Redefine Leadership: Short Takes

Learned behaviors are hard to replace, even if we want to do something different. But the world moves forward, and opportunities pass us by. What have you thought about doing, but haven't yet?

Always separate praise and feedback. The compliment sandwich not only doesn’t lessen the discomfort of feedback, it destroys the value of the praise. Here are some practical ways to resolve both problems, and avoid the well-intentioned but extraordinarily counterproductive compliment sandwich.

Imposter Syndrome is a myth. Not the feeling, but how we are told to handle the feeling. That discomfort and self-doubt is actually a learning marker, and with the proper support, it is a critical motivator for learning.

Shared accountability is where members hold each other accountable for the group's performance. Most organizations lack the strength of the functions of leadership that is necessary for this form of accountability. Here are four things ways you can encourage shared accountability.

The functional approach to leadership allows us to see feedback not as an annual performance process, but rather as an interchange that moves information from one place to another. Constant feedback shows the members of the organization where the group’s performance falls short of excellence. When we give constant feedback over time, it becomes a pattern of group behavior that allows each member to direct his or her own improvements. These seven tactics will kick-start your constant feedback habit.

(Part 2, Organizational Culture Change) Organizational culture is a symptom of work. To change culture, we have to understand how these elements enable work to be performed, and therefore why it is uncomfortable to change them. Then we can act on the work itself to shift the limits of what is possible.

(Part 1, Organizational Culture Change Series) Culture change is often a judgment that behaviors are bad. Functional leadership flips this paradigm upside down, to performing work.

Stop asking, "What Do Good Leaders Do?" because it doesn't help you be a better leader. Here's what to do instead.

The function of learning allows the group to explore new, better ways to do the work. Learn three critical strategies to build learning into your organizational processes as you hire employees or grow your business.

Books expose us to new leadership ideas. If we don't have this exposure, our growth is limited by chance and luck. With a constant stream of new ideas, we can improve one small bit at a time but immeasurably over a lifetime. This is the return on investment of a book. In this episode, we discuss several specific tools and ideas to make reading more productive.