Ah, crisis. It’s a fun word to say, but that’s the only fun thing about it. Crisis brings massive uncertainty, and we generally don’t deal well with that. Besides, crises often bring the potential for something significantly negative without offering the potential for something positive. We call it risk when things might end well but…
As I’m sure you’ve heard before, creating a good culture is enormously difficult. At least it’s often presented that way. Companies are made up of dozens of moving parts, and those parts sometimes wake up in a crappy mood or get divorced or decide they want to work somewhere else. Structuring everything in a way…
One of the most important skills a leader needs to develop is the ability to articulate a vision that employees can attach to and rally around. (Indeed, the word ‘vision’ is such a common part of leadership education that I wouldn’t be surprised if you occasionally have visions about creating a vision.) Having a strong…
There are hundreds of arguments that divide us. Soda vs. pop, potato vs. potato – that one makes more sense when you can hear it – red state vs. blue state, and I could go on. I myself have been involved in endless arguments with people about exactly which animal is the cutest one alive…
We’ve gotten very fond of saying that business conditions are more challenging now than they’ve ever been. The Internet, you know, and globalization, and technology, and political unrest, and on and on and on until it seems like everything is always on the verge of total collapse. Built into all of this is the implication…
The following is a guest post by leadership expert Steve Gutzler — Great leaders inspire us. They ignite the best version of ourselves. Most importantly, they motivate us to accomplish our best work and they make us feel important. A leader who is capable of that inspiration and motivation has a high degree of Emotional…
Guest post by Jason Lauritsen We love to blame managers when things go wrong. Employee turnover goes up—it’s because they are leaving their manager. Performance goes down—it’s probably because the manager isn’t providing feedback. The survey says employees are disengaged—we look to the manager as the cause. And while there is some truth in all…
If you’re even halfway interested in becoming a better leader, then I’m sure you’ve read dozens of books and articles and case studies about leadership. You’ve probably seen a few statistics that have made you really stop and think about your own approach to management and leadership. But you’ve never seen a statistic like this…
Welcome to October! The earth is moving ever farther away from the sun (which is not at all what’s happening), and trees all around the world are very, very slowly trying to kill us. If only they could drop their leaves all at once, they might succeed in taking a few of us out –…
Leadership is an art. And, as with any art form, some people are better at it than others. In painting, for example, some people create breathtaking masterpieces, scenes of sweeping beauty and poignant emotion capable of evoking rapture in the viewer. Others paint reasonably well, good enough to admire but not quite deserving of the…