Article Summary: While hidden leadership traps quietly undermine your own effectiveness, their real danger lies in the collateral damage they inflict on your team and organizational culture. By identifying and addressing these traps, you can rebuild trust, protect those around you, and uplevel your leadership. +++ All leaders fall into traps: hidden behaviors that quietly … Read more
Article Summary: Running a small business can be overwhelming, with hidden traps that erode your leadership effectiveness and wellbeing. Here we offer ways to overcome common pitfalls and protect your quality of life so you and your business can thrive. +++ Running a small business is like navigating a stormy sea. Constant demands. Gyrating costs. … Read more
Article Summary: In these times of polarization and division, we need a call to higher leadership. A tribute to David Gergen’s legacy, featuring his principles and career highlights as well as reflections from prominent leaders on his service and impact. +++ David Gergen’s extraordinary and inspiring career spans public service, journalism, academia, and thought leadership—anchored … Read more
Too often, we focus on leaders while neglecting the critical role that followers play in teams, organizations, institutions, and nations. These days, we face major problems with bad leadership, so we’re wise to address what followers can do about bad leaders. In her book, Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters … Read more
What is bad leadership? What are its signs? How to know if leaders are good or bad? Esteemed leadership scholar Dr. Barbara Kellerman addressed these questions and more in her book, Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters. Kellerman has argued that we’ve been naïve to focus too much on good … Read more
Toxic leaders inflict great damage on our organizations, communities, and nations. They draw us in with bold promises and then turn around and wreak havoc. It’s important to understand the phenomenon of toxic leaders, especially why people fall for them. Before diving in, let’s define terms. When something is toxic, that means it’s poisonous and … Read more
Article Summary: We have too many toxic leaders in our workplaces, communities, and nations. What are their characteristics? Why do so many people follow them willingly? What makes an environment conducive for them to capture and maintain power? By Gregg Vanourek. +++ As if things weren’t hard enough in our lives, we’re also beset with … Read more
There we were, putting our heart and soul into a bold new startup venture with buckets full of promise. We were all in. The air was electric. And everything was about to come crashing down. Our planned new offering was ambitious and pathbreaking. We knew we had our work cut out for us. The scope … Read more
How self-aware are you? It’s common for people, including leaders, to overestimate their self-awareness. Based on multiple investigations with nearly 5,000 participants, organizational psychologist Dr. Tasha Eurich and her colleagues found that “even though most people believe they are self-aware… only 10-15% of the people we studied actually fit the criteria.” In their survey of … Read more
Many leaders think they have a high level of self-awareness when in fact they struggle with it. For leaders, this can show up in many ways. For example, perhaps you’re not aware that you: are so focused on the next thing that you don’t take time to celebrate your team’s achievements tend to make decisions … Read more
Self-awareness is an important component of leadership effectiveness, according to researchers. It’s also a key differentiator between good and great leaders. According to leadership authors, James Kouzes and Barry Posner: “….self-awareness is a predictor of success in leadership.” On the flip side, many leaders have blind spots that inhibit their leadership effectiveness and even damage … Read more
What’s the deal with all the bad managers out there? According to a Gallup study of 7,272 U.S. adults, one in two had left their jobs at some point in their career to get away from a bad manager. A YouGov and MHR survey of 2,006 workers found that 80 percent of U.S. workers have … Read more
Article Summary: Are you more of a giver or taker? Too focused on yourself? On ego versus service and focusing on ourselves versus something bigger. +++ Are you a giver or a taker? We all give and take to varying degrees, but what’s the greater tendency in your life? Are you more of a giver … Read more
Article Summary: Why are there so many bad bosses? Why are so many organizations bad at choosing managers? How to distinguish between bad bosses who can be redeemed and those who can’t? +++ “Surveys show that one in two people at some point in their careers have left their job to get away from their … Read more
Article Summary: Self-control can be learned and developed. Good leaders demonstrate self-control, mastering their impulses and emotions. +++ Self-control is our ability to manage our impulses, emotions, feelings, and desires to influence our behavior, especially in difficult situations. It’s a form of self-discipline that helps us address our weaknesses, avoid undesirable behavior, and pursue what’s … Read more
Article Summary: Wise leaders take the time for self-care through a regimen of daily activities, sanctuary, and retreats. The benefits of personal renewal for leaders are enormous, ensuring you’re living a good and meaningful life. +++ Many of us are so tied up in the chaos of our lives that we don’t take proper care … Read more
Article Summary: If you think you don’t have a problem with your ego, watch out. That’s when leaders are at the greatest risk of losing their bearings and credibility. +++ Aristotle defined the “golden mean” as the desirable middle between the two extremes of excess and deficiency. For leaders, there’s an essential golden mean to … Read more
Article Summary: Knowing why you want to lead is essential. If your motive to lead is selfish, you’ll fail. Your ego is a leadership toxin. +++ Why do you want to lead? It’s important to know that—important to your future and to those you lead. Leading Is a Choice You may get thrust into … Read more
Most of us are adept at hiding our weaknesses. I know I am. I’m getting better though. I’ve learned that being vulnerable by admitting my weaknesses often turns the situation around to something good. People Already Know I discovered that many people already knew my weaknesses. It was obvious to them, even while I … Read more
Here’s the thing: you want to be a better leader. But you’re probably focusing on what to do as a leader while neglecting what not to do. That’s where leadership derailers come in—the things that take you off track and inhibit your leadership effectiveness. If you want to be a good leader, you must be … Read more
Most people avoid conflict. But that’s a mistake. Conflict is essential in high-performing teams but must be managed well. Here’s how.
These days it’s easy to fall into the trap of playing the short game. Our culture is geared toward it. With our devices, we’re developing the attention span of a gnat. We swipe and scroll. We get fidgety with a few seconds of down-time. The power of the long game is astonishing, but the short game is alluring. Now more than ever we need to reorient our life and work to the long game.
Are you tired? Stressed? Busy? Just par for the course for today’s leader, right? Wrong. These days, it seems that “busy is the new black.” Busy is in. People boast about how busy they are. When answering a schedule request, they regale you with all the things in their calendar that prevent them from meeting … Read more
Many people self-select out of leadership. They lean out. They view leadership as the province of others, the ones with confidence, or the answers, or charisma, or vision. Sound familiar? Many people don’t even consider leading, because they don’t think of themselves as leaders. And so it is that incredible potential is wasted due to … Read more
