How much time do you spend each week working through the important, deep, and future-building work? How much time could have been spent on the significant, strategic change work that often gets […]
leadership resources
Using Focus Blocks To Boost Your Team’s Capacity
If you’ve been overwhelmed by trying to figure out how much capacity your team has, and whether they’re focused on what matters most, here’s my take: looking at project lists or time […]
How Does Your Team Handle Commitment Tension?
Think of two standing commitments most of us have, or aspire to have: To honor the commitments we make to ourselves and others To honor the commitment to do what matters most […]
Improve Your Team Communication with Repetition: The Rule of 7
As the manuscript deadline for Team Habits approaches (just a few weeks left now!), Charlie is heads down on writing, along with everything else he has going on. For Angela, it’s been […]
Did Your Team Consciously Decide How to Work Together?
Probably not …and that’s why it’s interesting… Take a second to think about something your team regularly does well, and something your team regularly does that frustrates you. Here’s the question for […]
4 Ways to Lead in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous (VUCA) World
Considering the last two years of COVID, George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement, the capitol riots, and now the war in Ukraine — it’s clear that we live in […]
Become a Stronger Leader by Embracing Your Contradictions
A few years ago, I commissioned a painting from a member of our community, Cristina Kramp. In the painting, a woman is basking in the light of the sun, her face tipped back […]
Empower Your Team (and Yourself) by Asking for Help
Ever since I was a child, I’ve put the needs of others before my own. I’m a Type Two on the Enneagram — the Helper — and I’ve always been highly sensitive […]
We Are All Leaders
Our culture tends to define leadership narrowly. The word itself conjures a certain series of traits: bold, decisive, action-oriented, charismatic. It brings to mind a specific type of person. A person that […]
3 Ways to Deal with Your Crisco Watermelons
Most collaborative projects start out simple enough but somehow can end up getting slipperier and more chaotic as time goes on. Here are 3 things that you can keep in mind when […]
4 Statements Leaders Need to Be Saying More Often
A client of mine is going through a catalytic shift in her career where she’s bringing on someone to manage her current business while she’s moving on to manage someone else’s business. […]
Work From Home Workers Need Nudges To Go Home
When you’re working on-site or in the office, there are lots of cues and norms about when it’s time to go home. Without those cues and norms, WFH workers are struggling to […]
How Much of Your Team’s Time Is Spent Looking for (Metaphorical) Keys?
Many owners and leaders avoid making SOPs, checklists, and workflows because it takes time from doing the actual work. But when you look at what doing the actual work entails, it’s spending […]
3 Ways to Pay off Dunkirk Spirit Debt
Dunkirk Spirit is the extraordinary effort that teams have to muster to accomplish strategic imperatives while overcoming the effects of poor planning, coordination, communication, or unforeseen developments that require an urgent response. […]
Is Your Leadership Posture Working for You and Your Team?
This morning, I texted Cory the following: Remember to have fun today, bro. Especially during the dress rehearsal. We’ve got four-five months of ready-aim-fire-aim-fire in front of us and your first of […]
How to Improve Team Productivity with the Weekly Cadence
I wrote recently about how we were shifting our operations here at PF, and another concept we’ve been implementing lately is the weekly cadence. This is something Charlie’s been doing implicitly for […]
Three Delegation Skills to Get Your New Hires Contributing Right Away
After weeks — or maybe even months — of sifting through candidates, methodically hosting interview after interview, and finally narrowing your search down to the one right person, you’ve found your new […]
6 Ways to Level Up Your Leadership
There comes a point during your work for a company — one that you know you want to stick with and grow with — when you feel prepared to take on more […]