Zach on Leadership

For many years on this blog, I’ve advocated for people taking time off from work. It’s critical to maintain a healthy life and optimal creativity and innovation. You can’t do your best work when you are worn out. If you aren’t familiar with my previous writings on this topic, you should check them out here, here, and here. Even though I do my best to teach on this subject and lead by example, I’ve recently discovered that my efforts are... Read More Read More The post Sorry, Not Sorry: Take the PTO, Leave the Guilt Trip appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I was working with one of my teams recently on an exciting and important strategic initiative. Everything was coming together nicely. They had a solid approach, good stakeholder engagement, and a reasonable plan. There was just one thing missing. Apart from the direct team and the direct stakeholder group, almost no one knew anything about it. That’s when I said, “It’s time to come out of stealth mode!” What is stealth mode? This is a legitimate business tactic employed by... Read More Read More The post It’s Time to Come out of Stealth Mode appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Today is the fifth anniversary of the launch of Zach on Leadership. Why launch a new blog on the Friday before Memorial Day? Is anyone even paying attention then? There was a reason for this decision. In my leadership journey, this is an important date. 19 years ago, something happened to me that shaped my view of leadership forever. I made the biggest operational mistake of my career. I singled-handedly blew up my company’s data center. How I was treated... Read More Read More The post Five Years of Zach on Leadership: The Moments that Mattered appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working with one of my teams and an outside party to bring forward a proposal for approval. At one point in the process, there was some difference of opinion between the internal team and the external group. In that moment, I heard these words come out of my mouth: “alignment is more important than accuracy.” I was simply trying to be helpful, not profound, but after reflecting on the statement, I think there... Read More Read More The post Alignment Is More Important than Accuracy appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Back in high school, my days were broken up into several class periods. At the end of a period, the bell rang, signaling the time to transition to the next class. If I remember correctly, I had about 7 or 8 minutes to travel to my next class, use the restroom, swap books at my locker, and say “hi” to my band-geek friends. When the bell rang a second time, I was expected to be sitting at my desk at... Read More Read More The post 25-Minute Meetings: It’s Time to Add Transitions into Our Workday appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I often talk with leaders that are new in their roles. They aren’t new leaders, but for some reason or another, they are in a new role, due to a reorganization, promotion, or job change. When I ask how it’s going, I usually hear answers like “busy” or “good.” Occasionally, I get a very brave answer: “I’m overwhelmed.” I appreciate this answer because it’s completely normal to feel this way in a new leadership role, yet few are vulnerable enough... Read More Read More The post New Leadership Roles Feel Overwhelming, but You Can Overcome appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

There are two questions that every leader must continually answer: Where are we going and what’s next? Answering these two questions every day is one of the most important things I can do. While the questions are simple, the answers are never easy. Additionally, the work is never done. These questions need to be re-asked and re-answered regularly. Not because our direction is erratic, but because our world changes constantly, and so does our context. In this article, I’ll break... Read More Read More The post Leaders Must Answer These Two Questions Every Day appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Recently, one of my LinkedIn followers, Jen Musbach, told me that one of the most significant things she appreciates about the Zach on Leadership blog is my consistency. Every Friday, my readers can count on a new blog article and podcast episode. While I am indeed intentional about consistency, I hadn’t thoroughly considered how rare and how important this is. Furthermore, for those of us who call ourselves leaders, there is an inherent lesson here for all of us, whether... Read More Read More The post Leadership Means Consistency appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Once upon a time, Minnesota was known for bad weather and more than our fair share of lakes. For the past 11 months, we’ve become world-renown as one of the most divisive places on the planet. 11 months ago, following the tragic death of George Floyd, I wrote a series of articles about my observations and how these events influenced my leadership philosophy. You can read them here, here, and here. Now, this week, a new tragedy occurred. This one,... Read More Read More The post How Do You Lead a Divided Team Toward Unity? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Many leaders have an awkward relationship with their job titles. Titles drive us to achieve. I distinctly remember the moments I was given the title of senior engineer, then manager, then director, then vice president. Those were big moments that simultaneously made me proud and humble. I also lead outside of my corporation. At my church, I was elected to an elder position, and then subsequently, board chair. When people address me by my formal title, I often do a... Read More Read More The post How Should a Servant Leader Use Their Job Title? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

