Leadership

BigCat's Leadership Craft

Concrete scripts · Decision frameworks · Coaching practice
Day 01Designing 1:1sAgenda · Trust · Real signal · Beyond status Day 02The Craft of FeedbackRadical Candor · SBI · Now vs Later · Channel Day 03The Craft of Perf ReviewAnatomy · Calibration · Bias · Why not Exceeds Day 04The Craft of Hard ConversationsThree layers · Firing · Promo denial · Blameless PM Day 05The Craft of HiringBar raising · Structured interview · Scorecard · Rejection Day 06Office Politics 101Power map · Player types · Stakeholder grid · Reciprocity Day 07The Art of DisagreementWorth the fight · 7 phrasings · Escalation ladder · Disagree & commit Day 08Cross-Functional InfluenceCurrencies · Stakeholder map · Pre-wiring · Make it their win Day 09Managing UpRead the calculus · Self-advocacy · One-page memo · Shit umbrella Day 10Sun Tzu in Org PoliticsCourt calculus · Strike the void · Know yourself · Win before the meeting Day 11Stoic Work SurvivalDichotomy of control · Premeditatio malorum · Obstacle as material · Daily 10-min loop Day 12Onboarding30/60/90 map · First-30-days early win · Network & tacit culture · Fresh eyes Day 13DelegationDelegation matrix · 7-level trust ladder · Give the monkey back · Guardrails not surveillance Day 14CoachingGROW model · Advice monster · 7 power questions · When not to coach Day 15Decision ArchitectureOne-way vs two-way door · RAPID · DACI · Disagree & commit Day 16Strategy & DirectionNorth Star metric · OKR design · Strategy memo · Embracing uncertainty Day 17Team MeetingsMeeting taxonomy · Standup vs all-hands · Facilitation · Cut & async Day 18Async Culture & Doc-FirstOne-page memo · RFC culture · ADR records · Cutting meeting load Day 19Conflict ResolutionTask vs relationship conflict · Mediator not judge · Hand it back · Clean escalation Day 20Leading Under PressureThe first hour · Delivering layoffs · Blameless postmortems · Aftershock & self-command Day 21Psychological SafetySafety ≠ niceness · Leader goes first · Engineer dissent · Artificial harmony Day 22Identity Beyond TitleRole ≠ identity · Single point of failure · Identity portfolio · Title-free intro drill Day 23Impermanence at WorkImpermanence as default · Dichotomy of control · Pre-written Plan B · Don't outsource security Day 24Envy & ComparisonEnvy targets peers · Benign vs malicious · Choose your frame · Mudita Day 25Failure & ShameShame vs guilt · Public-failure narrative · CV of failures · The three P's Day 26Active Listening & Premise AlignmentFour levels of listening · Surface the premise · Load-bearing first · Fact vs value claim Day 27Survival for the ApoliticalThe cost of opting out · Minimum viable politics · Limits of letting work speak · Win through allies Day 28Ethical Boundaries & Saying NoThree-layer triage · Refusal spectrum · Sunlight email · Exit/Voice/Loyalty Day 29Meaning at WorkThree-source diagnostic · Bullshit-job moments · Job crafting · Don't outsource it Day 30Luck & AttributionTalent+luck · Survivorship on yourself · Humility as calibration · Luck in the retro Day 31Playing the Long GameFinite vs infinite games · What compounds · Valley of disappointment · Long-term people Day 32The Undervalued YearsPsychology of being overlooked · Visibility vs hype · Discipline of quiet accumulation · When to walk Day 33Money & Career FreedomFU money as option · Buffer as BATNA · Lifestyle inflation · Freedom is an option not escape Day 34Diversity & InclusionIn-the-moment intervention · De-bias the system · Data-driven funnel · Sponsorship over symbolism Day 35The Cost of AuthenticityMask as social interface · Adaptive authenticity · The line you don't cross · When the mask fuses Day 36Team Building & CohesionRituals compound · Off-sites for in-person work · Celebrate progress not outcomes · Belonging ≠ sameness Day 37Leadership StyleSwitch six styles · Match the person (SLII) · Dose of vulnerability · Authenticity paradox Day 38Time Management for LeadersMaker vs manager schedule · Calendar defense · Scripts for saying no · Deep-work blocks Day 39Strategy vs ExecutionThe strategy kernel · From firefighting to prevention · A weekly zoom-out cadence · The hidden invoice of short-termism Day 40Building Company CultureCulture is what you reward · Schein's 3 levels · A testable contract · Founder's mentality · The culture handoff Day 41Startup vs Big-Company LeadershipWartime vs peacetime · Two muscles · The intrapreneur's trap · Unload & rebuild Day 42Women in LeadershipThe double bind · The Lean In debate · The invisible tax & credit · Sponsorship vs the motherhood penalty Day 43Career StrategyScarce×strong positioning · Promotion is lagging · Manager/IC pendulum · Pivot & stop-loss timing