Just do what I say. Taking control, giving orders, and acting as a commander is an essential leadership style … when a crisis is on the line, on the battlefield, in an emergency, etc. Think about it – when a building is on fire or a...
CRANIUM POINT: Interaction, not micromanagement. Honor team input. Leverage other's experience. Gain loyalty by allowing a choice and a voice. Delegate. It can be a euphemism for bossing others around or shirking responsibility. It can also be a powerful tool for building trust and broadening...
CRANIUM POINT: Using emotions, not ignoring emotions. You can capitalize on emotional intelligence by putting to practical use the power of the emotional brain. Work, relationships, bills...
CRANIUM POINT: Challenge, not threat. Create a safe environment where a challenge is maximized and a threat is minimized - intentionally. We talk about this all of the time, but a threat is a threat. Your brain will respond to a poisonous snake in a similar way...
CRANIUM POINT: Novelty, not boring routine. Do the unexpected. Seek and reward innovation. Celebrate veering from conventional methods. Normally, our novelty posts are a little whacky to emphasize breaking from convention. PowerPoint presentations are a good place to depart from this as they are often so bad....
CRANIUM POINT: Multiple ways of learning, not a narrow view. Value the multiple intelligences all individuals bring to the team. The question is not “How smart are you?” but rather “How are you smart?” Howard Gardner and others have proven our gifts, talents, and abilities far...
CRANIUM POINT: Action, not overload. Purposefully balance work and life. Cheaper, better, and faster isn’t always best for the human brain. Balancing work and life is something we all strive for. We all know that it's not that easy to do. Everyone has made those pronouncements: I'll...
CRANIUM POINT: Relevance is not meaningless work. Communicate how each job fits into a larger mission. Ensure the fit of each job to the team. Ta-da…the magic phrase is “….and here’s why.” Here’s why… Miscommunication is soooo natural. There is just no way to always accurately describe the rich...
