My staff called it the family prayer. You have to thank another team for something that happened last week. You can’t thank yourself, and you can’t repeat what someone else said.
When a leader can get people past being passive-aggressive, then heated but honest arguments can happen.
… when it is called “debate” rather than “disagreement,” participants are more likely to share information.
When she was discussing a decision with her team, she always had to be the last person to speak. You may know the answer and you may be right, but when you just blurt it out, you have robbed the team of the chance to come together. Getting to the right answer is important, but having the whole team get there is just as important.
You tell the engineers the problem the consumer has. You give them the context of who the consumer is. Then let them figure out the features. They will provide you with a far better solution than you’ll ever get by telling them what to build.
When you fire someone, you feel terrible for about a day, then you say to yourself that you should have done it sooner. No one ever succeeds at their third chance.
A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.
Often, when people ask for advice, all they are really asking for is approval.
Saying what you really think in a way that still lets people know you care.
It is often the highest-performing people who feel the most alone. They usually have more interdependent relationships but feel more independent and separate from others.
… power creates a subjective sense of separation and distinctiveness from others