On Leading with Greatness

Communication is the second of the four elements of leadership that all great leaders practice—the 4 Cs: character, communication, compromise, and collaboration. [link] Moreover, at the core of impactful communication reside three interwoven and equally vital components, the three keys necessary to unlock effective communication: message, audience, and clarity.

Can people gain intelligence, or do we all just stay the same level we were born at?Your circumstances do not dictate your mindset. Your choices do.

If you are fixed in place by a fixed mindset, you can choose to grow with a growth mindset. If you are scarred by a scarcity mindset, you can choose dance with an abundance mindset. Your mindset is one of the few things entirely within your control, so take control. All you need to start is change your mind.

When was the last time you reviewed your past, present, and yet to be?

It was a dark and stormy afternoon. Eb was in the middle of chewing out stupid Bob, who was on the verge of tears.

Eb was furious at Bob for his constant nattering about Eb’s alleged neglect of the corporate mission. “What a lot of hooey!” Eb yelled. “The mission’s just a sap to sell more stock to do-gooder shareholders, or haven’t you figured that out yet!”

With that he summarily fired Bob. “I want you out of here by five, sharp!”

Bob gasped, “But, sir, it’s Christmas Eve!”

Eb relished for a moment the tears welling up in the poor man’s eyes. What a crybaby! Eb then snapped at him, “If I could, I’d fire you on Christmas! Now pack up your belongings and get out!”

As pathetic Bob shuffled out the door, Eb enjoyed the man’s departing sniffles and thought how satisfying it was to fire Bob Cratchit on Christmas Eve. He might just have to make the Christmas Eve firing a tradition.

The Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus left us this morsel to ruminate on: “Character is destiny.” It’s a well worn and venerable saying, but, frankly, I just can’t agree with him, at least not in our common understanding of his meaning.

Character is the first of the core elements of leadership—the 4 Cs—along with communication, compromise, and collaboration. Your character consists of your values, habits, beliefs, resilience, experiences, and everything else that drives or limits your behavior.

My issue with Heraclitus’ saying does not stem from the word “character,” though, but from the word “destiny.”

In his soulful song “Anthem,” Leonard Cohen sings of the opportunity for wisdom that imperfection offers us:

There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in

Instead of hiding these imperfections or hiding from them, Cohen offers a different course. The lyrics describe a wounded world where everything—good, bad, or banal—is fleeting. War, love, and even governments are ever coming and going like the day itself.

What is the role of a boss? What if less bossing resulted in better productivity?

Most bosses will tell you that they want to overcome obstacles, but what if I told you that the boss can be one of the biggest obstacles? The boss’s role, at its core, is to make it easier for the team to do its work and be successful. Sadly, most bosses are more concerned about advancing themselves, protecting their interests, and hitting arbitrary (and often counterproductive metrics, so the last thing they consider is how to help their team members except as it reflects well on them. Worse still, it is pretty rare that they even know how to help. So imagine a situation where a boss had proof positive that their routines, including meetings, were largely unnecessary and even

How do you master the little things in order to make big changes?

Two airliners take off from Newark Airport back to back and head due west. On one, the passengers are dressed for warm weather and sport sun hats. Their luggage is brimming with lightweight clothes and sandals. On the other plane, the passengers are wearing long sleeves and long pants. Their suitcases are stuffed with extra layers and some overhead compartments contain coats.

After some miles flying west, one plane alters its path a few degrees south. The other does so a couple of degrees north. Several hours later, the first lands in Los Angelos, the other in Anchorage. Just a subtle change in a trajectory makes all the difference.

Why are bosses so overpowered by the power of having power?

Let’s call this phenomenon BUI, bossing under the influence, which, like its more familiar counterpart, DUI or driving under the influence, can have far-reaching consequences. While the drunk driver may cause vehicular mayhem, accidents, grave injuries, and even death, the boss under the influence wreaks their own havoc in the workplace and well beyond.

You can think of it as drunk bossing, where bosses tipsy on power regularly cause anxiety and misery at work, which goes on to disrupt life at home.

I must confess that my most recent post, which delved into the dark side of compromise, was difficult for me to write.

It compelled me to dip into some of my past, which can sting. I do that a lot, though. The real challenge was crafting a clear, complete, and convincing argument. That’s the fun part, but I admit that in that piece I may have fallen short of my goal.

Leadership is pretty simple in concept. For instance, I'm an enthusiastic advocate of what I call the 4Cs – those four cornerstones that are indispensable for effective leadership: character, communication, compromise, and collaboration. I wrote about the 4Cs previously. Today I want to focus on just one of the 4Cs, the one that is a bit of a double-edged sword—compromise.