Article Summary: Many organizations do a poor job of onboarding new employees—leaving them frustrated, disengaged, and more likely to leave. Why onboarding matters, and practical tips for how to onboard new hires successfully. +++ Effective onboarding programs are critical for helping new hires feel prepared, connected, and motivated from day one. When it comes to … Read more
Article Summary: Many leaders expect loyalty from their teams but fail to reciprocate, leaving employees feeling unsupported and unmotivated. Here are ways to have your team’s back as a leader—building trust and inspiring loyalty along the way. +++ As a leader, you may think you have your people’s backs. You may even tell them you … 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
Interview of Don Lombardi, West Metro Fire Chief, by Gregg Vanourek, co-author of Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations, for Leadership Jeffco.* +++ Gregg Vanourek I’m honored to be with you, Fire Chief Don Lombardi. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us about your leadership experience, Leadership Jeffco, and your work in … Read more
Interview of Matthew Malone, President and Chief Operating Officer of Graham Corporation, by Gregg Vanourek, co-author of Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations, for Leadership Jeffco.* +++ Gregg Vanourek: Matt, where did you grow up, and who influenced you most during your formative years? And how? Matt Malone: I grew up … Read more
Article Summary: Leaders these days face daunting challenges in navigating chaos and uncertainty while keeping their teams focused and aligned. Practical strategies to help leaders adapt effectively and lead through turbulent times with clarity and confidence. +++ Leading through chaos and uncertainty is challenging for any leader. Rapid change, unexpected disruptions, and pervasive anxiety can … Read more
How can you take your leadership from bad to better? What are the best ways to elevate your leadership? Dr. Barbara Kellerman, Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, is a prominent scholar of bad leadership (including both poor performance and unethical behavior). In her book, Bad Leadership: What It Is, How … 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
Great leaders prioritize learning because they understand that continuous growth is key to sustained success. Doing so helps them adapt to an ever-changing world while setting an example for their teams. According to Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner in The Leadership Challenge, “…researchers have found a strong relationship between learning and leadership effectiveness. Being able … Read more
Article Summary: How you can transform your work and leadership with the power of purpose. Excerpts from Gregg Vanourek’s conversation on purposeful leadership and work with best-selling author, Richard Leider, shortly after the release of his new book, The Power of Purpose: To Grow and to Give for Life (4th edition), with David Shapiro.* +++ Gregg … Read more
As a leader, you’re probably under a lot of pressure: Hit your targets. Move faster. Motivate your team. Put out fires. Innovate. And all this while maintaining your organization’s reputation and being ethical. What are key things you can do to uphold what we call the “ethics imperative” (doing the right thing, even when it’s … Read more
When it comes to promoting ethical behavior in your organization, it’s not just about your own actions. It’s about building an ethical culture in which doing the right thing is not only encouraged but expected, demanded, and incentivized. In such a culture, everybody knows that character counts. They’re committed to pursuing great results (the excellence … Read more
Ethical decision-making is a cornerstone of effective leadership. It influences not only your organization’s reputation but also its long-term success and societal impact. Navigating the complexities of ethical dilemmas is no simple task. Leaders often face pressures, competing interests, and ambiguous situations that challenge their judgment. Unfortunately, many leaders fall short in this critical area. … Read more
What are the signs of ethical leadership in action—the things that ethical leaders do that others don’t? Ethical leaders pay attention to how their organizations and teams achieve their results. We know from research that honesty is one of the top things people look for in their leaders. And that whether managers are observed to … Read more
Article Summary: What leaders need to know about risk and cognitive biases. Assessing and managing risk is hard enough on its own for leaders, but it’s made even more difficult by cognitive biases. Examples of several cognitive biases and how they can challenge leaders and organizations, plus two techniques for addressing them. +++ When it … Read more
Do workplaces have a role to play in supporting democracy and promoting civic engagement? Is that a reasonable activity for business and nonprofit organizations, or better left to the government? Leaders, are you dialed in to this issue, or avoiding it like the plague? How to think and go about this? These questions were the … Read more
When it comes to leadership and risk, there’s a Hollywood version that tells a stylized story of maximum risk-taking leading to mind-boggling gains. Think of the way Amazon scaled, transforming from an online book-seller to an online everything-seller—now with about 40% of all U.S. retail ecommerce. Recall how Jeff Bezos talks about their “day one” … 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
