Over the years, many CEOs have spent time with me because they wanted to become better writers. Yup, they wanted to communicate more clearly and reach more people. They already had valuable ideas, strong opinions, and years of experience. What they often lacked was the...
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, I have been thinking about what its history can teach us about leadership. America began with questions. Why must things remain the way they are? Could people govern themselves? Could a new kind of country be created? The founders did...
Somewhere along the way, kindness got a bad reputation in leadership. It became confused with weakness. With softness. By avoiding hard conversations. Letting people do whatever they want while everyone sits in a circle sharing feelings and pretending the quarterly numbers are just a social construct. That is not kindness. That...
âBe impeccable with your word.â When Don Miguel Ruiz wrote that in The Four Agreements, he was offering a personal principle. But for leaders, it may be one of the most important ideas hiding in plain sight. Leadership doesnât start with a three-year strategy, a polished deck,...
For most of the last century, success was tied to IQ. The people who were smartest, fastest at calculations, best at memorizing information, and best at solving structured problems tended to rise to the top in school and in many careers. But the world has changed. Today,...
Most organizations donât have a strategy problem. They have a leadership problem. Specifically, they have managers who were trained to control instead of develop. Management optimizes performance.Coaching multiplies potential. If you want innovation, ownership, and loyalty, you donât need tighter supervision. You need more coaches. Here are three shifts that transform...
Every leader hits moments where the spark feels a little dim.Your energy dips.Your patience thins.Your decision-making slows down.Your creativity just⊠isnât firing. If any of that feels familiar. Youâre due for an upgrade. Leadership isnât a fixed identity. Itâs a living system. And like any system, it...
âDo your best, always.â â Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements I love that line because it reminds me that âour bestâ isnât something we find later. Itâs something we choose in small ways right now. We all have a funny relationship with tomorrow.Tomorrow Iâll work out.Tomorrow...
Be a friend just to be a friend.Help people simply because they need it.Learn for the sheer joy of understanding something new. Not because it earns you points.Not because it makes you look good.Not because it moves you up the ladder. Do it because itâs right.Do it...
Margaret C. Andrews shared something this week that stopped me in my tracks. She ran an exercise at MIT asking leaders to think about the best boss they ever hadâand then identify why that person stands out in their memory. The results?Almost every answer pointed to interpersonal...