When you choose to do everything, you do none of it well enough. You are guaranteed to do the important things badly. There is no more important skill than to apply good judgement on what is important, and strip away distractions.

Hold on to your successes, let go of your failures. It seems like a simple formula for happiness. It isn’t complicated although in practice it is difficult.

Your staff can’t force you to give them feedback. They will reward you by making you look like a hero as they deliver better results. You are only as good as the team you lead. Relying on performance reviews for feedback is not a way to build a good team.

It is common to ask someone “how are you?” to begin a conversation. Whenever someone asks me, I reply “I’m fantastic” as enthusiastically as I can. Sometimes it gets a chuckle or a surprised reaction, but those people who I talk to often know that’s what they’ll hear. I’m fantastic because I choose to be.

Often, the right path forward isn’t clear. As your role gets bigger you become more responsible for setting your own direction. You won't know the right answer unless you take action and get going.

I was in a conversation with my coach a few weeks ago and he made a comment that I was a “time honorer.” It was a new term to me, but it struck a chord. It’s true, I have a huge respect for time - both my own and other people’s. My relationship with time affects my relationship with other people every day.

Do you ever feel like your day has a mind of its own? That your day chooses you, rather than you choosing your day. Take control of the work you accomplish in your day. Here's how I changed to choosing my day rather than letting it choose me.

There is a big difference between asking your staff for help and telling people what to do. The result is your staff doing something out of fear versus your staff doing work because they want to. Your staff who wants to see work get done will go the extra mile...

It can be appealing to think there is a silver bullet for some of the dysfunction you see in your organization. As you are trying to bring balance to a culture that may have strayed too far in one direction, remember to be wary of a "one size fits all" approach.

Leading with confidence will help your team follow effectively and deliver the best results.

The best technical leaders stay technical. How do you stay close to the technology as your role changes to be more focused on people and project management?

Do you struggle with other people's perception of you? Do you have an reputation, and unwritten "hall file", that you find limits you in what you can accomplish? Face the feedback from others and overcome unconscious tendencies that sabotage you from achieving your goals.

A long time ago I had to renegotiate my relationship with my e-mail. I felt like I was always behind. I felt compelled to check and see if something new had arrived. I was tied to my e-mail as a lifeline of communication. What I discovered was it was holding me back from effectively leading.

Do you find yourself wanting to ask your boss to back off your work? Let you run your part of the business? Do you feel you and your boss are overlapping in either actions, decisions and responsibility? How can you get your boss to back off from micromanaging your responsibilities?

Very often we talk about leading by example. If you want your team to behave a certain way, there is immense power in them seeing you do it. Live your word. However, this isn’t always the best practice. There are times when your role is so different, you must act differently.

The more senior you become, the less clear the priorities and goals. You are expected to get stuff done more now than ever. So how do you manage to get things one when everything is so ambiguous?

Are you bringing the right issues to your boss? Your time together is limited, and what you bring to your boss drives his or her perception of you in a significant way. You may be sending the message that you are overwhelmed or ineffective without even knowing it. Learn what to bring to your boss to maximize your time together and send the right message that you are an effective leader.

You may think that once you’ve achieve some role or title at your company that you’ve made it. That people will listen to you, and being the boss will make things easier. But what every leader learns is that it’s not about the role or title. In a counter intuitive sucker punch, the higher up you get in an organization the less title and role matters. 

Have you ever found that you set a goal, only to let time get away from you? Other things creep in and the changes you had planned don't come to pass? Sometimes the first goal to set is one that helps you achieve all your other goals. Consider the habits and tools you have to implement change and accomplish your goals...

Do you ever think about how often you are positive versus critical of what someone else is aspiring to achieve? You don't need any special talent to give others a boost. I experienced this first-hand recently in the most unlikely of places.