December 21, 2024

The Role of Counterexamples in the Socratic Method

Asking great questions is what great leaders do. To fully incorporate the Socratic Method into their leadership style, the best leaders also understand the importance of counterexamples to further refine thinking about an issue or topic. Counterexamples attempt to disprove or rebut a statement of fact by offering a case or example where the viewpoint doesn’t apply or operate perfectly. For instance, if a team member were to define a “strategy” as a plan of action designed to achieve a goal, a counterexample might be to point out how spontaneous decisions that address an immediate problem are imbued with strategy but lack planning.

December 20, 2024

Building Credibility Quickly in a New Role

Anytime a leader transitions to a new role, team members unfamiliar with them naturally become fixated on who they are and how they will lead the team. Leaders instinctively know that establishing their credibility quickly with the team is critical to their short- and long-term success. Demonstrating that they are worth following and have the competence to inspire loyalty is job one for a new leader. Sound advice, such as meeting with as many team members face-to-face and listening to their views about what has been successful and what needs to change, sets leaders up for success.

December 19, 2024

Using the Uncertainty Matrix for Scenario Planning

December 18, 2024

What Not to Presume About Large-Scale Change

As a general rule, people resist big changes. It slaps them in the face, and they often find a way to slap back. The best leaders approach an organization’s transformation by first understanding that change means movement. And movement inside an organization creates more friction than they can see. Creating change almost always takes more time, resources, persistence, and education than leaders expect it to. Good leaders buckle in for the long ride of success.