Leading People
Logic gets agreement. Caring gets action. You can have the right strategy, the right metrics, the right processes — and still fail because people don’t move. Or they move, but without commitment. Or they commit, but in the wrong direction.
This section covers the human side of getting organisations to perform: trust, identity, and the transition from manager (who coordinates work) to leader (who shapes how people see themselves and what’s possible).
Where to start
Head to Heart — Why logic alone doesn’t work. The gap between intellectual agreement and genuine commitment.
Two Halves Of Trust — Trust requires both honesty and structure. Missing either one breaks organisations in different ways.
Trust and identity
How people and organisations actually change.
Head to Heart — Logic gets agreement. Caring gets action. Why rational arguments rarely move people, and what does.
Two Halves Of Trust — Trust requires both honesty (you’ll tell me the truth) and structure (I can predict what you’ll do). Culture without process is wishful thinking.
The Identity Constraint — Team performance is often limited by self-image. A team that doesn’t believe it can win, won’t. How identity constrains what’s possible.
The Speed Trap — The skills that made you effective as a manager start working against you as a leader. Why the transition is harder than it looks.
When Someone Leaves — Knowledge versus knowhow. When people leave, what actually walks out the door? How to preserve capability as capital.
Practices
Specific approaches that help.
Fresh Eyes — The advantage of walking in without baggage. What new people see that old hands miss.
Just Dribble — Plans create understanding, not prediction. The value is in the planning, not the plan.
Suggested reading order
If you’re working through this section systematically:
- Head to Heart — why logic isn’t enough
- Two Halves Of Trust — what trust actually requires
- The Identity Constraint — how self-image limits performance
- The Speed Trap — the manager-to-leader transition
- When Someone Leaves — preserving capability
Connects to
Running the Machine — People run the machine. Flow and constraints create the context, but people make it work.
Making Decisions — Judgement is individual, but implementation is collective. Decisions only matter if people act on them.
Buying and Fixing — Turnarounds are fundamentally about people. The identity constraint is often the binding constraint in a struggling business.