Mike’s Blog
This is for everyone who is interested in Leadership, teams, and people.
There are currently 1,652 posts on this site. Narrow the list by searching for topics that are important to you.
Working with emotions
What is the impact on you when someone is being emotional?
Sometimes to solve a problem all you need is a pause
In leadership and life, start by pausing when you find yourself upset.
The many stances of a leader
Every day, leaders will shift between several stances to give people the lead they need and want.
Leadership is bringing out their excellence
Focus on excellence and the results will look after themselves.
Is it time to let go of the thing you’re trying to fix?
When things are not going as expected, it can be challenging for a leader to admit something is not working.
Do you see that you’re in this together?
Blame is unproductive in wanting to resolve issues as you are not confronting the problem.
Don’t think for them
Make it possible for them to think for themselves and watch where they go.
Stop telling yourself stories and go for an adventure
What are the stories you’re telling yourself?
Be careful what you ask for – you might get it
Use plain language when you encourage, coach, and mentor people as they go after a great outcome.
It’s all about the problems
Leadership and life are best when you can respond effectively to problems, upsets, and stuck spots.
Look past the fog of a problem
When confronting a problem, start by looking for clarity about the problem.
Are you fixing this flat tire or the next one?
Rather than using a process to solve problems, work with your team to find ways to make things better every day.
Stay true to you
Don’t let loneliness cause you to violate your values.
How do you handle a failure?
What if every failure is what was meant to happen? Knowing this can make it harder to beat yourself up over it.
Are you giving feedback or criticism?
"Check your feedback and ask, are you coming from a place of making the other person either good or bad or right or wrong? Then you’re giving criticism, not feedback." –Christopher Avery
Do you want to improve someone’s motivation?
Do you want to improve someone’s motivation? Ask people to tell you about the thing they did that was so awesome. Telling the story will remind them just how awesome they are.
The similarity between trees and complaints
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there, does it make a sound? If people complain and you’re not there, is the complaint real?
Having a purpose or living purposefully
Waiting to be happy until you achieve your purpose is an elusive goal. Live every day purposefully so you can be happy every day.
The downside of happiness
Focusing on keeping people happy all the time is to invite apathy, mediocrity, and a lack of innovation.
We all have emotions
We all have emotions. We all process emotion differently. Just don’t deny the emotions you’re feeling.
What might emerge from conflict?
Conflict is a sign of something wanting to happen. Why not get curious to see what might emerge?
How curious are you?
Curiosity is the key to understanding. Why not use it more than you already do?
Responsibility trumps control every time
You can’t control what happens in the world around you. But, you can take responsibility for how you respond.
Effective feedback is given directly
Don’t dilute feedback by beating around the bush or softening it. Be honest, direct, and objective.
