I have spent the last several months teaching my teenage daughter to drive. My shortcomings in teaching her to park, back up, and anticipate hazards forced me to reflect on my own leadership tendencies. The experience has reminded me about the importance of mutual...
Recently, a client shared with me how their inbox can feel like a weight, a constant source of stress, and how seeing 50+ (or even 500+) unopened emails can drain your energy faster than a Friday afternoon full of meetings. So how do we remove this source of stress...
Think of the contrast between the all-powerful Wizard of Oz and the man behind the curtain. At some point in people's careers, most worry that they're the weak person controlling the levers instead of the formidable wizard. Known as imposter syndrome, 70% of...
In my former leadership roles, I had the great opportunity to lead culturally diverse teams worldwide. Some of those teams were remote as each entity existed separately from our parent headquarters. Each was “remote” and self-sustaining, but remote by location--not...
Several years ago, I worked in an organization where the hashtag #LeadershipMatters was a top-down message communicated in everything we did. I certainly agreed and echoed the "Leadership Matters" message, but I added a dimension to the Leadership Matters hashtag:...
I learned a great deal about influential leadership from my father, even as he had severe Alzheimer’s and dementia. He was a strong, hard-nosed, no-nonsense man, but he had a fascinating talent for connecting with people. He seemed to have a unique knack for combining...
A few years ago, I was part of an organization that was successfully striding toward accomplishing our strategic goals when unexpected external forces imposed a drastic direction change. Our strategic goals, operational efforts, and daily routines devolved into...
Call it a personal peeve of mine, or maybe just me getting old, but when someone says the phrase, “They are on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP),” it is like nails on a chalkboard for me! Fortunately, I have never been on a PIP, but I have worked with many who have...
In a recent workshop I attended, a discussion arose around the concept of adapting to others as a leader versus expecting followers to adapt to the leader. We explored adaptation as the “Platinum Rule,” where you treat others as they need to be treated (versus the...
You can't lead people in a one-size-fits-all way anymore—particularly in the remote environment. And so, as a leader, I need to understand every individual on my team—especially my direct reports. What do my direct reports need, and how do I meet them where they're...