Category: Leadership

Senior executives I connect with have a recurring theme about their organizations: How equipped are our leaders to coach their team?

Employees – especially those in the latest generations – don’t just need someone to direct their tasks. They want leaders who guide, inspire, and empower them.

Coaching is becoming a core leadership competency. Yet, many organizations still have leaders focused on metrics and performance reviews, instead of having them hold ongoing meaningful dialogue with their employees.

If this is true in your organization, there is a path to improve how your leaders engage with their direct reports:

·       Invest in developing coaching skills at all levels of leadership

·       Encourage asking open-ended questions that spark self-reflection

·       Move toward a culture where two-way feedback is standard

This shift in your approach could lead to stronger engagement, higher retention, and thriving teams. 

Last month a client asked me what business books I recommend for a team of young leaders. I created a list several years ago and realized I hadn’t updated it in a while. Thus, here is a revised one – in reverse order of publication dates:

Generations – Jean Twenge (2023)

Better Decision Faster – Paul Epstein (2023)

Think Again – Adam Grant (2021)

Winning the War in You Mind – Craig Groeschel (2020)

Words Flow Through Me – David Handler (2020)

Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek (2020)

The Happiest Man on Earth – Eddie James (2020)

The Ride of a Lifetime – Bob Iger (2019)

Raise Your Game – Alan Stein Jr (2019)

Sea Stories – William McRaven (2019)

Dare to Lead – Brene’ Brown (2018)

Atomic Habits – James Clear (2018)

Make Your Bed – William McRaven (2017)

The Undoing Project – Michael Lewis (2016)

Misbehaving – Richard Thaler (2015)

Turn the Ship Around – David Marquet (2013)

Pendulum – Roy H. Williams (2012)

Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman (2011)

Linchpin – Seth Godin (2010)

Leadership and Self Deception – The Arbinger Institute (2010)

Start With Why – Simon Sinek (2009)

Drive – Daniel Pink (2009)

Your Brain at Work – Dr. David Rock (2009)

Tribes – Seth Godin (2008)

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell (2008)

The 4-Hour Work Week – Timothy Ferris (2007)

Walt Disney – Neil Gabler (2006)

Blink – Malcolm Gladwell (2005)

Blue Ocean Strategy – Renee’ Maubagne, W. Chad Kim (2004)

Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni (2002)

Good to Great – Jim Collins (2001)

Wealth Within Reach – Bud Hadfield (1995)

The Great Game of Business – Jack Stack (1992)

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephan Covey (1989)

Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl (1946)

How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie (1936)

When 99-year-old Charlie Munger died on New Year’s Day, he left behind a legacy of financial success as the longtime business partner of legendary investor Warren Buffett.

Munger was known for providing homespun wisdom in his speeches, interviews, and especially at Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings:

“The big money is not in the buying and the selling… but in the waiting.”

“I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.”

“When you mix raisins and turds, you’ve still got turds.”

One of Munger’s axioms – about the importance of growth over time – popped into my head after a recent coaching meeting: “The first rule of compounding is to never disrupt it unnecessarily.”

My client had asked how he could identify gaps in his leadership style that needed to be filled in order to maximize the final 10 years of his career. After some Q&A aimed at helping him reflect on and self-discover possibilities, I said: “The 33 years you put in so far have combined to make you who you are today. Think of it as compound leadership growth.”

When his eyes lit up, I felt we were on to something. Then we discussed some of the best lessons he’s learned and how he uses those to maximize impact in his VP role.

Think about your career growth. Which good lessons do you carry forward and which bad ones did you leave behind?

This month, our neighbors directly across the street and next door had tall pine trees that didn’t survive the extreme heat removed – by the same tree service. It was impressive to watch the crew of eight people work together to carefully and safely take down these 100-foot giants.

Some members maneuvered guy ropes. Some raked up fallen needles and small branches. Some carried larger limbs and tossed them into the shredder. Several trunk pieces were so big it took a forklift on tank rollers to carry them to a flatbed truck.

Of course, the most impressive teammate was the young man – who wore a different colored shirt so he could be seen easily at height – that climbed all the way to the top and used a chainsaw to dismantle each tree a few feet at a time. That job takes faith, courage and skill.

They arrived and departed within three hours… and left nothing behind. It was a wonderful example of the importance of teamwork – and I imagine they immediately went to another home and did it all again. 

For the past 18 months, I worked with two groups of senior leaders at a global organization. These 10 talented individuals from the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and India were hand-picked by top executives for a multi-faceted program that included designing and delivering a project to hopefully create a new initiative for the company. They also participated in two in-person bootcamps, five live online 3.5 hours events and peer-to-peer coaching.

The final challenge last week was for each group – self-named ‘Shinconsiners’ and ‘True Northians’ – to present their prototype to members of the ELT. This 60-minute Teams meeting was divided into thirds: presentation, Q&A, feedback. The judges were complimentary… and tough. They asked powerful questions, and despite all the planning, research, testing, revision and practice, both groups were held accountable for missing some key insights.

Other coaches worked with the two teams whose members are based in Europe. One of those received a score of 21 out of 24 from the ELT and their idea was immediately greenlighted. The other one scored 15 and was denied. The two I coached earned equal scores of 18… with the possibility for approval after revisions.

In addition to their substantial learning as participants, it was a great experience for me to facilitate the journey, especially from seeing how they approached each task along the way.

Now the opportunity ahead for them is to continue excelling in their roles and someday be added to the ELT – with one perhaps rising to be the future CEO. Of course, that’s a high bar… especially since three more groups just started the second iteration of the program. I’m excited to work with one to see how much they grow.