A great vision is one that unlocks human potential and creativity by painting a clear picture of what is possible. Stewarding, adapting, and continuously refining the vision is the top priority of successful leaders because it is a core component of the organization’s strategy. It is really hard to get it right, but there is a pattern that I have found in the work of great leaders that can be replicated. It can help us craft and steward better, more motivating language for our visions.

A great vision is one that unlocks human potential and creativity by painting a clear…

A well-running organization, with highly motivated and aligned people, is a powerful form of high-art. It includes the performance art of your people delivering services and coordinating activities at scale and it has artifacts, symbols, and physical art that have the potential to leave a profound impression on the people it touches. The art manifests in and through all of the layers of the organization’s culture.

Culture is a lot like the bulb of an onion. It has many interesting layers and if you leave it on the shelf for too long, and don’t pay attention, it will surely rot…

The motivation of the people you surround yourself with is the wellspring of creativity in your life.

There is a complex relationship between motivation, psychological safety, the structure you impose, and the innovation that results. It is not as simple as you might think. The guru on the subject, author Amy Edmonson, Ph.D., coined the term ‘psychological safety’ and has spent the bulk of her career as a professor and researcher at Harvard University studying teams, teaming, and the dynamics of this phenomenon.

‘Psychological Safety’ is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with…

The greatest of leaders shift the thinking and behaviors of those they lead in ways that cause more caring and more influence through competence. They transform the thinking of those they serve by shifting the language of the group from “I” to “We” thinking at scale. Their work transforms their followers into leaders, through language, by empowering them to each scale both caring and influence in their work. The most successful leaders craft language, create tools and follow through with actions that allow their leadership to resonate for generations. Natural leaders have an uncanny ability to inspire others into action…

In my experience, good leaders, who earn the respect of their colleagues, drive clarity when they are evangelizing their vision. They speak in clear language, state their assumptions, aggressively work the risks, and always think through the important questions, on their own, so that they know their options and can make the best decisions. The difference is not subtle.

Great leaders create more clarity than they consume.

The more complex a problem is, the more important clarity becomes. Without it, projects flounder and are poorly executed. Teams that lack clarity of vision appear “busy” and suffer a lack of progress…

Commitment is rare. Building a culture of commitment in your organization accelerates trust.

People often avoid making small interpersonal commitments because they are risky. According to Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning and prolific academic, we value loss about twice as much as we value gains, thus it follows that we are more likely to avoid a negative experience resulting from a missed promise than to take the unnecessary risk of making a commitment. However, when you make commitments and keep them, even small promises, it builds trust faster. Being purposeful about the promises and commitments you make to your customers…

Finding and curating your advocates can significantly improve your culture

Establishing a clear north star metric for your business is hard work.

When I earned my MBA in 2006, I was taught the Milton Friedman — Esque mantras of “Shareholder Value,” “Return on Investment,” and “Profit” as the core measures of success for any business. One of the first books I was asked to read was “The Goal” by Eliyahu Goldratt, a treatise to the “Theory of Constraints” theory of firm management.

In the software product world, our leadership literature is rife with attempts at explaining metrics for product success from the Google “HEART” metrics to Dave McClure’s Pirate Metrics…

CULTURE AND STRATEGY

According to “The Internet,” Peter Ferdinand Drucker (1909–2005) purportedly said these words:

“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” - Attributed to Peter Drucker

I cannot find any evidence of it in his writing, but this quote sparks a fantastic question all leaders have to struggle with in constructing their businesses. “What is culture, and how does it relate to the strategy of the organization?”

Like most important words in the English language, it is difficult for a group of people to operate on it purposefully without a shared definition. …