Leaderless Teams Still Need Leadership

Leaderless Teams Still Need Leadership

Some of the most important work today happens in groups where no one person is clearly in charge. In fact, most of the work in organizations happens through matrixed structures, cross-functional collaboration, project teams, partnerships, and indirect influence rather...
How portable is your power?

How portable is your power?

My father had a small selection of favorite movies that were on repeat. One of them was Trading Places, that great comedy with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. It’s got every classic trope – the fall of the high and mighty, identity switching, the revenge and...
When nobody is in charge

When nobody is in charge

I’ve spent many years (maybe too many?) in communities, groups, and organizations governed by consensus: lots of meetings, lots of talk, lots of conflict. A friend and I had a running joke. Whenever someone began to speak with, “I just have to say...
The Trouble with Nice

The Trouble with Nice

In my early twenties, when I was studying at the University in Zurich, I had to take a state Latin exam to get to the next level. It was a level of difficulty that I had never had to deal with before, and I honestly couldn’t see how I could pass it. So I found a...
When nobody is in charge

Can you outskill bad character?

“But what about someone who is just… abusive?” I must have given hundreds of talks on power, from classrooms to boardrooms, and I can say with confidence that this question or some version of it comes up every single time. But what about the boss...
The Trouble with Nice

The Lost Art of Not Knowing

I was listening to a podcast the other day, a very popular one, with millions of listeners, and the host was interviewing a Nobel Prize–winning economist. As he was listing his guest’s accomplishments, he said, “and then you won the Nobel Peace Prize.” The economist...