Changing Expectations of Leaders

During my 30 plus year career working in leadership development, there have been a couple of admired characteristics which high percentages of people continually said they looked for in their leaders. They are Forward-Looking and Inspiring. It makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, leaders are people who step up to take us to places we [Read More]

The Need for Looking Ahead

In a recent global CEO survey by McKinsey and Company, the need for forward-looking and visionary top officers – during and after a crisis – was reinforced. 48% of executives rank presenting an inspiring vision as the most important individual leadership behavior during a crisis; 45% rank it as most important after a crisis. 42% [Read More]

Leading After COVID

There has been a blip in the space time continuum. Here is what I mean by that. For years and years, we have all heard all about the breakneck rate of change. No doubt about that. But with a disruption the size of COVID, it feels as if a decade of change has occurred within [Read More]

A Very Tough Challenge for Leaders

The COVID-19 crisis has illustrated one of the most challenging aspects of leadership – trying to realistically assess an uncertain future and then demonstrating the courage to make decisions about it today. Unfortunately you cannot Monday morning quarterback the future, and that creates a great deal of tension for leaders. At the time of this [Read More]

Bigger… or Greater

I recently had the opportunity to hear a talk by Bo Burlingham, author of Small Giants, and his latest endeavor, Finish Big.  Most of his comments were about lessons learned from his ongoing studies of small, but great companies. One of the common themes of these companies was that the desire to be great was [Read More]

Good Coaching or Not

As I write this, the world as we know it is on a bit of a hold, because March Madness has taken over. Not everyone of course is totally focused on basketball, but this annual event does generate a lot of interest. Brackets and betting pools are everywhere, there is always a grand upset or [Read More]

The Importance of Being Forward Thinking

We are pleased to feature comments from noted author Jim Kouzes (The Leadership Challenge and others) about the importance of leaders being forward looking these days. This was originally posted in The May 2018 issue of The Leadership Challenge Newsletter. It is a critical topic for leaders and we hope you enjoy it. Read the  [Read More]

The Email Complacency Quandary

Complacency is a growth threatening virus in most organizations. The warm and safe comfort zone, can lure people into becoming stagnant, and unaware that they have fallen prey to this seductive condition. One of the biggest causes for complacency is that necessary evil called email. Think about it. For too many people, there is an [Read More]

Moving Forward into a New Year

Happy New Year! Whether you’re coming off a great year or one you’d rather forget, the New Year is here.  Time to celebrate!  By now you’ve completed your plan, set your goals and built your budget.  But wait, don’t make the mistake of jumping right into the stress of the new year without a proper [Read More]

Success = Believe in Who You Are!

It is very easy for businesses today to lose their way, as change of all kinds is occurring endlessly and no enterprise is immune from its impact. Guest contributor Tom Heuer, a professor in the School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Miami of Ohio University, has graciously provided some winning approaches, designed to help organizations [Read More]