For projects that take more than just what I can do myself, my strategy for success is Do one thing well. By doing it well, Attract people who want to participate. Partner with the capable, motivated ones. If you do things well with capable, motivated people, you get things done.  

Do you rely on authority to lead? The more you rely on authority to lead the more authoritarian you are. Think of authoritarian leaders in the past. Do you want to follow in their footsteps? Relying on authority means using tools of authority, like what comes with your position in the organization, group, or family. Things like hiring, firing, promotions, bonuses, performance-based pay, giving or removing responsibility, perks, and so on. I see many of these things as essential tools to manage people already committed to the cause, but not to lead, inspire, or motivate. If people are already committed…

If you think leadership is about getting people to do what you want, you'll develop a strategy to control and change them. I haven't found much success in trying to change people. If you think leadership is about understanding people and bringing out and supporting them on motivations they already have, you'll develop a strategy of meeting many people and attracting those with similar or complementary goals. Instead of trying to control them, you'll feel more like you unleash them. Instead of trying to change them, you'll tend to coordinate with them. To improve as a leader, you'll develop skills…

What happens when you work with a coach? Here is a trend I see with my clients. It's just my impression, not results from an independent third-party, but I'll hold myself accountable by asking my clients to review the post to see if I accurately represented them. What clients get coaching for My clients come with a variety of issues they want to improve, nearly all of them professional---wanting to develop leadership or entrepreneurial skills, problems with their manager, lacking meaning from their work, wanting to switch fields, etc. Comparing with peers sets expectations for what they'll get from coaching.…

Four reasons, among others, coaching helps, whether you're Michael Jordan, fresh out of school and first making life decisions for yourself, or some place in between: A mirror: The one person you can't see from another person's perspective is yourself, yet you are the one you wish you could see the most. If you lead others, they react to your behavior they see, not what you think or want them to react to, which is most of what you observe of yourself. An effective coach tells you what everyone else sees but you don't. Accountability: When something you want to…

The scene: Greenwich Village, crossing the street to my building. A windy rainy spring afternoon. I'm hurrying home. As I cross the street I see a woman, maybe in her 70s, about five feet tall, struggling with an umbrella in the wind. She also has a cane and a handbag. Three things, two hands, and wind. I stop, turn around and ask her if she could use a hand. Yes, she says. She just wants to get across the street. So I take her umbrella in my left hand and offer my right arm for her to hold. She shuffled…