Mike’s Blog
This is for everyone who is interested in Leadership, teams, and people.
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Why not me?
Do you ever have a moment when nothing seems to be going right, and all you can think is, "Why me?" At a conference I attended last year, a panel discussed their experience with vision loss. The youngest panellist started losing his vision at 12 years old (he was 19...
Taking responsibility is always best
Recently, a court ruled against Air Canada after a customer took them to small claims court. The customer needed to buy a last-minute ticket to attend his Mom's funeral. He went to their website to find out if they offered a bereavement discount on tickets (they do.)...
Make it a brave space rather than a safe space
I'm through with talking about safety, physiological safety, and safe spaces. I just returned from leading a team development retreat. Usually, I spend time creating safety in the room. I do this by having a couple of discussions that explore what it means for the...
What do you do when the going gets tough?
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going." — Billy Ocean I looked up the meaning of the lyrics. When the situation gets difficult, strong people can step up and handle it. There are times to step up and get through something difficult. However, sometimes...
Do you know that thing about finding yourself?
The past year has been quite the ride. It’s been full of good stuff, challenges, and even a few adventures. Earlier this summer, I found myself feeling lost. Where am I going? Do I have what it takes to be a success? Do I want to do this work anymore? What’s the...
Why do so many transformations fail
Seventy percent of all corporate transformations fail to meet their stated objectives. I've been involved with a few of those failed transformations. I've also worked with several companies implementing changes to their work. In both cases, many companies have...
There’s no such thing as accidents
A couple of weeks ago, I dropped and broke a bottle of wine. As much as I hate to ruin a good bottle of wine, I didn't beat myself up because it was an accident. Have you noticed how often people use the word "accident?" For example, a couple is dealing with an...
It’s only stuff
Growing up, I vaguely remember this lamp in my grandparent’s home. I remember it being a curiosity in my mind. Once my grandparents died, my parents acquired numerous pieces of their furniture, including the lamp. From that day forward, my Dad insisted I take it after...
Don’t let stage fright stop you
You get on the stage, and ego rushes in to say, "Don't mess up." That's when the nerves would start to kick in. You'd know it as you'd likely see me pacing about if you were backstage with me. While I had nearly 35 years of experience performing in a band,...
It’s always a people problem
A software team once told me they spend two hours refreshing their testing regions daily. I asked if this situation seemed reasonable to them. "No, it's a complete waste of time as it keeps us from working on the new features." When asked why they did not change this...
It’s at the back of the store near the dog food
"The ginger beer is near the back of the store near the dog food." I nearly fell over when my son, Scott, said this to me. The thing is, he's gone blind in the past year and has only been in this store while blind. I asked him how he knew this. Scott explained that...
What if everyone is doing the best they know how?
“You know what your problem is? You have too much money.” I explained, “What you’re doing is working, as evidenced by your profits and share value. So, you have no real reason to change. You can keep doing what you’re doing, and it’ll work … for now. After all, it did...
Lasting change starts with an awareness of what is true
Awareness is like a muscle you can strengthen. All you need to do is to slow down and pay attention.
Where are you leading from?
Leading doesn’t mean you’re always in the front. Sometimes, the right thing to do is to let others be in front with your support.
Resilient teams have problems
Resilient teams have problems, too. They’ve just developed a keen ability to recover to resiliency quickly.
Change is like the weather
Your change plan is like a weather forecast. Both provide useful information, but you’d be wise to adjust to whatever happens on the journey.
Change is like the weather
Your change plan is like a weather forecast. Both provide useful information, but you’d be wise to adjust to whatever happens on the journey.
Resilient teams are connected
Give the team time weekly to connect, share, and laugh, as this is foundational to having a resilient team.
Start all meetings on time regardless of who’s present
Start all meetings on time regardless of who’s present. It’s the single greatest thing you can do to help most of them start on time.
Stop trying to sell something to people
People don’t care what you’re selling. They do care about the impact you could have on their world.
History favours those who take action
History favours those who take action! Don’t worry about finding the perfect answer and just do something that might teach you something.
The outcome is based on the words we choose
The difference between ‘and’ and ‘but’ is what happens next.
The antidote to jealousy
Jealousy is rooted in a belief that you can’t have something. The antidote is to tell yourself you can have it.
Tools don’t improve the outcomes
Changing the tool you use to track your work without changing how you work will leave you with the same results.