13 Blunt Leadership Lessons

Happy Friday,

Over the past 30+ years, I've wrestled with all of these. If you're a leader, maybe you have too.

1.     Some people consume too much time and mental bandwidth, e.g., chronic complainers, the entitled, the ever negative, the always sarcastic. Liberate your mind and organization, say adios, and focus on the more deserving. You'll be doing everyone a favor.

2.     The prestige of one’s education doesn’t correlate with their value as an employee.

3.     Don’t penalize good folks by designing policies around the lowest common denominator. Improve the denominator instead.

4.     Money and success change weak people, not for the better. Beware.

5.     Never react to the first version of any story you hear, no matter how compelling. There’s always another version you weren’t told.

6.     Just because you've said something once doesn't mean it's been heard, understood, or internalized. Repetition is required to hammer it home.

7.     When members of your most senior leadership team fail to keep pace, it forces tough choices about their roles. This applies to the founders, too. Good luck with that.

8.     Make it SOP to impose the 24-Hour Rule on decisions and communications of consequence. It’s amazing how often a new day makes you wonder what in the world you were thinking.

9.     The night before you fire someone, you'll ask yourself, 'How did this become my life?'. Just remember, you're in business to employ people, so getting fired was their choice, not yours. It still sucks though.

10.  The complexity of a growing organization will almost certainly outpace its Board of Directors, which gradually diminishes its value and relevance. As a firm grows, the Board must shift its focus from day-to-day operations to broader strategic and policy issues. But they usually won't do that on their own. One strong outside Board member can help effect the shift and elevate the entire Board.

11.  To shorten meetings, remove the chairs from the room. It works.

12.  Your behaviors, worries, and focus are magnified throughout the organization far more than you think, so put on a good face even when you're not feeling it. Being a leader is a role you're paid to play.

13.  The more responsibility you have, the less you can trust people. This is the most disappointing thing about being a leader. Don't take it personally, it's the position, not you. Trust your instincts, verify, and over time learn who you can truly trust. Unfortunately, there won't be many of those, but they'll become your inner circle, and you'll value them for the rest of your life.

That's it. Have a terrific weekend!

Dave

Feedback and blowback are always welcome: dave@goodnewsfriday.com

All 100+ past topics are available at @goodnewsfriday.com