A team that learns is a team that grows. Very often, the best way to support this is to create the right conditions and then get out of the way.
Individual people—you, me, others—are not that great at making sound, evidence-based decisions. We also tend to be suspicious of decisions, made by others, that have the potential to affect us. But there are ways to foster better, more legitimate outcomes and it all starts with vigorous debate.
Throughout history, societies have often glorified pursuits and behaviors that can be expected to shave many years off your natural life expectancy.
For some, formal reviews are a time to step back, reflect on the previous months and get ready for the stretch that lies ahead. For others, documenting their mid-year is one more thing on their plate, a mildly annoying time gobbler that just crowds out other priorities. And for leaders with large teams, it’s a time-consuming task that can easily turn into a low-value box-checking exercise.
If you hold a leadership role of any type (and you probably do — whether at home, in school, at work or in the community more broadly), it’s good practice to pause once in a while and reflect on how well you’re doing on that front. But what’s the relevant frame of reference against which to assess yourself?
At what point in your life will you peak? When you’re at the top of your athletic capabilities or physical attractiveness? When you’re in your best earning years? When you hold the most power and influence?
We all know people – friends, colleagues, coaches, mentors, leaders – who are simply great at helping others be the best that they can be. You may well be one of them.
Achieve more by letting go? Backing off the pressure to run and going for long walks in my neighborhood over the past few months has given me some new insights into the art of making activities of all kinds more sustainable through the power of enjoyment.
I was in my mid-twenties, with very little business experience. Like many young people that age, I was keen to prove to myself and others that I could contribute in useful ways but had nothing remarkable to point to that would give me any special claim to anyone’s attention. I had potential as we all do, but that potential was still completely unrealized from a professional standpoint and could easily have remained so.
Well over ten years ago, in what now feels like a completely different life, I attended a management meeting with a few hundred colleagues.
