On Sunday, Jennifer and I watched the last of our three children cross the high school stage. Being a parent is the quintessential form of hierachical leadership. No new employee comes to work, no student enters a classroom, as full of promise and as completely dependent as a baby enters a family. In a world that … Continued
Reading for Leading works for me every Sunday, and hopefully for you on many Mondays (or whenever) because it causes me (and you?) to STOP. One of the major images we have of leaders is that they well, LEAD. Literally, they are at the front. Or, they’re in the back, yelling, “You, go there. You, go … Continued
Today’s RFL is a “best of” edition. I feel as strongly as the day I wrote it. I was just talking to a good friend and his 9th grade son, and while “pops” was distracted by another conversation, I asked the younger: “Who’s the leader in your house — your mom or your dad?” His … Continued
I was 10 when Detroit burned with rage and rebellion. Since then I have done little things, and little things matter, but have I done nearly enough? And, more importantly, what more can I do? If you believe in “everyday leadership,” or “kill (the idea of) THE leader,” then this question must be yours as … Continued
I love leadership, but often in my work I find that people never learned to manage. Some (me!) naturally have their heads in the sky, so they fail to generate the clarity that helps people work in concert (I think of an orchestra or band concert where you better be not just on the same … Continued
3 mini-stories today on the power of lists, with great thanks to my good teachers: Eve, Uncle John, and Ivana. 1. Every Monday I share my list of top3 goals with my accountabilibuddy,” Eve. Last month we hit our 100th week of exchanging by email our top 3 goals for the week ahead (as well … Continued
95% of America (and 80% of my household) watches the oddballs like me and they wonder: How can you guys possibly sit there and watch golf on TV? B-O-R-I-N-G! But if watching golf must have some redeeming value, I will say that watching The Masters this weekend completely coincided with a line I read in a … Continued
Here’s a simple thought — maybe for the week. Maybe for the day. Maybe for just now: What if you forget about everything YOU have to do this week? Forget about your top 3 goals (What, you don’t write your top 3 goals every week?). Forget about the change you want to effect. Forget about … Continued
I teach my students: “Kill the leader.” I don’t mean it literally! I mean kill the THE — like there’s really one leader. What a stupid idea. And kill the idea that I invite you to re-kill today: Who (are) you waiting for — whose inactivity justifies your passivity. I like it better without the … Continued
I sat next to Carolyn, a retired history teacher on a plane out of DC last week. She’s got a cool job: between February and June, she leaves her home in Dayton almost every week and heads to DC or Williamsburg or sometimes Boston, where she teaches visiting 5th or 8th graders about American history. … Continued