ARTICLES

Your supervisors avoiding hard conversations is not a minor leadership flaw; it’s the most common management mistake and the one that quietly does the most damage. The mistake usually isn’t saying the wrong thing—it’s doing nothing and hoping the problem will sort itself out. The most common mistake: doing nothing One of the best bosses ever told me, “The most common management mistake is doing nothing,” and, if being honest, that has probably been my biggest mistake too. Whe

The future of leadership in government isn’t about choosing between efficiency and culture—it’s about building systems that deliver both, relentlessly moving us forward while keeping our team strong and connected. Jim Collins nails this in Good to Great, where Level 5 leaders confront brutal facts—like our reactive firefighting—while maintaining unwavering faith in the endgame: sustainable progress through disciplined systems, not just hustle. Cities I’ve worked with often ex

Months ago, I wrote about the Emperor Moth and The Coddling of the American Mind , exploring how overprotection—whether in parenting or elsewhere—robs people of the essential struggle that builds resilience and strength. Today, that same dynamic plays out in leadership. We’ve all heard of “snowplow parenting,” where well-meaning parents clear every obstacle from their kids’ paths. In the workplace, we do the exact same thing: snowplow leadership. We rush in to solve problems,

Every promotion creates a Competence Chasm between your proven skills and the new leadership demands ahead. Humility is the only reliable bridge across it, turning potential failure into lifelong growth. What Is the Competence Chasm? The Competence Chasm is the deep, treacherous gap that opens with every promotion—the divide between the technical strengths and task mastery that earned you the role, and the new demands like mentoring, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence

It’s that time of year again—the season of new gym memberships, colorful planners, and lofty resolutions. We all want to be better, do more, achieve something meaningful. And yet, every January, thousands of us set goals we’ll quietly abandon by February. I’ve been there too. The truth is, goals by themselves aren’t the problem—it’s how we use them. Goals give us direction, but they rarely create real progress. Progress comes from systems—the daily, repeatable actions that mo

Every organization, sooner or later, faces a tough call: What do you do with an exceptionally talented person who poisons the well? As a manager and consultant, I’ve seen this play out repeatedly—not just in offices but on baseball fields too. Take Barry Bonds, for example. He was as talented as anyone who ever played the game, but teammates often called him a bad teammate, demanding special treatment and stirring friction in the clubhouse. The Giants made it to a World Serie

Under the lights, my nine-year-old son took the mound, his face a mix of concentration and nerves. He’d pitched very well all season, but...

As leaders—and as people—we all hit moments where we feel stuck, especially when things don’t go our way. I’ve found myself tangled in...

When most people hear “discipline,” they think of restriction. But I’ve found the opposite to be true, both in my personal routines and,...

In my earlier article, Consistency Over Intensity, I talked about the 1911 race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert...

The well-known exercise of writing your own obituary, popularized by self-help experts and career coaches, asks you to clarify your...

As anyone who’s spent time in city government knows, expecting total consensus on every issue is a losing game. Cities aren’t monoliths,...

When I developed my organizational model based on a planetary gear, I wanted each part to have real meaning. People are at the center as...

In the machinery of a high-performing organization, leadership is the “ring gear”-the outer gear of a planetary system that holds...

The Legacy of the 101st Airborne Few military units are as storied or as revered as the 101st Airborne Division, and within it, the...

Ted Lasso, the protagonist of the Emmy-winning television series Ted Lasso, exemplifies leadership traits that resonate deeply with...

In the pursuit of success, whether in personal endeavors or professional achievements, we often find ourselves caught between two...

Parkinson's Law, first articulated by British historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1955, is a principle that reveals a profound truth...

The journey of leadership is often compared to climbing a ladder, where with each step up, the perspective changes, the responsibilities...

In the story of Old Yeller, Travis Coates, a young boy, is forced to make a heartbreaking decision when his beloved dog, Old Yeller, is...