You can’t stop dynamite from exploding once it’s ignited. At least, it's incredibly foolish and dangerous to try. It's much more effective and safe to try and mitigate the explosion instead.  If we call in the bomb squad, to oversimplify their dangerous work, they...

It's true that there is a lot to learn from the past, but all too often we get stuck there and it can cause great leaders to stumble. Say their team has a critique of them, or a past decision turns out to be a mistake, or that past decision is still cause division...

I discovered this image on Unsplash recently, and for some reason it really struck me. It's beautiful, yes; it also evokes Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," the literal picture of a traveler stopped in the wood and trying to decide which way to turn. The hiker in...

Have you ever worked so hard for your team that you kind of wanted to brag about it, even though you just know that won't go over the way you hope it will? Don't beat yourself up about it. It's a natural response to want our teams to know we care, especially when so...

Last week, we talked about taking blame versus taking responsibility. For many leaders, distinguishing between the two can be difficult; in our sincere desire to take responsibility, we often assign ourselves blame -- and blame is never productive. It can be even more...

Recently, one of my clients was struggling because one of her subordinates had a complaint. The complaint was not about her specifically, but about the work environment -- but it still threw her through a loop. “I thought she was perfectly happy,” this client told me,...

We live in an era that values transparency and authenticity almost above all else. To be clear, I'm not complaining about that. Authenticity is powerful, and transparency is essential. But when we talk about transparency in business leadership, there is such a thing...

I’m going to say something a touch controversial, but please stick with me. I think by the end of this post, you’ll agree. Here it is: in our individual lives, true and complete peace isn’t possible.  Not only that — it isn’t necessary. And more importantly, you...

Organizations often fail when cultivating the people who are going to be promoted into the next level of position. Instead of consciously designing the growth of the individual and the position, they tend to execute the Peter principal: rising everyone to their own...

Did you know that every few years throughout his career, Tiger Woods would break down and rebuild his swing? It's true. Sometimes it was to accommodate an injury, others to fix a perceived flaw. He goes to a golf coach and has the coach re-teach him how to swing, from...