Sometimes leadership seems like a black box. Leaders know what they want to happen, but they aren’t sure how to get anybody there. Not everybody agrees on the direction. Not everybody agrees how much money we should spend. Not everybody agrees on who should do the work. Great leaders seem to get that all figured out in the mystery of the black box. It looks more like magic happened rather than any discernible skills.

The default position is command and demand. I had a client tell me the other day, “I guess I’ll just have to be hard-nosed about it.” In order to lead, many think at some level we have to be harsh or unbending.

The second position is abstain and refrain. I had a different client not long ago say the organization desperately needed a specific change, but he wasn’t sure how to get his subordinates to implement it.

Leadership has a tool kit, and it also benefits from healthy mindsets. Coaching is a great way for leaders to build capacity. Bill Copper and I are going to unpack coaching leaders in this podcast episode.