d Tom’s story as I watched another episode of The Apprentice. Contestants who had watched other people in the role of the project manager on their teams seemed to forget everything they learned from observation.

They could have

Tom is a childhood friend of my brother’s. He lived about four houses from us since our junior-high days, and the guys have been friends for years. After getting his degree from Purdue, Tom went to work for a steel company. The guys have another friend, Mark, who, after graduating, wound up leasing a seat at the Mercantile Exchange and later buying it.

Fast-forward several years, when Tom is married with four sons. A couple other friends of their jumped on the “Merc bandwagon” and were doing quite well. By now Mark was a millionaire. Mark offered to help Tom get started working at the Merc. Of course, that would mean Tom would have to quit his job at the steel company, and still support four children and two adults.

I don’t recall how long he took to consider the offer. Eventually he quit the steel company job and headed to the Merc.

My brother’s friends said that for Tom’s first two months at the Merc he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

I recalled Tom’s story as I watched another episode of The Apprentice. Contestants who had watched other people in the role of the project manager on their teams seemed to forget everything they learned from observation.

They could have m

riend, Mark, who, after graduating, wound up leasing a seat at the Mercantile Exchange and later buying it.

Fast-forward several years, when Tom is married with four sons. A couple other friends of their jumped on the “Merc bandwagon” and were doing quite well. By now Mark was a millionaire. Mark offered to help Tom get started working at the Merc. Of course, that would mean Tom would have to quit his job at the steel company, and still support four children and two adults.

I don’t recall how long he took to consider the offer. Eventually he quit the steel company job and headed to the Merc.

My brother’s friends said that for Tom’s first two months at the Merc he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

I recalled Tom’s story as I watched another episode of The Apprentice. Contestants who had watched other people in the role of the project manager on their teams seemed to forget everything they learned from observation.

They could have

doing quite well. By now Mark was a millionaire. Mark offered to help Tom get started working at the Merc. Of course, that would mean Tom would have to quit his job at the steel company, and still support four children and two adults.

I don’t recall how long he took to consider the offer. Eventually he quit the steel company job and headed to the Merc.

My brother’s friends said that for Tom’s first two months at the Merc he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

I recalled Tom’s story as I watched another episode of The Apprentice. Contestants who had watched other people in the role of the project manager on their teams seemed to forget everything they learned from observation.

They could have

t recall how long he took to consider the offer. Eventually he quit the steel company job and headed to the Merc.

My brother’s friends said that for Tom’s first two months at the Merc he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

I recalled Tom’s story as I watched another episode of The Apprentice. Contestants who had watched other people in the role of the project manager on their teams seemed to forget everything they learned from observation.

They could have

d Tom’s story as I watched another episode of The Apprentice. Contestants who had watched other people in the role of the project manager on their teams seemed to forget everything they learned from observation.

They could have made actual lists (if not on paper then at least in their minds) of what had worked and what had not worked for previous project managers, and then applied what they learned when it was their turn to lead their team.

Rather, I saw deer-caught-in-headlights expressions. Then compassion would kick in and I cut them some slack as I thought, “Well, they’re on TV, so of course they’re nervous.”

But then I would think, “Hello? You’re on TV and you know it! Create a plan and act on it!”

The truth is, you don’t have to be on TV managing a team to get stuck looking like a deer caught in headlights while in a leadership role. You could be leading –

• a corporate division
• a small business’ distribution area
• a meeting of a dozen people in a conference room
• your kid’s soccer team

and just freeze.

So what do you do when you’re in a new leadership situation and you’re feeling as if every good idea just