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Making Accountability Part of How You Lead—Every Day

Raising the Bar Series | Part 5   Accountability isn’t something you enforce occasionally. It’s something you build into how your team operates every day. By now, most leaders understand the importance of accountability. They…
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The Bar Doesn’t Move—The Support Does

Raising the Bar Series | Part 4   When the bar starts to move in the name of empathy, it’s often a sign the real conversation hasn’t happened yet. Empathy has become essential to modern leadership. And that’s a good thing. But…
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The Courage to Raise and Hold the Bar

Raising the Bar Series | Part 3   Most leaders don’t struggle to set standards. They struggle to hold them. Because holding the bar creates tension. Why?  Because as a leader you must: Address inconsistency when spotted …
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Clarity is the Foundation of Accountability

Raising the Bar Series | Part 2 Most accountability problems aren’t performance issues, they are clarity issues. If accountability is breaking down, clarity is usually the problem. Not effort. Not capability. Not intent. Clarity. For…
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Raising the Bar: A Leader’s Guide to Real Accountability

Raising the Bar Series | Part 1 Accountability Is Leadership’s Greatest Weakness—Here’s Why It Matters Let’s be honest. Most leaders struggle to hold people accountable. Most teams would agree. Recent research from Gallup found…
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Are All Politics Bad?

Many leaders I speak with will say, “I hate politics.” What they usually mean is: “I hate manipulation, hidden agendas, and backroom conversations.” On that point, Patrick Lencioni would agree. In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,…

Avoid Group Think: Mastering Dissent

Organizations often times suffer from "Group Think", and leaders can easily fall into the Go-Along-to-Get-Along (aka GAGA) trap. Dissent from the group is hard work for anyone since groups prefer consensus where existing views are validated,…