I’m from Seattle and follow the Seahawks. As a result, I am also a big fan of Pete Carroll and his (sometimes unorthodox) approach to management. I am especially fond of his tendency to bring in a variety of guest speakers to talk to his team.

This season, Angela Duckworth, professor, scientist, and author of the book Grit, came to speak to the players during training camp. One of the things she talked about was goal fusion, the idea that a goal is integrated into one's self-concept.

When they practice goal fusion, high-performance athletes do not focus on the hard or mundane activities they do every day.

When they train, they don’t say, “I’m doing drills!” They say, “I’m winning the Super Bowl!”

In other words, they fuse the boring stuff together to help them focus on a high-level goal.

Giving and receiving feedback can be one of the toughest things to do in the workplace, but it’s an absolutely critical skill for leading high-performing teams.

Radical Candor is based on the premise that building strong, trusting relationships with direct reports is one of the keys to effective leadership. You’ve got to be able to tell people how they’re doing, both the good and the bad, without demoralizing or beating around the bush.

During our careers, we’ve all come across leaders who just really seem to know their stuff. They understand the intricacies of their industry….at one point in their career, they were probably bad at their job.

For today’s leaders, a large emphasis is placed on creating psychologically safe workplaces that make people feel supported. A supported staff  — one that understands what’s expected of them and has the proper training and resources to achieve it  — is a happy, productive staff. Proper, regular feedback, whether positive or negative, can be a great motivator.

However, it’s also critical for today’s leaders to remember that people like the sense of achievement that comes with taking on and overcoming difficulty.

Are you in a Chief of Staff role looking for a coach? With my own experience as a Chief of Staff and executive leadership coach, I’ve got more and more people looking to better understand this role - and how to do it well.

Do you struggle to break through roadblocks in conversations?

If so, it might be time to start playing the “Yes, and…” game.

The rules are simple...

Whether you’re a new leader or have been in a leadership role for a while, successful leaders always look for ways to better themselves - to grow, learn, and sharpen. There’s no better way to take your leadership to the next level than by opening a book.

From young professionals to experienced executives, everybody has workplace pet peeves. For me, it’s managers forwarding emails to their employees without context or direction.