No Bullsh!t Leadership

Episode #290 // "The best leaders do what's needed to master their stakeholder ecosystem, taking it from chaos and unpredictability to control and alignment."

In last week’s episode, I outlined the 10 key ingredients that contribute to your promotion prospects. In doing so, I realized that, after almost 300 full-length episodes of No Bullsh!t Leadership, we hadn’t yet produced one that deals specifically with the key discipline of stakeholder management...

Moment #60 // I’m a big believer in avoiding the problems that inevitably emerge when you become too isolated, or spend too much time cocooned in your own little world. 

There’s no end to the number of consultants out there who hold themselves up as experts, and promise to make your business better in oh-so-many ways...

Episode #289 // Although every episode of No Bullsh!t Leadership is peppered with practical guidance on how to improve your leadership confidence and performance, I’ve never given you the specific recipe for improving your promotion prospects — until now!

In this episode, I lay out a holistic inventory of the things that contribute to your promotability...

Moment #59 // Collaboration is one of the big buzz words of 21st century leadership. But the concept of collaboration in business dates back to the 19th century, as an underpinning feature of the theory of the firm.

Although there are a lot of benefits to collaboration, the pendulum has swung too far. We’ve devolved into decision-making by consensus, and management by committee...

Episode #288 // We all know what to do, for the most part. Each day when we wake up, we can either choose to do it, or not do it. If we choose to not do it, then our brains quickly come to the rescue to tell us why that’s the best decision under the circumstances — this is rationalization, and we all master it at a pretty young age...

Moment #58 // Conventional wisdom tells us that we have to put people before profits… that if we look after our people then, in turn, they will look after our customers, and the business will thrive.

But the problem with conventional wisdom is that, even though there’s always at least some grain of truth to it, it’s easy to oversimplify, to rationalize, and to misinterpret...

Episode #287 // As a leader, you face daily pressures which are quite different from the pressures that confronted you when you were a carefree individual contributor, responsible only for your own work.

The type of pressure, and its intensity, depends on a number of things: the sector you’re operating in; the organizational culture; the competence and demeanor of your boss… the list goes on...

Moment #57 // Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is often summarized as: the survival of the fittest. But, in fact, Darwin’s conclusion was that those who survive aren’t necessarily the fittest – they are the most adaptable. As a leader, one of your most valuable characteristics is your capacity for change.

Change is constant. But many of us don’t cope with it particularly well...

Episode #286 // Many people in leadership positions were promoted because they were good at their jobs — their technical jobs. When ambitious professionals want the status, the power, and the money that come with career advancement, they have to accept that leading other people comes with the territory.

With little leadership training, and even less desire to lead, they become ‘accidental’ leaders...

Moment #56 // We talk a lot as leaders about how to give feedback, and it takes many years of experience to actually get good at it. What we don’t talk about nearly as much is what to do when we’re on the other side of the table! 

Receiving good quality, helpful, accurate feedback is essential if you want to reach your performance potential...