The best leaders — regardless of seniority or role — are also tireless investigators of the humans around them. Social dynamics get their constant attention, and are the key thing they use to do their jobs well (View Highlight)
We tend to deify the subject-matter expert (SME) leader, but it’s hardly required. And in fact it can be a damaging distraction. I’ve had experience with SME leaders who thought staying close to the product was their primary virtue. In fact, they were so lost in the weeds they forgot to spend time on, you know… leading. (View Highlight)
Another celebrated leadership narrative is that its all about vision and innovation. Leadership research should be focused on markets, competitors, and strategy. I’d agree those things are important. But good leaders invent vision very rarely, bad ones cause chaos and waste by reinventing it constantly. Innovation is a part-time job but execution is a full-time job. (View Highlight)
It isn’t just knowing how social dynamics work but knowing how to leverage them to make things happen faster, better, more smoothly, together. It’s having the curiosity and the humility to bring others to the forefront of how you lead. (View Highlight)
What are we researching again? People. Right. Our bosses, reports, and colleagues. But what is it that we want to know? (View Highlight)
Certainly engaged leaders should get to know their work-mates on a personal level because (as countless seminars have dutifully explained) investment in authentic personal relationships builds trust and improves communication. (View Highlight)
As a leader, we need to learn about our colleagues’ histories, their goals. What’s hard about their jobs? What do they love? What keeps them up at night? We need to know these things to effectively guide, support, and communicate. Helping people grow, guiding round pegs towards round holes requires us to know. (View Highlight)
We also need to look into interpersonal dynamics, including the ones that happen when we’re not around. Who works well with whom? Which skills and approaches are complementary? Who can combine to make a great team? Are there rivalries, animosities, friendships, and favorites? Where do they come from? (View Highlight)
Listening is important — it’s one of the oldest saws of leadership. Great leaders listen and so should you. (View Highlight)
You need to ask better questions, and do it without grilling people. Get beyond the superficial. In other words, get really good at research probes. The whys and the hows, the underlying ideas, values, and motivations. The things that are hard to say, but that you piece together by keenly observing patterns over time. (View Highlight)
You need to ask better questions, and do it without grilling people. Get beyond the superficial. In other words, get really good at research probes. The whys and the hows, the underlying ideas, values, and motivations. The things that are hard to say, but that you piece together by keenly observing patterns over time. (View Highlight)
You need to ask better questions, and do it without grilling people. Get beyond the superficial. In other words, get really good at research probes. The whys and the hows, the underlying ideas, values, and motivations. The things that are hard to say, but that you piece together by keenly observing patterns over time. (View Highlight)
