When Kitty started working for me, she didn’t know anything about the job. I trained her and coached her as she learned every key task. And for each one I asked myself, “Is she ready to handle this on her own yet?” And I held on too long every time. Every boss knows in his or her head that the most  »  Read More

In many ways, Janet was a great boss. She spent time with her people and knew them and their work. She cared about people, helped them grow and develop, and protected them from the random acts of stupidity by the bosses above here. There was just one thing, one phrase, really. “How hard can it be?” It was  »  Read More

What to learn from the military was the topic for Tuesday evening’s Leadership Chat on Twitter. Let me drive a couple of stakes in the ground before we get to the main points. We shouldn’t be learning from the whole military. As with business, we learn the most important lessons from top performing  »  Read More