Zach on Leadership

Data-driven leadership is a concept we’ve all been talking about for a while now. The term has been popular in management jargon for at least a decade. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it’s mostly self-explanatory, but I’ll expound briefly. Many leaders (myself included) have a tendency to lead from experience, training, expertise, instinct, and relationships. These sources often serve us well, further reinforcing their continued use. These sources also work pretty well in the absence…

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Here we are, another week of trying our best to lead our teams from the confines of our laptop screens and webcams. By now, this is slowly becoming the new normal. Last week, I shared some of my core tips and techniques for leading effectively from quarantine. If by chance you missed it, I highly recommend reading it first, then coming back here. Leading effectively means tapping into human nature and relating to people on an emotional level. Leadership isn’t…

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Leadership is, by definition, a people-centric activity. We know we are effective as leaders when people willingly follow our influence. Leadership in a condition of isolation seems like a self-contradiction, don’t you think? Well, most of us, who call ourselves leaders, now find ourselves in this self-contradictory position, thanks to COVID-19. So, how should we approach this challenge? I hesitated to write this article. There are ample articles already written on how best to manage a team remotely amid COVID-19….

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I’ve been fighting computer viruses on behalf of the companies I serve for over 20 years. This is the first time I’ve had to deal with the impact of a biological virus. It’s interesting. There are some similarities, and some differences. While this experience has yet to fully unfold, I thought it would be timely to share my thoughts. When it comes to the coronavirus, we’re all in this together. The adversary With computer viruses, I know my adversary. There’s…

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Some of you are well-aware that the Zach on Leadership blog that you know and love is also available as a podcast. If that’s news to you, feel free to check out the podcast here. Don’t worry, I’m not writing this entire article as one big advertisement for my podcast. Instead, I’m going to tell you the story on how it came to be. The history of podcasting Back in the mid 2000’s I had a first-generation iPod Nano. It…

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I have the privilege of being a Lego robotics coach in the FIRST Lego League. There are over 40,000 teams in the First Lego League in 98 countries, and 640 teams in Minnesota alone. Our team is called the Plaidiators. We’re made up of five homeschoolers between the ages of 10 and 13. We just wrapped up our season recently, and I’d like to reflect on the leadership lessons I learned through this experience. This is all for the kids…

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I have the privilege of being a Lego robotics coach in the FIRST Lego League. There are over 40,000 teams in the First Lego League in 98 countries, and 640 teams in Minnesota alone. Our team is called the Plaidiators. We’re made up of five homeschoolers between the ages of 10 and 13. We just wrapped up our season last weekend, and I’d like to reflect on the leadership lessons I learned through this experience. This is all for the…

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In my role at work, there are many things that I’m asked to approve. Usually, I don’t think about that as being a core part of my job. I usually like to spend time on collaboration, strategy, building culture, and other fluid aspects. However, there is a large chunk of what I do that is simply binary: do I approve, or do I deny? I recently stopped and took inventory of all the things I need to approve. Here are…

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I recently took a Change Leadership course along with my fellow CHS leaders. As a company, we’ve been investing in this leadership capability because it’s a fundamental skill for us to successfully navigate the future. Intuitively, most of us accept that the world is changing, the pace of change is accelerating, and as leaders, we hold a central role in enabling that change. It’s one thing to hold this intellectual assent. It’s quite another to learn and practice the skill…

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“Speed. I am speed.” – Lightning McQueen I love speed. I like adrenaline-inducing sports of all kinds, but I especially love driving fast cars. I own a moderately fast car and find that a nice boost of acceleration and tight handling makes an ordinary commute, extraordinary. My wife, Wendy, knows this about me, and has on few occasions, given me the opportunity to drive an exotic car for my birthday. A few years ago, I drove a Lamborghini Gallardo on…

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