Zach on Leadership

We’re going big on the cloud. All in. It’s exciting. It’s futuristic. However, it’s downright difficult. I talk with leaders at other large enterprise organizations, and everyone is grappling with the cloud. Some are grappling better than others. Our “why” is simple. We can be more efficient, secure, resilient, agile, and sustainable in the cloud. Our cloud technology platform is an enabler to just about every other strategic initiative at the company. The “how” is not simple. It’s taken a... Read More Read More The post We’re Going Big on Cloud Technology. Here’s the Strategy. appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

You may have started out your leadership journey as the go-to person for the team. That works for a while, but it’s not sustainable, nor does it scale. In my team, I’m the leader of last resort. That’s not because I’m reluctant to lead or don’t know how to lead, but I’ve found that the best results come from empowered leaders closest to the issues. Let me provide a few examples to illustrate. The Incident Manager of Last Resort When... Read More Read More The post The Leader of Last Resort: A Leadership Lesson in Delegation and Empowerment appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I had a great opportunity to speak on behalf of the CHS Foundation at the FFA State Officer Summit this week in Washington, DC. FFA stands for Future Farmers of America but has a broader mission to develop all kinds of future agriculture leaders, not just production farmers. The group I spoke with consisted of about 375 elected student leaders from each of the 50 states. It was an absolute privilege to speak with and meet these bright young agriculture... Read More Read More The post The Future is Bright: Raising up the Next Generation of Cooperative Leaders appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Hello, Zach on Leadership readers! I took a few weeks off to enjoy some family time and new adventures, but now I’m back at it. Many have heard the leadership axiom, “Take all the blame. Share all the credit.” It’s good advice. It speaks to the importance of accountability, recognition, and humility. These leadership attributes are very visible. If you have work to do in these areas, everyone around you likely knows it. I’ve written previously on blame and accountability.... Read More Read More The post What to Do When You’ve Been Left Hanging: Leadership Attitudes for Missed Recognition appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

In 2022, most office professionals fit into one of three categories: Some work primarily on-site in an office building. Some split their time between home and the office building. Lastly, some work full-time remotely from their home offices or wherever they happen to be. The majority of my teams fit into the last category. They are fully remote. They are quite happy and productive doing so. As their leader, I’m quite content to offer as much flexibility as possible. I’ve... Read More Read More The post When and How Should Remote Teams Meet in Person? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Many of you have heard the term, Digital Native. It refers to the recent generations of people that have grown up in the digital era. They don’t know a world without the internet, social media, e-commerce, and other digital capabilities. For them, digital seems normal and the analog equivalents seem foreign. Technically, I’m too old to be a Digital Native. I’m a young Gen-Xer. I grew up in the era of VHS tapes and MTV. The internet as we know... Read More Read More The post Digital is Normal: My Professional Career as a Digital Native appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Everyone in a leadership position has been spending a lot of time in the last year hearing about the “Great Resignation.” Perhaps it’s just me, but most of the context around it is either defensiveness or acceptance. Here’s what I mean: Defensiveness: “Watch out for the Great Resignation. It’s going to get you! Here are the 37 steps that you should take to prevent the Great Resignation from hollowing out your team!” Acceptance: “Suzy just resigned. Oh well, I guess... Read More Read More The post Turning the Great Resignation into an Advantage appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

We humans have become quite accustomed to our technologies working for us all the time. It doesn’t matter if a service is available 99.9% of the time or even 99.999% of the time. That .001% of downtime couldn’t come at a worse moment. I work in Information Technology. Our industry is famous for building technologies that people rely on 100% of the time but are only available a high percentage of that time. How high? It depends, but generally, not... Read More Read More The post Misery Loves Company: Empathy in Incident Management appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