It is a standard business practice to set an Out of Office auto-response on your email when you will be unreachable. That way, when people reach out, you can set their expectations and redirect them, so they won’t think you are just ignoring their message. This is a good courtesy and almost everyone does it. If you’ve forgotten what that feature even is, then it’s probably been too long since you’ve had a break. Read my article on the importance... Read More Read More The post What Does Your Out of Office Message Say about Your Leadership Style? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I very well may be one of the most prospected people on the planet. I don’t have any data to back that up, so I’ll just call it a hunch. I’m a senior technology leader at large corporation. I have a very active LinkedIn presence. Those two facts must automatically stuff me into every technology salesperson’s leads database. I don’t regret my role or my social media engagement, so I accept that this simply comes with the territory. The benefits... Read More Read More The post I Love Your Blog. Why Won’t You Respond to My Sales Call? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I’ve made an observation this week that I’d like to share. I’ve observed this in myself and I’ve observed it in others. I have a theory that I’d like to propose. I’m interested to know if you think it’s true. Motivation I’ve studied the science of motivation. I’ve written about it before on this blog several times. I fundamentally believe that people are motivated intrinsically more than extrinsically. Rewards and punishment (often called carrots and sticks) don’t do much in... Read More Read More The post All Leaders Need Encouragement: Even the Driven Ones appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” I’m sure you’ve heard that cliché before. There is simplicity in its truth. Yet somehow, many of us find implementing it elusive. It turns out, being yourself isn’t as easy as it sounds. In this article we will figure out why this is and what we can do about it. Discontentment I’d like to start out with a story. About six years ago, I was working for a different company. I was getting... Read More Read More The post How to Be Yourself in a Large Corporation appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Many of us have been working remotely for nearly a year. I’ve written often over the past year on various stages of adaptation and adjustment. Once upon a time, we all thought this situation would be temporary. Now, a year hence, some real fatigue has set in. In this article, I’ll offer my personal reflection on video conference fatigue and what to do about it. Exhaustion Allow me to state the obvious: hours upon hours of video conferencing is exhausting.... Read More Read More The post Managing Fatigue: It’s Okay to Turn off the Camera appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

As an organizational leader, I spend most of my time thinking about developing people and teams. It’s what I do. In this article, I’d like to tackle a myth that shapes how a lot of leaders think and behave. True or False: People should be well-rounded. Answer: False What answer did you get? Many think well-roundedness is both attainable and ideal. It is neither. Why do we think this way? For me, it’s my general educational upbringing. Just like many... Read More Read More The post People Aren’t Well-Rounded, but Teams Can Be appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

As leaders, we have a lot of expectations on us. We need to be clear communicators, skilled team builders, good at finances, and inspiring speakers. That’s a lot of expectations. For those that are new at leadership, it’s impossible to become excellent in all of these areas overnight. Developing leadership skills isn’t just about learning and practice. I’ve come to believe that there is a fundamental skill that precedes all of the higher-level skills. If you have this one skill,... Read More Read More The post The Critical Skill of Taking Correction appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, many of us focus on celebrating the significant relationships in our lives. While a bit of stretch, I’m going to use this article to focus on the aspect of my job that I love the most: leading my team. That may seem incredibly obvious, since I’m in a leadership position, but I’ve come to believe that this passion isn’t as ubiquitous as you might think. “I wish you many employees” I don’t know the origin... Read More Read More The post I ❤ My Team appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

What is the shelf-life of an organizational design? In my experience, about two years or so. Wait longer than that, and just like a loaf of bread, your organizational design will get stiff and moldy. To some, that may seem aggressive. After all, reorganizations are very disruptive, and the benefits must outweigh the costs. I’ll defend my answer, but let’s first look at the big picture. What is the purpose of an organization? Organizations exist because we believe that together,... Read More Read More The post The Short Shelf-Life of an Organizational Design appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

In the marketplace of ideas, it’s not the best ideas that win, but the best communicated ideas that win. Looking back at my career, the big moments were often defined by big presentations. Presentations are powerful opportunities, yet few put in the work to make truly great presentations. We’re all busy, so it’s tempting to throw something together quickly or just wing it. That’s fine if isn’t particularly important, but when it counts, don’t squander the chance to make a... Read More Read More The post Presentation Tips: Never Miss an Opportunity to Make an Impact appeared first on Zach on Leadership.