“…And What Else?” Issue No. 25

“...And What Else?”

Newsletter and Thought Starter

Issue No. 25

Success begins by asking the right questions. So why not a newsletter that asks a powerful question: “…and what else?”

Hope these insights pierce through the clutter and create a moment to reflect on your purpose.

First Thoughts

Don’t Insult the Truck

I made a joke about their truck. That was a mistake. They care. A lot. A tremendous a lot. For the truck. I didn’t know that and thus said the wrong thing. And it cost me. This lack of understanding cost me trust and influence and effectiveness and impact. You never know what someone believes unless you ask, curiously.

Me? I don’t care much about trucks. But I do have thoughts about pizza toppings, running etiquette, and the Oxford comma. Just ask me.

Thinking Out Loud

Harness this Leadership Superpower: Self-Coaching

“I shouldn’t have said that.” How many times have you thought that after a reactive, unproductive comment? If you’re human, probably often. But what if a superpower existed—one not gifted from the gods (or Marvel)—that you can develop to remedy the “I shouldn’t have said that” regret? Well there is. It’s called, quite blandly, self-coaching.

READ MORE

Worth Asking

Question #21: What have people told you you do really well? How will you use it to live your purpose?

We are often blind of our strengths. But our friends and peers know us pretty well. Take what you’ve heard and ask yourself, “How can I do that more?”

Share. Your. Gifts.

Leadership is a Team Sport

“Forty-Two Consulting has provided our team with incredible insights on our working and communication styles.”

Forty-Two Consulting Client

Team development is an essential ingredient for organizations that want to maximize performance. By adopting the principles of

trust
healthy conflict
commitment
accountability
and results orientation

teams can achieve better outcomes and develop stronger relationships.

Learn more about growing your team’s effectiveness.

Mine is Better (But I Might be Biased)

The IKEA effect. Yep, it exists. According to research conducted by Michael Norton and colleagues, this cognitive bias refers to our tendency to attach a higher value to things we help create. (I love this leadership newsletter, by the way.)

Oh, and how about the spotlight effect? This bias manifests by overestimating how much people are paying attention to our behavior and appearance. (Ugh, what a terrible picture of me for the blog article! Why did I choose that?)

Thought Starter: Our biggest barrier to success? Us. Well, our inability to (sometimes) recognize how our unconscious short-cuts affect our decision making and limit our leadership effectiveness. Where do you think too fast; respond too rashly?

Resource: 50 Cognitive Biases

So Many Books; So Little Time

Not sure what to read next? Hmmm... we got some suggestions.

The Forty-Two Purposeful Resources Collection

Thought Starter: How do you extract value from books? The yellow highlighter? The post-it flags? Here’s a simple tip to apply a bit more of what you read: share your insights with a friend. I got that suggestion from a book.

Final Thoughts

Abraham Lincoln once ended a sentence with a comma. What does this have to do with leadership? Not sure exactly,

Leadership Coaching | Team Development Training and Facilitation