The art of simplicity

There's a version of leadership that looks busy, looks needed, and looks like it's working but turns out to be the least effective version there is. This summer I read Bob Chapman's Everybody Matters , and one distinction from the book kept coming back to me weeks after I'd finished it: firefighting versus firelighting, as two fundamentally different modes of leadership.   Chapman's point is simple to state and harder to live by. A firefighting leader spends their energy reacting: jumping from one problem to the next, stepping in to rescue a team the moment something goes wrong. A firelighting leader does the opposite. They don't chase problems. They ignite something in people, so the problems get solved without the leader showing up with the extinguisher every time. In the book, the differences are listed like this: Firefighting: Reactive by nature . You wait for the smoke before you act. The leader becomes the bottleneck. Nothing moves unti...

In my post yesterday about shifting from "why" to "what" questions, I explored how this simple change can transform leadership conversations. Today, I want to focus on one specific question that came up in a related Coaching for Leaders podcast episode with Elizabeth Lotardo: What have you already tried? What makes this question so powerful? When someone comes to you with a problem and you ask, "What have you already tried?" you're sending several key messages simultaneously: You expect initiative. You're not surprised that they've already taken action—you assume it. This presumption of capability builds confidence. Experimentation is valued. By asking what they've tried , not what they've done , you're acknowledging that not everything works on the first attempt. And that's okay. Their attempts matter. Even if their experiments didn't solve the problem, the learning from those attempts is valuable informa...

Leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about asking the right questions. I was reminded about this while listening to Shannon Minifie, CEO of Box of Crayons, on the Coaching for Leaders podcast ( Episode 760 ), where she explored how the quality of our questions shapes the quality of our leadership. The problem with "Why" As leaders, we're trained to dig deep, to understand root causes. "Why did this happen?" "Why didn't you finish that project?" These questions feel investigative and thorough. But here's what Minifie points out: "why" questions often put people on the defensive. When someone hears "Why did you do that?" their brain doesn't hear curiosity—it hears judgment. They start building walls instead of opening doors. The conversation shifts from exploration to explanation, from possibility to justification. The "What" alternative This connects directly to Michael Bungay Sta...

I was listening to the Coaching for Leaders podcast recently, and Scott Keller shared something that stopped me mid-stride: the six-word story exercise. His example was the famous Ernest Hemingway line (though its true authorship is debated): "For sale: baby shoes. Never worn." Six words. An entire world of heartbreak, hope deferred, a nursery that stayed empty. I must have read that sentence three times, feeling the weight of everything left unsaid. And then Keller posed the challenge: What's your six-word leadership story? I sat with my notebook open. Pen ready. And... nothing. The power of constraint There's something almost unfair about this exercise. Six words feels impossibly small. I've written mission statements, vision documents, strategic plans that span pages. I've crafted carefully worded emails, given presentations with dozens of slides. Six words? But that's exactly the point. When you have six words, you can't hide behin...

In boardrooms and mission statements across the globe, "servant leadership" has become the philosophy du jour. Leaders proudly proclaim their commitment to serving their teams, inverting the traditional power structure, and putting employees first. Yet something curious happens when you ask to see their organizational charts. There they are—the familiar pyramids with executives perched at the top, managers in the middle, and the frontline workers—those actually creating value—relegated to the bottom or, in many cases, not represented at all. This visual contradiction begs the question: Can an organization truly embody servant leadership when its very structure portrays the opposite relationship? The telling power of visuals I think that organizational charts are more than administrative tools—they're powerful symbols that communicate "how things really work around here." When leadership teams espouse servant leadership while maintaining traditional hiera...

One of the mantra’s I always preached for my teams was the concept of 'Continuous Improvement'. The idea is simple and appealing: we constantly seek incremental enhancements to our processes, products, and services. This approach, popularized by Japanese manufacturing methodologies like Kaizen, promises steady progress through small, ongoing adjustments rather than dramatic overhauls. However while reading the ‘Leadership is language’ by L. David Marquet, I started to wonder; what if this widely accepted wisdom is fundamentally flawed? What if true improvement doesn't actually happen continuously at all? The stairway, not the ramp In his book, David explains that improvement doesn't occur as a smooth, uninterrupted climb upward. Rather, it happens in distinct, intentional batches - like climbing stairs instead of walking up a ramp. This is what he calls "discontinuous improvement," and understanding this concept can transform how your team operates. ...

I like to read a lot . Next to all the fiction novels, I typically go back and forth between technical and more leadership books. The last book at book about leadership I’m going through is ‘Leadership is language’ by L. David Marquet, author of ‘Turn the ship around!’. There are a lot of take aways from this book, but today I want to focus on one aspect that resonated with me: Appreciate, don’t evaluate. As people, including myself,  we kind of struggle with giving other people appreciation for their work. We either forget to do it or when there is acknowledgement, it is typically brief. An example from the book that you maybe recognize yourself: “Great job! Now here’s what I’d change . . .” Not only is the acknowledgement brief, it is immediately followed by criticism. David explains that their are several problems with this kind of ‘celebration’: It does not rest long enough on the accomplishment. It does not invite the person to tell their story,...

