Leadership Note #9
Are We Making It Harder Than It Needs to Be?
I have had a few conversations recently that got me thinking about the expectations we place on our teams. Are we giving people what they need to meet those expectations?
Read note →Leadership Notes
Notes from the work.
Observations from leading teams, solving problems, and learning what works—and what doesn’t. No leadership formulas. No claim to have all the answers.
Leadership Note #8
When Does the Debate End?
We spend a lot of time making decisions, only to revisit them when someone new enters the conversation. At some point, we need to stop debating and start executing.
Read note →Leadership Note #7
The Goal Isn’t to Own More
Over time, teams tend to collect work. Sometimes it’s intentional. Other times, someone steps in because there’s a gap, they’re good at it, or frankly, somebody just needs to get it done. Do that long enough and it becomes part of the organization. That doesn’t necessarily mean it still belongs there.
Read note →Leadership Note #6
Disagreement Doesn't Have to Become Resistance
One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is what happens after you’ve made your case and the decision still goes another way. I’m comfortable challenging a decision. If I see risk, disagree with the approach, or think there’s a better path, I’m going to say it. Sometimes more than once.
Read note →Leadership Note #5
I’ll Respect the Guardrails. I Just Won’t Follow the Tire Tracks.
I’ve never been a particularly conventional leader. I’ll play within the rules. I just don’t assume I have to play the same way everyone else does.
Read note →Leadership Note #4
When You Own the Outcome, But Not Every Lever
One of the harder realities of leadership is that accountability and control don't always come as a matched set. You're responsible for the outcome, but you may not control the funding, hiring, dependencies, or every business decision that shapes the solution.
Read note →Leadership Note #3
The Best Leaders Don't Solve Every Problem. They Define the Right One.
Organizations are incredibly good at debating solutions before they've agreed on the problem they're trying to solve. Should we hire more people? Buy new technology? Reorganize the team? Those can all be valid questions, but they're often premature.
Read note →Leadership Note #2
Slow Down Long Enough to Ask Better Questions
One of the more difficult responsibilities of leadership is resisting the pressure to immediately solve the problem in front of you. A team needs another resource. A customer wants a new tool. A process is not working. A technology needs to be replaced.
Read note →Leadership Note #1
Standardization Doesn't Limit Innovation
One of the biggest misconceptions I see in technology organizations is that standardization limits innovation. I've come to believe the opposite. When every team chooses different tools, builds unique processes, or solves the same problem in different ways, we don't create innovation. We create complexity.
Read note →Technology Advisory
Like how I work through problems?
The same approach behind these notes—define the problem, challenge assumptions, make the tradeoffs visible—is how I approach technology advisory work.