The Best of My Writing — 2023
I extend my gratitude to you, my reading and listening audience.
Recently I have been reviewing my essays in On Leading with Greatness with an eye toward publication. Since I blog/podcast once a week (except for holidays and other times when I post “encore” editions), I write nearly 50 essays a year. That is a lot to sort through, let alone remember. I decided it might be useful to my audience to offer the “best of” essay from each month in 2023 in case you missed any or want a refresher. If you are not a paid subscriber, no worries. I have disabled the paywall on these essays for your convenience.
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In the meantime, here is my baker’s dozen best of for 2023. Let me know what you think!
The Best of My Writing—2023
January
“Fingertips just tipping”
How do you master the tiny moments in order to make big changes?
Two airliners take off from Newark Airport back to back and head due west. On one, the passengers are dressed for warm weather and sport sun hats. Their luggage is brimming with lightweight clothes and sandals. On the other, the passengers are wearing long sleeves and long pants. Their suitcases are stuffed with extra layers.
This one may seem an odd choice since I just featured it as an encore presentation during Thanksgiving. Still, I think the message of relying on the power of tiny changes is one of the most important I have delivered. It is certainly one I return to every day.
February
Want to Lead Better? Behave Like an Iconoclast.
What is an iconoclast, and why should you behave like one?
Most people have little memory of their graduation ceremonies, who spoke, what they said. Do you remember your graduation speaker? Do you remember the speech? Decades after my college graduation, I still have a strong memory of our keynote speaker, the evolutionary biologist, Stephen Jay Gould. Over my many years in higher education I have heard a lot of graduation addresses, and Gould’s was one of the best because he did what all the best ones do.
I have to admit, I struggled a bit to pick a February highlight because I was pretty happy with all of them. This one stands out, though. It was a real challenge to write about iconoclasm in leadership, and this was my third or fourth try from scratch. I hope I nailed it!
March
Putting Values to Work
If you’re not putting your values to work, what are you doing with them? Your values serve three purposes in your life and work that would seem contradictory.
Ah, yes. The paradox of values. Values ground us. They move us forward. And they draw us toward a target. Pin, push, and pull all at the same time! This one has some good practical advice on how to apply your values toward your work.
April
Good Can Be Greater than Great
Leadership is in my blood, literally. My father was a leader in the truest sense. He was often out in front even when he did not have a title or position to put him there. He spent his life leading, and his example still inspires my leadership thinking.
I wrote this one about my dad who had died the month before. It formed the basis of my eulogy of him. I never really knew his true influence on me until I wrote this piece.
May
Where Bosses Prevail, Employees Fail
How do you handle mistakes?
Recently a friend told me about a situation she had had with her employer. I’ll keep it vague to protect the innocent (and, I suppose by extension, the guilty). My friend had a critical question about how to proceed with with a task. She has two managers, which is structurally a bad situation from the get-go.
Here I describe a situation where the superiority of a good boss—a real leader—over a bad boss is abundantly clear.
June
Dr. Goodvibes‘ Prescription
You know the guy. The one who puts a positive spin on every situation, who smooths over all the rough edges. At first it may seem okay. After all, who wants to deal with negative vibes? Dr. Goodvibes is here to make it all go away, to turn that frown upside down.
Is there anything more galling than toxic positivity—that is when people demand that you put on a happy face no matter the situation? It is passive-aggressive bullying at its best.
July
The Ear Is Mightier than the Mouth: The Messaging Paradox
Let me tell you about this truth my friend Jeff laid on me a few weeks ago. Jeff is a serial entrepreneur and all-around wise man, and he observed, “in any communication, the listener has all the power.” That profundity has been tumbling around in my head ever since. It’s a great way for leaders to think about communication. When it comes to a delivered message, the ear has it all over the mouth.
An often overlooked truth in communication is that the audience holds all the power over the person speaking. They can listen attentively, ignore, or hear a completely different message than the one intended, and the communicator has little say in the matter.
August
Mastering The Ro3 Strategy To Better Your Organizational Culture
Have you ever tried to transform the very soul of an organization—its culture? Quite the task, right? To thoroughly transform a culture for the better, one vital tool you need to master is the Rule of Thirds Strategy.
This one might be my favorite from all year because it is just so practical. If you deal with organizational change in any capacity, read about the Rule of Thirds Strategy. It’ll save you a lot of trouble.
September
Your Big Crisis Is Really a Bit of a Problem
“Crisis” sounds pretty intimidating, right? In defining it, Merriam-Webster tosses around such phrases as “turning point,” “paroxysmal attack of pain,” and “radical change.” No wonder so many people pretend to be in perpetual crisis. If you are regularly willing to take on a “paroxysmal attack of pain,” you must be a certified badass!
But what if we strip away all that apparatus of doom: the paroxysms, the radicalism, the urgency? What’s left?
What is a crisis really and why do we imagine so many workplace issues are crises? What if every crisis were really just a problem dressed up in a hazmat suit?
October
How to Become the Very Last Person on Earth
You might find being the last person on Earth an odd aspiration. Maybe the thought fills your mind with images of solitude and feelings of unconquerable loneliness. Or perhaps you cannot imagine a more selfish pursuit, willing everyone else away. How antisocial must you be to want to be left behind to face every challenge, savor every victory, suffer every agony, and revel in every joy in utter and everlasting isolation? Desiring to be the sole individual on Earth sounds downright miserable and monstrously callous to boot.
Don’t worry. This one isn’t some survivalist handbook or an extremist manifesto. It’s about how to put others before yourself. Get it? Become the last person on Earth.
November
The Paradox of Lack: What Happens When Subtraction Fosters Growth
What is the role of a boss? What if less bossing resulted in increased productivity? Most bosses will tell you that they want to overcome obstacles, but what if I told you that the boss can be one of the biggest obstacles? The boss’s role, at its core, is to make it easier for the team to do its work and be successful.
Here is a true tale of a time when the boss disappeared for months and the entire operation ran smoother than ever!
December
Character Is Destiny . . . What a Crock!
The Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus left us this morsel to ruminate on: “Character is destiny.” It’s a well worn and venerable saying, but, frankly, I just can’t agree with him, at least not in our common understanding of his meaning.
I am at my most irreverent here, taking on the ancient wisdom of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Will the gods ever be able to forgive me?
April Fools Bonus Spectacular!
So, You Want to Be a Gaslighter?
What would it take to up your gaslighting game? Welcome everyone to my supremely succinct and most authoritative lesson on how to gaslight effectively. After decades of close observation while suffering at the hands of gaslighters, I am delighted to offer this compact treatise on the ways and means of gaslighting to you, the morally reprobate public.
For your baker’s-dozen bonus, I cannot resist including this April Fools post in which I advise you on how to become an effective gaslighter. That’s a good thing, right?
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