Though you have a natural leadership style, to be effective and masterful you need to learn to get beyond it. Now, that may sound difficult. After all, people have their natural personalities. People enter leadership roles with a disposition that drives them to be either commanding or collaborative, introverted or extroverted, cautious or decisive, relationship-oriented … Read more
Article Summary: How one CEO used different strengths in different phases of his life as his context and priorities changed. +++++++++++++++ I’ve been reflecting on my strengths lately as I look back on my life and career. I recently used Gregg’s Strengths Search tool. (Gregg is my son and co-author on our book, Triple … 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
Being self-aware means knowing ourselves well, including understanding our emotions, motives, and desires. Self-awareness means having a clear and accurate understanding of our emotional landscape, core values, strengths, and weaknesses. Also, it means seeing clearly and accurately how we impact others. For leaders, there are many benefits to developing self-awareness.* For example, self-awareness can help … 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
At the University of Denver’s Sustainable Business Symposium recently, we heard about several trends and challenges, including not only advances in renewal energy and carbon emissions reporting but also a backlash against ESG, greenhushing, and pushback against DEI efforts. The challenges are real, but so is the progress. But first, the context. The Ethical … Read more
These days, we find ourselves with a dearth of courageous leaders. Too often, we have cowardly leaders who duck, dodge, and go along instead of leading from the front. This comes with painful consequences, from low trust in organizations and institutions to low respect and engagement in the workplace. We can—and must—do better. We need … Read more
When many people think about what makes a leader, too often they think about things like vision, inspiration, and charisma. They think about knowing what to do and getting people to do it. Or they think about confidence and decisiveness. Sure, these are important sometimes. But there are many other aspects of leadership that remain … 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
I’ve been reflecting lately on lessons I’ve learned from playing sports over the years. Last week, I wrote about what sports taught me about life, so here I’m addressing leadership lessons from sports. We all know how sports can help build our character as well as our fitness, how we can learn about teamwork, and … Read more
Article Summary: Many leaders agree too quickly to the many requests they receive. Such frequent assent can undermine key priorities. Good leaders learn to say no. Here’s how. +++ Many of us are bombarded with requests, opportunities, and decisions to make. Our subordinates and colleagues make compelling cases for things they want or need, and … Read more
Article Summary: Creating an execution-driven organization is essential for leaders. There are specific tasks leaders can do with strategy, people, and operations to align their organization to execute well. Good leaders embed excellent execution into the culture of their organization. +++ Execution entails carrying out a strategy, plan, directive, or course of action. Good leaders … Read more
Article Summary: Factions and office politics are common in organizations. Good leaders learn to bridge such factions and address the politics to help create unified and aligned organizations that excel. +++ Factions are small, dissenting groups within larger groups. Many factions take a contentious approach, fueled by their self-serving agenda and narrow and stubborn view … Read more
Article Summary: Good leaders make sure they don’t talk too much. They listen more and listen well. On the benefits of being a better listener and the best practices of listening, including how to build a culture of listening. +++ Many leaders talk too much. After all, they’re in charge, and people want to know … Read more
Article Summary: Deciding when to take credit versus give credit for accomplishments is a more complicated issue than many people realize. Generally, it’s best to give credit to others, but there are some scenarios where it’s more nuanced. +++ The issue of giving versus taking credit for accomplishments is a tricky one for many leaders … Read more
Article Summary: Good leaders tell their people, “I’ve got your back”—and mean it. They make good on that promise. They protect their team, in the process building loyalty and trust. Do you have your people’s backs? +++ In the film “A Few Good Men,” Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise, defends two dedicated young … Read more
Article Summary: Dialogue is a rarely used but potentially transformative gathering and communication process that can help groups tap into their collective wisdom, realize new insights, and bridge divides. +++ Good leaders are effective communicators. One powerful but rarely used form of communication is dialogue. Dialogue is a special form of respectful conversation between people … Read more
Do you believe that most people are basically good, want to do the right thing, and have inherent talents? Good leaders have that mindset. They believe in the inherent capabilities of people. “I bring you the gift of these four words: I believe in you.” -Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and writer Or … Read more
Article Summary: A wealth of life and leadership wisdom is readily available in the great works of literature, film, theater, and oratory. We’re wise to plumb this fount of extraordinary knowledge. +++ We can learn much from the great works of history, including classic books, films, great poems, theater, and speeches. Thomas Jefferson created lists … 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 … 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
