If you were to walk into my office, or catch me in the hallway and ask, “Josh, what is the #1 thing I should start doing in order to become a more effective leader?”, this is what I would tell you. “Start reading about leadership.” To get better at anything
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Dealing with Difficult People
My kids are pretty good kids. I didn’t say perfect, but they at least want to do right more than half of the time. That said, multiple times a day there are arguments, frustrations, power-moves, and sometimes a show of small forces between them. It’s called, “contention”. If you’ve been
Continue readingHow to be a Fearless Leader
The thing that terrified me the most as a child was thunderstorms and tornadoes. I don’t know what it was about them, but when it would start to thunderstorm, this incredible fear swept over me. I remember running to my parents room terrified, hoping they would let me sleep on
Continue readingSpoiler Alert: Leadership is a Trait, not a Trade
Over the last two decades I have known several people who were promoted into a management position and then decided to step down. I want to describe some of the reasons people leave management positions, and then share some ideas if you find yourself in a similar situation. Leadership is
Continue readingOops! I Did it Again, How to Avoid Bad Counsel
In my recent post, You Aren’t Smart Enough, I shared a list of counselor types a leader should surround themselves with in order to make great decisions. As important as good counsel is, it is just as important, perhaps more-so, to know how to avoid bad counsel. Below are a
Continue readingYou Aren’t Smart Enough
Jim Rohn said, “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” That is a little more in-your-face than the “birds of a feather flock together” mantra, but there is definitely some truth to it. So take a moment and think about who you spend
Continue readingMake a Decision
There were 30-ish doctoral candidates standing on a street corner just outside of Washington DC. For all of us, except one, this was the first time in our lives that we’ve been at this location. I’m being generous with the “one”, as you’ll see in a minute. We were there
Continue readingHow to Move Up
When was the last time you thought about, or had a discussion with a spouse, co-worker, or friend about how to move up. Sometimes the conversation is about someone who moved up too quickly, or someone who didn’t move up fast enough. Sometimes it’s just a colleague or friend wanting
Continue readingLeadership is Not Management
Leadership Truth Being in management, does not make you a leader. Being a leader does not require a formal title. Being in management does not make you a leader My team and I were all in data engineering-type roles, and had been for quite some time. All of the development
Continue readingThe Leadership Handbook
Over the past two decades I have had the incredible experience of leading people and changing culture. I have led people through both mundane and extraordinary circumstances. I have learned from and been inspired by other great leaders either through their books or through personal interactions (Check out my reading
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