“Or is there?” A powerful question around change and our ability to affect change. This simple question - from my Uncle Lurie was to be a catalyst for change. This is an excerpt from my book What’s Your Catalyst: The Power of Managed Change where I recount my life-changing work trip to Africa and the impact of those three words. As I sat writing in a Cameroonian hotel room late one night, my tone was different. I wrote with a [...]
“In the past jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in the future they’ll be about the heart.” Dame Minouche Shafik, President of Columbia University This quote reflects a profound transition underway in our relationship with work. In previous eras, labor was largely driven by physical human effort and endurance. Then, the knowledge economy ushered focus towards intellectual capacity over manual skills. However, research shows that emotional intelligence (EQ) will soon eclipse both physicality and intellect as the [...]
As a self-confessed Marvel geek, I love seeing the transformation of ‘ordinary Joe/Jo’ into superhero and I believe that while we can’t all scale buildings and win intergalactic battles, we do all have a unique leadership superpower – some capacity, skill or quality that sets us apart and elevates organizational performance. However, unlocking our true heroic potential requires looking inward first and a great place to start is by analyzing our impact patterns. […]
Do your employees feel genuinely valued and seen for their contributions? If not, their performance and morale may falter no matter their natural drive. I wrote recently about reigniting a dimmed spark with insights for leaders on how to increase motivation and I want to go deeper on one important facet of motivation that is within the capability and control of every leader and manager: Recognition. […]
As leaders, few challenges rival trying to motivate a disengaged or unmotivated employee. In fact, it’s my belief and experience that you can only create the conditions for people to feel motivated – you cannot control their internal drivers. This is, however, a moment for your leadership influence to shine and it’s vitally important when you do have demotivated people on your team to identify it and act quickly, because the apathy of one individual is capable of dragging on [...]
As both a change management consultant and optimistic visionary, I see 2024 as ripe with potential for organizations to evolve and grow. But positive change doesn’t happen passively. Leaders must consciously cultivate conditions that allow innovation to thrive even amidst uncertainty. […]
As 2023 draws to a close, it is the ideal moment for thoughtful reflection and intentional planning to help set goals for the year ahead. Rather than rushing into hopeful new year’s resolutions, take time to truly reflect first. […]
I’ve written about purpose before, in fact my book, What’s Your Catalyst?, is an essential guide to uncovering and leveraging our purpose to drive change. I’ve been re-exploring the role of purpose in today’s context and joining the dots between individual employees and the overall organizational purpose is proving to pay dividends. […]
For the first time in the history of the Fortune 500, women are leading 10% of the United States’ largest companies by revenue. It might not feel like much of a leap, but it is a milestone nonetheless. Seeing women in these roles, achieving success and delivering results at the top of their industries, the more motivated and vindicated the push for gender parity. It is also encouraging to see gains in the traditionally male-dominated industries including financial services, defense [...]
For a long time in my life, I had a hard time looking too far ahead into my future. I lost my mother when I was in High School; she was only 39 years old when she died. This life cut short and my own grief made it hard for me to imagine the future. This realization and the counsel and meditation that helped me move forward opened my eyes to the importance of creating a vision for myself. [...]
