Q: What are some ways for people to tell if they have some invisible hierarchy? In terms of language, too. What are some of the cues, like if you were to go back and read somebody’s email, what are the phrases you look for? A: It’s in the ways that we enforce hierarchy. There...
Q: What are your thoughts on how to inspire people that have done things a particular way for 30+ years to WANT to change? A: First, I would embrace the IBL principle “act your way to new thinking, not think your way to new action.” The idea is simply take some small action and...
Q: What is the most important question leaders should be asking employees? A: I think there are several important questions. “How can I help you?” “What are you trying to achieve?” “How can I help you achieve that?” “Is this company acting in a way that’s consistent with your principles?” “How much integrity do...
A: How has being exposed to the agile community influenced your new book, Leadership Is Language? For example, the SCRUM and SAFe cycles? Q: If we don’t relieve the pressure of the clock, its hard to shift to thinking mode, then collaborate with each other (not coerce) so we get commitments. So, from...
Q: What is a major barrier that keeps people from speaking up? A: We call it the power gradient, it’s how much more important your boss is than you. It affects you like this – you don’t speak up against the boss. Information flows inversely proportional to the power gradient, so the steeper...
Q: Why do we need emotions at work? A: In the Industrial Age, I didn’t need my workforce to make decisions. I made the decisions for them. Now, we want the doers to also be the deciders and we say “you’re going to be part of the decision making apparatus.” It turns out you...
Q: In your new book, Leadership Is Language, you talk about the language of leaders in Industrial Age organizations coercing people to comply with decisions. As we emerge from that era, why do you think some leaders still hang on to an old style of language? A: I think that there are a couple...
Q: People get annoyed when they know the boss has the answer but doesn’t give it to them. What is a good way to respond? A: Of course they might get annoyed, you are forcing them to think. You are sending them on a leadership workout. Start by having a designated amount of time...
Q: Why is listening an important quality for leadership? A: Listening is the foundational skill that all other leadership skills build from. Listening is understanding what the other person is saying so that you might guess how they are feeling about an issue. Listening one-on-one allows understanding of what the other person is feeling....
Q: When you talk about the power of language, what do you mean? A: While our brain controls our language, our language also shapes our brains. A good example from Turn The Ship Around was “No they on Santa Fe.” We could only refer to each other on board the submarine as “we.” When...
