Each quarter, ask 6 people around you the same 3 open questions about your performance.

Deliver effective feedback in 3 parts (Situation—Behavior—Impact) so the other person hears you without defensiveness.

Instead of solutions, ask GROW: Goal-Reality-Options-Will — let person craft his solution.

After a deep talk, ask: "What do I need to ask that I haven't?" — a trust revealer.

Prep your 1-on-1 with SBI + GROW: situation, behavior, impact, then open GROW questions.

Prep your first mentor meeting with GROW + one single specific question.

Practice asking open GROW questions instead of giving advice in every mentoring meeting.

Design a quarterly give-back ritual for your mentor (written thanks, referral, intro).

Design a 5-mentor board: technical, strategic, life, spiritual, peer.

As mentor: organize a 60-min GROW group session for 4 people.

Use a matrix to match the right mentor with your real need before asking.

Form a peer duo/trio committing to monthly GROW.

Mentor a younger person in new tech/culture, and learn from them in return.

When mentorship phase ends, close it with a gratitude meeting + redefine the relationship.

Identify who is your mentor (teaches) vs sponsor (opens doors) — both crucial.

After any delegated task completes, deliver feedback in Situation-Behavior-Impact format.

Compress any project into one page: why, what, who, when, success looks like...

For each task and person: R responsible, A accountable, C consulted, I informed.

A 7-sentence formula that conveys a task clearly enough that the employee won't come back with "what did you mean?"

For each task, set the autonomy level (1: tell me before → 5: decide alone).

Identify 5-7 tasks that must stay with you, so you delegate everything else with peace.

Before delegating a sensitive task, map who must know and who must agree.

Imagine the project failed entirely a year from now; list 7 plausible reasons before starting.

After each phase: what happened? What did we expect? Why the gap? How do we learn?

A 7-milestone Gantt on one page — visible, instantly grokkable.

A living table of every project risk: probability, impact, owner, action.

For each task estimate: optimistic, most-likely, pessimistic — then compute expected.

Identify when the project becomes uncancelable — decide before, not after.

Classify every commitment: fixed (must), negotiable (should), optional (could).

Before launch, write a "press release" as if it succeeded — making the win tangible.

Per task: who Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed — no duplication for first two.

Per decision type: who proposes, decides, consulted, informed.

Per issue type: when resolved at current level, when escalates up.

Each team member: annual signature on disclosure of relationships affecting decisions.

Don't pick vendor "by gut" — score on 6 dimensions with weights, pick by points.

Good RFP defines what you need precisely + selection criteria — not "send anything".

90 days into contract: review with vendor — don't wait for renewal to find issues.

First hour of crisis: who to inform, what to say, how.

Each stakeholder: place in quadrant (high/low power × high/low interest) — each quadrant has strategy.

Who influences whom? — draw network to know "who talks to whom to shift decision".

Per key stakeholder: what to send, when, via which channel, what to expect.

Project first meeting: explicit expectations — scope, date, quality, comms, alarms.

When stakeholder A wants X, B wants opposite: don't pick — surface underlying interests.

Your boss has little time, many concerns — use 4 principles to be a smart stakeholder.

A 30-min conversation with a report: Goal, Reality, Options, Will — to grow their thinking instead of giving answers.

Memorize 10 coaching questions that open any conversation, replacing answers 80% of the time.

Instead of feedback on the past, ask reports for future suggestions — less defensiveness, higher application.

Determine if you multiply your team's intelligence or drain it via 5 specific leader behaviors.

30 weekly minutes with each direct report, following 3 questions only: what, how, where stuck.

Frame feedback in 3 sentences: Situation, Behavior, Impact — strips bias, refocuses on behavior.

Ask 8 people around you 3 questions: what do I do well? what should I stop? what would you stop me from doing if you saw?

In every 1-on-1, ask: "How can I serve you this week? What's blocking you that I can remove?"

In every leadership conversation, listen 3 minutes for every 1 you speak. Advice after understanding, not before.

Direction level must match employee's maturity on the task. 4 styles, pick right one per case.

Real development: 70% from hard assignments, 20% from relationships, 10% from training. Focus on the 70.

Task 20% bigger than employee's current ability. Scares 30%, fails 30%, succeeds 40%. Difficult balance.

Each month, identify 3 employees you'll name in rooms they don't enter. Sponsorship is system, not event.

For each leadership role in your team (including yours), 2-3 ready successors. Otherwise, you're a prisoner of your role.

Coach a peer at your same management level with no hierarchical authority — the challenge here is separating friendship from neutrality, not authority from support.

When someone's progress stalls despite real effort, look for what changed in their performance pattern, not just "less motivation".