Balancing People and Process—and Leading and Doing
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 11/12/2025
Time Management For Leaders
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Leaders today are stuck in a constant three-way tug-of-war: time, quality, and cost. In the post-pandemic, hybrid-work era (2020–2025), the pressure doesn’t ease—tech just lets us do more, faster, and the clock keeps yelling. This is a practical, leader-grade guide to getting control of your calendar without killing your standards or your people. Why does leadership time management feel harder now, even with better technology? It feels harder because technology increases speed and volume, so your workload expands to fill the space. Email, chat, dashboards, CRMs, and...
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How To Get Better Results
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
When you’ve got a dozen priorities, meetings, emails, and “urgent” requests hitting you at once, the real problem usually isn’t effort—it’s focus. This is a simple, fast method to get your thinking organised, coordinate your work, and choose actions that actually improve results: build a focus map, then run each sub-topic through a six-step action template. How do I get focused when I’m overwhelmed with too much work? You get better results by shrinking the chaos into one clear “area of focus,” then organising everything else around it. In practice, overwhelm...
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How Leaders Can Strengthen Relationships With Their Team (Part Three)
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
In Parts One and Two, we covered the relationship fundamentals: stop criticising, give sincere appreciation, understand what people want, show genuine interest, smile, and remember names. In Part Three, we move to the final three skills that make those principles work in real leadership: listening, speaking in terms of the other person’s interests, and making people feel important—sincerely. 1) Be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves Many leaders unintentionally weaken relationships because they listen selectively. If the conversation isn’t “useful,”...
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How Leaders Can Strengthen Relationships With Their Team (Part Two)
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
In Part One we covered three foundational human relations principles: avoid criticism, offer honest appreciation, and connect your requests to what the other person wants. In Part Two, we level up the relationship-building process with three more principles that are simple, timeless, and strangely rare in modern workplaces. How do leaders build trust when everyone is time-poor and transactional? Trust is built by slowing down “relationship time” on purpose—because rushed efficiency kills human connection.In post-pandemic workplaces (hybrid, remote, overloaded calendars), teams can...
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How Leaders Can Strengthen Relationships With Their Team (Part One)
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Most leaders genuinely want a strong relationship with their team, yet day-to-day reality can be messy—especially when performance feels uneven. The trap is thinking “they should change.” The breakthrough is realising: you can’t change others, but you can change how you think, communicate, and lead. Why do leaders get annoyed with the “80%” of the team (and what should they do instead)? Because the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) makes it feel like you’re paying for effort you’re not getting—but the fix is to lead the whole system, not just the stars. In most...
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The Five Drivers of Leadership Success
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
When markets are kind, anyone can look like a genius. The test arrives when conditions turn—your systems, skills, and character decide what happens next. What are the five drivers every leader must master? The five drivers are: Self Direction, People Skills, Process Skills, Communication, and Accountability. Mastering all five creates resilient performance across cycles. In boom times (think pre-pandemic luxury hotels in Japan) tailwinds mask weak leadership; in shocks (closed borders, supply chain crunches) only strong drivers keep teams delivering. As of 2025, executives in...
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Balancing People and Process—and Leading and Doing
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Newly promoted and still stuck in “super-doer” mode? Here’s how to rebalance control, culture, and delegation so the whole team scales—safely and fast. Why do new managers struggle when they’re promoted from “star doer” to “leader”? Because your brain stays in production mode while your job has shifted to people, culture, and systems. After promotion, you’re accountable not only for your own KPIs but for the entire team’s outcomes. It’s tempting to cling to tasks you control—dashboards, sequencing, reporting—because they’re tangible and quick wins. But...
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How to Stop Forgetting Things
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Feeling busier and more distracted than last year? You’re not imagining it—and you’re not powerless. This guide turns a simple “peg” memory method into a fast, executive-friendly workflow you can use on the spot. Why do we forget more at work—and what actually helps right now? We forget because working memory is tiny and modern work shreds attention; the fix is to externalise what you can and anchor what you can’t. As channels multiply—email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Line, Telegram—messages blur and retrieval costs explode. First, move details out of your head and into...
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The Right Japan Workplace Culture
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
How to reshape culture in Japan without breaking what already works. What is the first question leaders should ask when inheriting a Japanese workplace? Start by asking better questions, not hunting faster answers. Before imposing a global “fix,” map what already works in the Japan business and why. In post-pandemic 2025, multinationals from Toyota to Rakuten show that culture is a system of trade-offs—language, seniority, risk appetite, client expectations—not a slogan. Western playbooks prize decisive answers; Japan prizes deciding the right questions. That shift...
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How To Remember People’s Names at Networking and Business Events
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Short intro: Forgetting names kills first impressions. The good news: a few simple, repeatable techniques can make you memorable and help you recall others—consistently, even in noisy, post-pandemic mixers and business events. Is there a simple way to say my name so people actually remember it? Yes: use “Pause, Part, Punch.” Pause before you speak, insert a brief “part” between your first and last name, then punch (emphasise) your surname. The pause stops the mental scroll, the parting creates a clean boundary (helpful in loud rooms or across accents), and...
info_outlineNewly promoted and still stuck in “super-doer” mode? Here’s how to rebalance control, culture, and delegation so the whole team scales—safely and fast.
Why do new managers struggle when they’re promoted from “star doer” to “leader”?
