Essays
A McKinsey type had managed to get on someone’s calendar. He had a pitch. I ended up in the room. He was already there when I walked in — standing at the head of the table, laptop open, smile polished. Oxford PPE and the particular self-confidence of someone who
Ling- English
The obsession with legacy in leadership interviews and corporate culture has become a distraction from what truly matters. Real impact comes not from chasing how you'll be remembered, but from paying attention to the immediate needs of the people around you. Through examples like Jonas Salk's approa
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That day, reflecting on how my simple gesture toward the staff was read as a tactical maneuver, I realized something more profound was at stake. It wasn't about strategy but about bond—the quiet recognition of our shared humanity, too often hidden beneath layers of hierarchy and suspicion. When resp
control vs command
this is issue #76
Ling- English
Management theory promises order, but daily reality delivers constant interruption. Instead of viewing fragmentation as failure, what if we embraced it as management's true nature? This post explores how to build competency within disruption, maintain coherence across scattered time, and find meanin
Essays
I keep seeing versions of the same claim: that trust is the natural result of psychological safety. Or that it can be engineered through a formula. That's tidy. It's appealing and it's convenient. It's also not true. Psychological safety may create the
Behind the Scenes
This is the first in a new "Behind the scenes" series where I connect the dots between my pieces and share what's unfolding in my thinking. Here, I explore how my recent article "What you lose when you lead" brings together years of reflection on management as craft, the shift from prose to poetry i
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Drawing from jazz and funk music principles, this post explores how "keeping it on the one" - maintaining a steady foundational beat - translates into powerful management philosophy. Just as musicians need a shared pulse to stay synchronized, successful teams require clear, dependable reference poin
Essays
They celebrate your promotion to manager. You've finally arrived. Except you haven't. You've been amputated. Management isn't promotion; it's transformation through loss. Your expertise was once currency. Your output, tangible. Your control, complete. Each day ended with concrete evidence of
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The celebration that masks a crisis Every career advancement article celebrates the promotion from individual contributor to manager. LinkedIn feeds fill with congratulatory messages. Companies frame it as the natural next step for top performers: a reward for excellence in your technical or functional role. The pervasive narrative suggests management
Newsletter
this is newsletter issue #75
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Everyone has a reason, but not everyone gets the prize. Discover how the ancient question 'cui bono' cuts through every explanation to reveal who actually benefits from any decision or action.