Management – Page 4 – A musing Mulcahy

When Leadership goes Wrong

I’ve recently finished reading “Bad Blood” by John Carreyou, which is a fascinating expose of the cultural and leadership failures at Theranos (why do I always think of Infinity Stones when I read that name?). It’s a well-written, highly critical view of how Elizabeth Holmes and her partner, Sunny Balwani, systemically lied and misled investors, staff and regulators before eventually being exposed. It made me think in a broader context about leadership failings, and I’m going to try and capture some of those thoughts in the paragraphs that follow.

Give the Gift of Useful Feedback

Last weekend I wrote a post about the importance of receiving feedback openly and without falling into defensiveness. A colleague kindly reminded me that receiving feedback is only half of the equation. As managers, leaders and human beings, we all have the ability to give feedback to help improve others. Honest, sometimes brutal, feedback is a gift – here’s why it’s important to give it, and some suggestions on how to give it well.

Why it’s important not to be defensive when we’re wrong

We’ve all experienced that horrible, sinking feeling of realisation that something we thought was okay turns out to be far from it. In our personal and professional lives, we all make mistakes in word and action. When we identify the error (or have it pointed out to us), our default response is often to justify our position. Here’s why that happens and why it is important to resist that defensive urge.

Why your mood matters when you’re a manager

We all have good days and bad days. At the moment, living with Covid-related lockdowns, many of us are struggling with “meh” or “groundhog days”. The lack of novelty and stimulation seems to make days run together, and we can feel anxious, down or even depressed as a result. When we are responsible for managing people, however, whether in teams or larger groups, how we process these feelings can be highly impactful.

What style of leader are you?

I was lucky enough in the past few weeks to have had an invitation to the Irish Management Institute’s virtual presentation with Jacob Morgan. He was speaking about his book “The Future Leader”, in which he describes four leadership types and five key behaviours. During the talk, I was reminded of a conversation I have had with a friend many times about leadership styles, particularly that of the Sherpa.

Dealing with the unpleasant gracefully

There’s a creature-wrangler in every home. Depending on the part of the world you live in, the creatures in question might range from the small to very large, the innocuous to the life-threatening. I’m the designated spider-evictor/creature-wrangler in my house. Despite my best intentions, I don’t always do the job with good grace.

The importance of psychological safety

From a team perspective, psychological safety is the bedrock that team success is built on. Successful interpersonal relationships depend on it. In highly functioning teams it often doesn’t get a mention. Safety is one of those things not always noticed when present but is conspicuous by its absence. What follows are some suggestions on how to make your team feel safe enough to tell you things you don’t want to hear.