Tongue-in-cheek here. Without effective delegation, you can’t scale your enterprise, department, or organization. Letting go and trusting others to do things well is one of the more challenging aspects of being a leader of a growing organization. I find it interesting that most MBA programs don’t offer courses or even lectures on how to delegate. Yet, it is one of the most critical skills a leader must develop. Care must be taken that we don’t confuse delegation with abdication. Abdication is blindly handing over a task to someone with no formal feedback mechanism. Over the years I have made my share of mistakes when it comes to delegation. In many instances, I “dumped the work unto someone” and gave little consideration [...]

Here is the reality, folks: your leadership is an inside job. Your leadership effectiveness begins with what is inside you. Who you are and who you are becoming charts the course of your influence –your leadership. It has been said that "the first person you lead is you." Albert Schweitzer spoke on the meaning of leadership; he said, “Example isn’t the main thing in leadership, it is the only thing.” Well, that may sound a little out there. I believe Schweitzer was saying that all your words as a leader mean nothing if your life doesn’t back it up. We must lead the pack if we expect our people to develop and grow. We must be the locomotive pulling the train [...]

George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." Wow! The nerve of him! I can’t speak for you, but I have learned that lesson the hard way. Just because you say something doesn’t mean they heard it, believe it or will do it. Here is the reality, gang: people aren’t thinking about you, people are thinking about themselves. It doesn’t matter if it is a group/team meeting or a one-to-one with you; they are preoccupied with their own stuff. When we communicate, we must never be me-centered, we must always be others-centered. Preparation is first and foremost in communicating. The more you know about the needs, the pain points, and [...]

Recently, I shared a little about being a leader coach. Here are some more truths with the hope you find these useful. A good coach is POSITIVE; our job isn't to find fault or assess blame. It starts with what is working, what is good and putting energy there. Remember, people grow the most where they know the most. A good coach is ENTHUSIASTIC. Your attitude speaks loudly. It is catchy; be careful of the gloom and doom projecting. A good coach is FOCUSED. To be effective, you must be specific, focused, and keep the discussion on the topic at hand. A good coach is OBSERVANT. Business author and consultant Tom Peters refers to this as "management by walking around [...]