In 2004, the film Miracle was released, starring Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks, and directed by Gavin O’Connor. The film told the story of the USA Hockey team that triumphed over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics. I love this movie. It’s packed with leadership lessons. However, in this article, I’m only going to focus on one of them. For those of you unfamiliar with the film or the events that inspired it, I’ll provide a little background. Herb... Read More Read More The post I Know How Hard to Push My Team appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I think one of the most important things leaders can do is remind their team about their purpose. Where does purpose come from? Practically speaking, usually, the top leaders of an organization put their heads together and come up with a powerful statement. Then, they put some effort into communicating that purpose to their teams in a campaign. I’ve personally experienced and participated in many iterations of these in several organizations. The purpose of purpose Why do leaders put so... Read More Read More The post Purpose is Everything appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Our organization is going through a transition from a project operating model to a product operating model. Many enterprise organizations are pursuing a similar path and are at various stages of the journey. I’d like to use this article to explain why I am so enthusiastic about this change. In so many ways, this pathway helps me realize some career-long objectives. Before I get into that, we should define a few terms. What is a product? In this context, a... Read More Read More The post Turning IT into a Self-Perpetuating Value Creation Machine appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Happy April Fools’ Day! When I was growing up, my brother and I treated April Fools’ like a national holiday. You can feel bad for my parents. However, what goes around comes around. Now, with four kids of my own, the tables have turned. My kids really know how to pull some elaborate pranks. I remember when I first expressed my love for pranks at the workplace. I had a job on a help desk. I was working on developing... Read More Read More The post Happy April Fools’ Day: Leadership Lessons from Computer Pranks appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Like many of you, I started my week working from my home office. My day was unfolding in a typical fashion when all of a sudden, in the middle of an important meeting, I lost my internet connection. Since I am an IT professional, I don’t immediately begin with the conclusion that the issue was caused by my internet service provider. I first eliminated the technologies that are in my direct control. I checked my computer, wireless access point, switch,... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Unexpected Customer Service appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I’m glad you clicked on this article. It means that you are aware that you are leading people smarter than you, and you need some help. That’s awesome. Think about all of the leaders out there that read this headline and kept scrolling because they assume they are smarter than all of their team members. Why do leaders like that exist? Well, we make them. Executives and directors look around their teams for those capable of stepping up and taking... Read More Read More The post How to Lead People Smarter Than You appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Sports analogies in business leadership are nearly as certain as death and taxes. You simply cannot lead in a large organization without hearing sports analogies daily. For me, sports analogies don’t bother me too much; however, I do notice them. I wish there were fewer of them. If you’ve ever been told to “skate to where the puck is going to be,” “it’s time for a full-court press,” “throw a hail mary,” or discussed the “bench strength” of your team,... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Sportsball Analogies and Insider Language appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

A leader’s reputation is everything. Without a good reputation, no one will listen to you, no one will willingly follow you, no one will give you a stretch assignment, and no one will promote you. Understandably, leaders care a lot about their reputations.   Leaders can do things that completely destroy their reputations. Those make for interesting headlines, and they keep public relations teams very occupied. This article isn’t about that. I’m writing about the moderate issues that can be... Read More Read More The post How to Recover from a Damaged Reputation appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

You always remember your first real promotion. It’s a big moment. It’s bigger than just landing your first real job. To do that, you need a good resume and interview. To get promoted, you have to prove yourself. I remember mine. I started my career as a contractor working on the Y2K crisis. After doing that for about a year, I decided I wanted to be real employee at a real company. Some people love contracting, but it wasn’t for... Read More Read More The post Life After Help Desk: My First Big Promotion appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Last week, I had the opportunity to teach SQL (Structured Query Language) to 14 middle and high school students in our homeschool co-op. I use my company’s Volunteer Time Off program to make this possible. In a previous article, I shared how I helped one of my students repair his broken laptop with a soldering pencil. If you missed that article, check it out here. I am teaching a digital literacy course, which covers a wide variety of subjects. Just... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Teaching SQL appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Many of you can relate to this picture. I certainly can. I spent many hours of my childhood helping my dad fix the car, repair broken appliances, and assemble furniture. My job was to hold the flashlight, fetch a screwdriver, and otherwise assist in the effort. I use the word, “assist” in the most liberal sense possible. At the time I was oblivious, but now I know the truth. I distinctly remember finishing many projects that Dad and I worked... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Holding a Flashlight appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

The 2003 film, Elf, starring Will Ferrell and directed by Jon Favreau, is one of the most beloved Christmas films. My family makes a tradition of watching it every year. As with many of my favorite movies, I cannot help but notice the subtle leadership lessons sprinkled about like candy in spaghetti. Elf is packed with too many leadership lessons for just one Zach on Leadership article, so I’ve thoroughly covered it over the past three weeks. You may not... Read More Read More The post Leading from the Naughty List: Leadership Lessons from Elf, Part 3 of 3 appeared first on Zach on Leadership.