Dora Nagy

Even if you aren’t fascinated by Formula 1, if you look at the support team and see how fast and in sync they work when changing tires, I bet that you will be blown away. Everyone is clear on the goal and how they need to work together to achieve that goal. They trust that they all have each others’ back. They keep each other accountable and no ego can get in the way of driving results for the team. They push each other to always do better, and never settle for average. So

Your company is a mirror that shows how you are as a leader: the good, the bad, and the ugly. “It’s like walking into your house: I can step a little bit into your mind because for the house you bought and furnished you’d made a thousand decisions. A company is like that but it's like a hundred thousand decisions.” Observing how a company is run tells me a lot more about the CEO than anything else. Success then amplifies it all. Because success amplifies the tendencies i

Way too often, leaders act as if they had only read Darwin’s most known book, often summarized as “the survival of the fittest”. It was a great theory, but then discovered a fundamental flaw. And so he went on to research “the survival of the kindest”. He found that this theory explains more correctly which species climb the evolutionary ladder. He found that cooperation was more important than competition. Now, being kind as a leader doesn’t mean being “nice”. Nice is of

1.No or unclear expectations: Instead of asking: “All is clear? / Are we good?” Ask this: “Can you please recap what we’ve agreed on?” Only when you hear it in their words will you know whether they got it or not. 2.No commitment “Best effort basis” or “A for effort” doesn’t get your business far. If your expectations are unrealistic to the person, i.e. they cannot commit to it, you need to know that upfront. Stretch goals therefore can be really problematic. 3. No fee

Early in my career I learned how to play the feedback game. But first, I naively thought feedback was for my advancement. So I can do better. Become stronger. And learn important skills. But some of the feedback I was given just didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t have the opportunity to explain my thinking. To ask clarifying questions. To choose whether I wanted to take on that feedback or not. Sometimes it felt like I had no other option but to accept the feedback..

Having a team, preferably a leadership team, that can execute is what makes or breaks most CEO’s mental health. You have built a great tech and product, now it’s time to build a business. Can you do it alone? Absolutely not. Does it often feel like you still have to? Hell, yes. Of course it all starts at the top. You set the vision, you might even set the top priorities for the company (or Objectives if you have adopted OKRs), and then get out of the way. At least, that’s wha

‘Can I give you some feedback?’ - is the question that makes us want to run away, or in the virtual world, to pretend that we have just lost wifi connection. Evolution has taught us to always scan the environment for danger. Not only the external danger, such as animals that might contemplate us for lunch, but also dangers within our own tribe. If you weren’t accepted or cared for by your own people, your chances of survival went down pretty fast. Now, let’s put that into the

Managing a team is a bit like managing a family: you have different needs, opinions, fears and personalities to navigate. The challenge is that while a ‘dysfunctional family’ can still be charming and loving, a dysfunctional team (especially if that’s your leadership team) can be catastrophic for the organization and your business. I have come across a lot of high-performance woo woo, but Patrick Lencione’s classic is a must read for any leader. If you are busy running the bi

It is great to reach an agreement. It sucks to bulldoze people into it. The challenge is, the more you do it, the more you teach people around you to keep quiet, smile and nod. This is what happens: People start to challenge you less Important concerns are not raised (at least publicly) It trickles down into the team, so people stop challenging each either, especially in front of you Here is how to make sure you are not sabotaging healthy discussions: Adopt a ‘yes, and’ attit