Work
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I Executed a Re-org
Yesterday, we executed a re-org. I let 6 people go. This is the 5th re-org/mass layoff I have been involved in- Accenture in 2001, Cyberware in 2002, Nike “category offense” in 2009, Apple “incident” in 2012. Phew. Everything started 2 days ago. All of a sudden, it became real. The names I had previously provided…
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Why Tough Love Bosses Win?
There is this Cantonese saying which says, “反轉豬肚就是💩“, (the underbelly of a pig is poop …) I find this to be a very common reaction from people towards managers giving candid feedback, with one interesting exception. Have you ever had a “tough love” kind of boss? Do you remember how they made you feel? One…
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✍🏻{Level: 99} Professional Skills✍🏻
In video games, {Level: 99} is the maximum level. When you reach {Level: 99}, your character has achieved the limits of the game. So what are “{Level: 99} professional skills” like? This is the kind of stuff I work on with my clients. Let’s start with {Level: 99} 🗣Discussion:🤔How did you feel after having a…
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3 things I Stole from a Therapist
And I am applying them at work. Dr. Lee is a renowned family therapist. I took her courses because they offered live sessions for us to observe. I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT A wife complained about her husband’s lack of involvement. When asked how he saw the situation, after a long silence, the husband muttered, “I was…
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Starting My Own Gig: First 6 Months
I ended my 20-year corporate career and started my own leadership coaching gig 6 months ago. During these first 6 months, a few very courageous souls and start-ups gave me the chance to beta-testing the corporate rah-rah I have hoarded over the years. Here are few observations: 1. “High-Performance; Low Potential”: Too often we divest from…
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The Coach That Made Me Quit My Career
“Yea, video-tape your axx all you want. You think Kobe Bryant got great by only by watching VHS?” 6 months ago I decided to end my 20-year corporate career and started my own leadership coaching gig. There was one person that I blame this whole mid-life crisis on: One of my bosses at Nike. This was…
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Can Humility Be Worked On? Yes, Kind of.
“The Value of Not Knowing.” https://www.flickr.com/photos/n0r/276318217/in/album-72157594467105582/ Being genuinely humble is such a common challenge. I see that especially in highly capable founders and managers that I get to work with. I tried to be humble too because humility was such a sparkly clean and powerful virtue: A humble leader liberates the team by personally welcoming…
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Why You Should Get Your Teams Gifts
https://snarkyinthesuburbs.com/2016/11/14/dear-snarky-kill-me-now-because-my-office-has-12-days-of-secret-santa/ One Christmas, a boss gifted us a book on mindful leadership. “Ok, so you are a mindful jerk.” Someone quipped. “I want to reciprocate with ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ book.” Joked another. Another time we received cans of artisanal Baltic sardines. Greg the vegan tweeted, “It’s not personal. It’s not personal.💆🏻” And those…
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The illusion of Simplicity — Leadership Whispers
Enso “Muichimotsu” by Kobayashi Taigen “This is so complicated!” We endure complicated processes, meetings that are littered with “break-outs,” “share backs,” and those damn “parking lots,” and we tend to blame these on our managers. Then when we become managers, we begin to accept simplicity is merely an aspiration that sits cross-legged at the highest…