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. [...]
In our rapidly evolving corporate landscape, effective leadership has emerged as the linchpin for sustainable success. But what is effective leadership? It’s leadership that gets results. That is sustainable and strategic. Leadership that is building a better future for the organization and its stakeholders. In simpler terms, it is also well prepared leadership: agile, adaptable and responsive to changing needs. […]
What’s in a word? I don’t think it can be overstated how important the leadership capability of effective communication is – and even more so when it comes to change leadership. And yet, it’s a skill that is rarely focused or developed which really is a missed opportunity. Or should I say, an opportunity still to be taken. That subtle reframing is what I’m going to focus on as we consider the power of positive language. […]
High performing teams are at the heart of organizational success. Creating and maintaining a high performing team is still elusive for many managers and leaders, in part because organizations often award promotions based on technical skills and tenure and leave the team building to chance. […]
I spoke recently at an executive summit on the subject of organizational resilience. After I’d shared my insights and experiences I gave the audience key prompts and they worked in groups to discuss their organizational resilience. There was a great buzz about the room as we connected the dots between purpose and performance, weaving in emotional intelligence and the ability to spot and act on opportunities to create a picture of what organizational resilience looks like in action. [...]
What’s your leadership style? In my experience, leaders can fall into two broad camps: transactional leadership and transformational leadership. But before we dig into these two styles, if you’re not sure of your style here’s some actions you can take for more clarity: […]
Tech is in turmoil but you don’t have to be… It’s been described as a mid-life crisis and a copycat cull, but however you want to understand it, the recent mass layoffs in the tech industry have been alarming to read about and devastating for those experiencing them. Less talked about is the additional pressure now facing those who remain – and in particular the leaders and managers who are charged with delivering ‘business as usual’. […]
When I brought my usual brand of laundry detergent home and went to place it on the shelf… it wouldn’t fit. Perplexed, I inspected the bottle and compared it to the nearly empty one it was scheduled to replace. The brand was the same, the volume was the same, it even had the same fresh scent, but for some reason, the cap design had changed. This bottle had a taller cap than its predecessor. I couldn’t see a benefit to [...]
There are many variations on the theme of this saying (I also like: when you climb the wall, throw the rope back) that speak to using our own success and good fortune to help others. You’ve worked hard to get where you are and now it’s time to elevate (pun intended!) your own goals by helping others because great leaders create leaders. […]
We show up to work as our 'whole selves' and, in many ways, this is a good thing. Authenticity is important to well-being and pretending to be someone you’re not is an emotional drain. But with that also comes the challenge of respecting - and actively seeking out - those who are different from us. This is what it means to practice inclusive leadership - creating a space where different views, perspectives, and experiences are embraced. Within us lies the [...]