Last week I was listening to an Coaching For Leaders podcast when Stephen M. R. Covey was the guest. Stephen is a bestselling author and former CEO Covey Leadership Center. Stephen is also the son of Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s, author of the well known 7 habits of highly effective people book. When asked about a key lesson from his father, Stephen talks about the evolution from dependence to independence to interdependence. Having never read the book, I though it would a good idea to a) Put the book on my reading list. b) Already dive in a little bit more into this topic. What did I learn? The basic idea is that personal and professional growth can be seen as a journey through three stages: dependence, independence, and interdependence. Each stage represents a significant transformation in how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world.   Dependence: The starting point Dependence is where we all begin. As children, we rely on our parents to meet our basic needs and ...

For years, hiring for cultural fit has been a cornerstone of my recruitment strategy. The idea is simple: more than focusing only on skills, I focused on finding people who aligned with our company's values, norms, and practices to create a harmonious and productive work environment. This also means that I put a lot of focus on building a strong culture inside my team. Cultural fit However, when listening to Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Grant on the Work Life podcast, I had to re-think this approach as it highlighted the potential downsides of overemphasizing cultural fit. In the podcast Adam says that startups where founders put culture fit first, their organizations are dramatically less likely to fail. So culture fit clearly wins in terms of startups surviving and then going public. But studies have shown that after their IPO, these ‘culture fit’ firms grow at slower rates.  He thinks that what is happening is that early on when you have a really clear mission, it's very ...

A utonomy in software design refers to the ability of a system or component to operate independently, making decisions and performing tasks without requiring other components or systems. Autonomy goes hand in hand with loose coupling , limiting the number of dependencies between components. These concepts are crucial for creating systems that are resilient, adaptable, and capable of handling complex tasks in dynamic environments. But could we apply the same concepts outside software design? Let's find out... Some observations If I showed you the following component diagram; what would be some observations, you could make?   Here are some of mine: Information is flowing up from components B, C and D to A. Probably there is some centralized decision making where most of the power is residing in component A. There is a high dependency on component A inside the system. Although without extra details we can misinterpret this diagram, but the risk exists that the co...

I have been in a leadership role for many years and had the opportunity to follow multiple leadership trainings. These trainings all agree that good leadership does not come from a Command & Control mindset. Despite this knowledge I still see some leaders fall back to this mindset. They rely heavily on authority, directives, and the carrot-and-stick approach—rewarding compliance and punishing deviation. While these tactics may yield short-term results, they fail to unlock the true potential of individuals and teams. While authority, directives, and the carrot-and-stick approach may yield short-term results, they fail to unlock the true potential of individuals and teams. I believe in another model where leaders start from a Trust & Inspire mindset. The core idea is to move away from the traditional Command & Control approach by focusing on empowering and inspiring individuals rather than directing and managing them through authority and compliance. Remark: One ...

In the English vocabulary, the word 'company' has 2 meanings: Company: an organization that sells goods or services in order to make money And Company: the fact of being with a person or people, or the person or people you are with I think it is no coincidence that the same word is used for both explanations. Origin The word "company" traces its origins back to the Latin term "com-" meaning "together with" and "panis" meaning "bread" . In its earliest usage, "company" referred to a group of people who shared meals together, highlighting the communal aspect of coming together around a common table. This initial meaning laid the foundation for the word's dual evolution, branching into both social and business contexts. Social Company: In its more informal sense, "company" refers to a gathering of individuals for social interaction or mutual enjoyment. The shared origin with ...

For my kids, the magic word is ‘please'. But what are the magic words for a leader? The answer is simple: I don't know. As a leader you can have the feeling that you need to have the answer to every question. Of course you don’t want to look bad in front of your peers and your team. But let’s face it, a leader can’t know everything. So don’t be afraid to use these magic words, they are essential in building psychological safety in your team. If you dare to admit you don’t have all the answers all the time, your team members will have it easier to use these magic words as well and ask for help when needed. This is far better than the alternative where they stay blocked or make poor decisions. Remark: Of course you need to use these magic words appropriately. A leader who doesn’t know anything isn’t useful either. So let it not be an excuse for being sloppy. So share your understanding of the context, explain the gaps in your knowledge, ask questions and most of...

During my flight to Seattle last week I had time to watch some Tedx videos. One of the videos that really inspired me was Draw your future by Patti Dobrowolski. Time to take out your pencils and start drawing…

My boss sent me a link to the following Youtube video: I especially liked the following quote in the presentation: “Take control and attract followers. Give control and create leaders”

Last year our CEO gave a session about ‘Business Model You’ , or how to create your personal business model canvas. I really liked the session and how it made you think about your strenghts, weaknesses and the value you create for your company and customers. I’m still using this approach today. Last week I found Canvanizer , a free tool that simplifies the creation of a Business Model canvas.

A great read I can recommend for everyone interested in the Agile (r)evolution. It really focusses on the core concepts behind Agile and how to evolve from ‘doing Agile’ to ‘being Agile’.  From the website : Why do some companies excel with agile and others see virtually no improvement? The difference is culture and an understanding that agile is a framework for deep cultural change instead of a process or set of practices to increase efficiency. Processes and methods can become stale and rote, and can stifle innovation—even processes that were initially developed to be agile. An agile culture, however, will continuously improve and adapt without the need for periodic change initiatives. Why Agile Works: The Values Behind the Results focuses on why and how agile works and where agile should take organizations in terms of values. Here you’ll learn: - Why agile fails most often - How culture determines results - The difference between values and beliefs ...

What do goats and leadership have in common? The answer is … EVERYTHING as explained in the following YouTube video: I found this video on the Nordstrom technology people lab website . Certainly worth to have a look…