Because your brain stays in production mode while your job has shifted to people, culture, and systems. After promotion, you’re accountable not only for your own KPIs but for the entire team’s outcomes. It’s tempting to cling to tasks you control—dashboards, sequencing, reporting—because they’re tangible and quick wins. But 2025 leadership in Japan, Australia, the US, and Europe demands more: setting strategy, articulating vision, and developing capability. The pivot is psychological—move from “I produce” to “I enable production,” or you’ll cap growth and burn out.
Do now: List your top five “leader-only” responsibilities and five tasks to delegate this week; schedule handovers with owners and dates.
Mini-summary: New leaders fail by over-doing; succeed by re-wiring attention from personal output to team capability.
What’s the practical difference between managing processes and leading people?
Managers ensure things are done right; leaders ensure we’re doing the right things—and growing people as we go.Processes secure quality, timeliness, budget discipline, and compliance. Leadership adds direction: strategy, culture, talent development, and context setting. Across sectors—manufacturing in Aichi, B2B SaaS in Seattle, retail in Sydney—over-indexing on process alone turns humans into “system attachments,” stifling initiative and innovation. Over-indexing on people without controls risks safety, regulatory breaches, and inconsistent delivery. The art is dynamic dosage: tighten or loosen controls as competency, risk, and stakes shift.
Do now: For each workflow, rate “risk” and “competency.” High risk/low competency → tighter checks; low risk/high competency → more autonomy.
Mini-summary: Processes protect, people propel; leaders tune both based on risk and capability.
How much control is “just enough” without killing initiative or risking compliance?
Use the guardrail test: prevent safety/compliance violations while leaving room for stretch, accountability, and growth. Post-pandemic supply chains, ESG scrutiny, and Japan’s regulator expectations mean leaders can’t “set and forget.” Too few checks invite fines—or jail time for accountable officers; too many checks create Theory X micromanagement that freezes learning. Borrow from Toyota’s jidoka spirit: stop the line when risk spikes, but otherwise let teams problem-solve. In SMEs and startups, standardise the critical few controls (safety, security, data) and keep the rest principle-based to preserve speed.
Do now: Write a one-page “controls charter” listing non-negotiables (safety, compliance) and “managed freedoms” (experiments, pilots, scope to improve).
Mini-summary: Guardrails first, freedom second—enough control to stay legal and safe, enough autonomy to develop people.
How do I stop doing my team’s work and start scaling through delegation?
Delegate outcomes, not chores—and accept short-term pain for long-term scale. Many first-time managers keep their player tasks because they distrust others or fear being accountable for mistakes. That works for a quarter, not a year. By FY2026, targets rise while your personal capacity doesn’t. Multinationals from Rakuten to Siemens train leaders to assign the “what” and “why,” agree on milestones and quality criteria, then coach on the “how.” Expect a temporary dip as skills climb; measure trajectory, not perfection.
Do now: Pick two tasks you still hoard. Define success, constraints, and checkpoints; delegate by Friday, then coach at the first checkpoint.
Mini-summary: Let go to grow; specify outcomes and coach to capability.
How can I balance micro-management and neglect in day-to-day leadership?
Replace “hovering” and “hands-off” with scheduled, high-leverage follow-up. Micromanagement announces low trust; neglect announces low care. Instead, run structured check-ins: purpose, progress, problems, pivots. In regulated environments (banks, healthcare, manufacturing), confirm evidence of controls; in creative or GTM teams, probe learning, experiments, and customer signals. Across APAC, leaders who share decision frameworks (RACI/DACI; risk thresholds; escalation paths) cut rework and surprise escalations.
Do now: Implement a weekly 20-minute “PPP” per direct report—Progress (facts), Problems (risks), Pivots (next choices)—with artefacts attached in advance.
Mini-summary: Neither smother nor ignore—use predictable, evidence-based check-ins to align and de-risk.
When should leaders “lead from the front” versus “get out of the way”?
Front-load leadership in ambiguity; step back once clarity, competence, and controls exist. In crises, new markets, or safety-critical launches, visible, directive leadership calms noise and sets pace (think: first 90 days of a turnaround or a factory start-up). As routines stabilise, flip to servant leadership: remove blockers, broker resources, and celebrate small wins. In Japan, Nemawashi-style groundwork before meetings accelerates execution; in the US and Europe, crisp owner-dated action registers keep speed without rework. The best leaders oscillate based on context, not ego.
Do now: For each initiative, label its phase (Explore/Build/Run). Explore = lead hands-on; Build = co-pilot; Run = empower with audits.
Mini-summary: Lead hard in fog; empower once the road is clear and guardrails hold.
Conclusion: your real job is capability, culture, and controlled freedom
Great organisations don’t trade people for process or vice-versa—they orchestrate both. As of 2025, the winners grow leaders who tune controls to risk, develop people faster than targets rise, and delegate outcomes with smart follow-up. Stop carrying the team on your back. Build a team that carries the work—safely, compliantly, and proudly.
Optional FAQs
- Is micromanagement ever right? Only for high-risk, low-competency tasks; use it briefly, with a plan to taper.
- What if my team is slower than me? That’s normal initially; coach cadence and quality, not perfection.
- How do I avoid regulator trouble? Document controls, evidence checks, and incident response paths; audit monthly.
- What do I say to ex-peers I now manage? Reset expectations: new role, shared goals, clear decision rights, and escalation routes.
Next steps for leaders/executives
- Write your one-page controls charter and review it with Legal/Compliance.
- Convert two “player” tasks into delegated outcomes this week.
- Install weekly PPP check-ins with artefacts attached in advance.
- Map each initiative to Explore/Build/Run and adjust your involvement accordingly.
Author Credentials
Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie “One Carnegie Award” (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban “Hito o Ugokasu” Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan’s Top Business Interviews.