Leadership
Tough Love for Leaders
Leaders, it’s time for some tough love: accountability, communication, and respect are not just expectations for others, but for you, too.
Related Articles
Filter by Category
Filter by Author
Back to Latest Articles
Managing People
On Hiring Well
Effective hiring goes beyond filling positions; it's about building relationships and ensuring a positive experience for every candidate.
Leadership
Mistaking Charismatic Laborers for True Leaders
Charismatic laborers may save the day, but true leaders build a future. Sustainable progress thrives not on heroics, but on empowering teams and creating lasting systems.
Managing People
What Does it Mean to be a Manager in Agile?
A framework I created to explain how managers still have a huge role to play in coaching Agile teams' performance
Leadership
Leadership and Manure
Just as a successful garden requires preparation and the right conditions to thrive, true leadership is about cultivating an environment where innovation and growth can flourish.
Communication
The Problem with the Telephone Game
Cascading communication is like a flawed game of telephone: everybody hears a message, but did they hear the right message?
Self-Management
Putting Down the Whack-A-Mole Mallet
Great leaders don’t just react to exceptions—they redesign systems to prevent them. Progress comes from refining workflows, not just playing whack-a-mole with disruptions.
Leadership
Acknowledging Power Distance
Authentic leadership isn’t just about being genuine—it’s about being humane. Leaders must balance their authority with empathy, bridging the gap between their humanity and the power they hold.
Self-Management
In Case of Bad Days
Save those encouraging notes and emails in a 'For Bad Days' folder. When imposter syndrome hits, pull it out and let those kind words remind you that you are great at what you do.
Productivity
Nobody Will Protect Your Focus For You
How I've learned to protect time for deep thinking and doing
Managing People
If You Want to Build a Ship…
Many leaders view their job as creating thrust behind the organization (read: "sense of urgency"). I don't see it that way.
Managing People
Nine Phrases Every Leader Should Use More Often
Every leader should prioritize the power of language in their interactions. Using phrases that convey vulnerability, openness, and empathy can transform a team's culture.
Leadership
Building Legacies that Endure
Even in the face of disheartening transformations, the connections forged and the values instilled continue to ripple through time, reminding us that our legacies are built in the space between human beings.
Leadership
Get Comfortable with Ambiguity
Great leaders know when to embrace uncertainty outside their teams but prioritize creating clear paths and shared goals within, ensuring everyone moves forward together.
Leadership
This I Believe
Leadership is built on beliefs, lessons, and experiences—big and small—that shape how we guide others. Here’s a collection of truths I hold about leading people.
Communication
What’s in a Name?
People's names matter, and it's worth taking the time to get them right.
Productivity
Time to Blow Up Your Calendar
Declaring calendar bankruptcy every now and then is a good thing.
Making Great Products
On Attics and Assumptions: The Hidden Cost of Inaction
Buying our first house was a dream come true, but it quickly turned into a costly lesson about ignoring problems. What we thought was an insurmountable expense turned out to be a simple solution, teaching me the importance of recognizing and challenging limiting beliefs.
Leadership
Pee, Poo, and Unintended Consequences
When my son gamed our potty-training system to maximize cartoons, I realized something: measuring the wrong thing drives the wrong behavior. The same is true in software development—if we focus solely on output, we risk missing the outcomes that truly matter.
User Experience
Design Is About Process, Not Heroics
While most people settle for the first workable solution, designers dig deeper, exploring a multitude of ideas and embracing risk. This is their superpower.
Making Great Products
Tension Is To Be Loved
The tension between designers, developers, and product managers often feels like a struggle for dominance—but what if that tension is the key to building great products?
Tough Love for Leaders
Leaders, it’s time for some rapid-fire tough love.
- You CAN end meetings on time. Like I tell my teenager, if your curfew is midnight, aim to be home by 11:50 PM, and you’ll make it.
- Running late? Let someone know. It takes 10 seconds to drop a quick Teams or Slack message to the organizer. There’s no excuse for leaving people guessing.
- The rules apply to you, too. If you didn’t book your favorite conference room, don’t abuse your power by kicking out someone who did.
- Accountability is a two-way street. You can’t hold people accountable effectively unless you’re open to being held accountable yourself. (It’s almost—ALMOST—like accountability is defined by personal responsibility meeting mutual respect…)
- People can’t read minds. If you have an expectation, voice it. Even better, write it down and confirm everyone’s on the same page.
- People don’t know what you know unless you tell them. I’ve seen many leaders in my career who believe a problem is solved because they made a decision. But a decision is not a decision until it’s communicated. If you’re frustrated that people aren’t aligning to a decision they don’t know you made, where does the fault lie?
- Your position in the company does not exempt you from being courteous. While some have less authority than you do, everyone is worthy of respect.
(And for those who have worked for me and seen me violate every one of these statements… I’m sorry. I am a work in progress.)
Cover photo by Sarah Wolfe on Unsplash
