can do—and try to avoid them. This inevitably leaves the people in their charge without direction, guidance, and protection, which eventually hurts those people and the organization as a whole. Employees will express their disbelief as to how their leader could have been so negligent and irresponsible, yet it makes perfect sense in light of his or

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“It’s about managing people, beginning with your team. Making sure they work together and aren’t getting bogged down by politics and confusion.” Shay was relieved, and even a little excited. “Oh, you’re talking about teambuilding. We have an annual event where we go off and do adventure activities and bond as a group.” He seemed proud that he was

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Managing individuals is about helping them set the general direction of their work, ensuring that it is aligned with and understood by their peers, and staying informed enough to identify potential obstacles and problems as early as possible. It is also about coaching leaders to improve themselves behaviorally to make it more likely that they will

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There is a secondary aspect of managing individuals that a leader must fulfill: they must ensure that their subordinates one level below are managing their people too! This is one of the most overlooked responsibilities that I find among senior leaders, especially CEOs. Even many CEOs who are really good people managers don’t demand (e.g., check up

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One of the keys to Alan’s success was something I call “joyful accountability.” He liked to approach people who needed correction and cheerfully let them know that it was completely up to them whether they changed their behavior or attitude. He would remind them that if they couldn’t change, he would still be their friend, but they couldn’t

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On a final and related note, it is critical that responsibility-centered leaders—and even those who aren’t—confront the reality that the people they lead are probably not telling them the unvarnished truth about their behavior. For every morsel of constructive feedback a leader gets, there will be a dozen compliments, many of them unwarranted. And

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“Here’s the deal, Liam. All of my people have their issues. Jackie’s too blunt. Karl won’t push back on anyone. Margaret never thinks she’s wrong. Everybody has something.” “Yeah, that’s the same for my people. None of them are perfect.” Shay was glad to have Liam agree with him about something. Then Liam finished his thought. “And it’s my job to

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A father who maintains the belief that being a parent should be convenient and fun is going to have a hard time embracing the concept of spending a lot of time with his children or attending their activities. As long as he maintains the notion that dads shouldn’t have to frequently sacrifice their own interests for the needs of their kids, then the

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“That’s great. But I’m talking about being a constant, incessant reminder of the company’s purpose, strategy, values, priorities. I like to say that you’re not only the CEO, you’re the CRO.” Before Shay could ask, she explained. “The chief reminding officer. Prospective em-ployees. New employees. Current employees. Constant reminders and updates

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