That’s NOT Leadership
It’s opposition. Perhaps I should back up. When a leader, or a person in a position of perceived leadership, simply stonewalls, railroads, opposes without engagement, or impedes and creates division, that’s not leadership. If a leader only considers the views, needs...
On Women In Leadership
Arthur Schopenhauer said: “Ours is not to see what no one has yet seen, but to think what no one has yet thought about that which everyone sees.” So here’s a thought beyond the obvious: I think women are naturally better leaders than men. The reason is simple: women...
Where Were The Leaders?
Leadership is easy as an academic study; it’s when our opportunity to lead shows up in real life that it all gets difficult. We saw just how difficult on Sunday, aboard a United Express flight. The revelation of United Express flight 3411 isn’t: Surprise! airlines...
How To Be A Rainmaker
You know the term ‘rainmaker,’ right? These are the people who bring in the money. They’re the lawyers who attract big clients, the high-grossing salesman, the partners who have a knack for finding new streams of revenue. Wanna be one? Then look a little deeper into...
The Pebble, the Pond, & Leadership: How to Connect in a Black & White World
When you drop a pebble into a pond, it creates a splash of concentric ripples that work their way to the outer most edges. If, as a leader, you see yourself as the pebble -- just trying to make a splash -- then you are missing the whole point of leadership. Your job...
Fearless vs. Fear Less
What does fearless leadership mean? To lead without fear? Is that possible? Is it even desirable? If you’re going to engage with people and bring out the best of who they are, you’re going to take risks. Not everyone’s going to like where they think you're going. How...
Why Women Are Better Than Men
Boy, there are a lot of leadership lessons being drawn from the fiasco of the Oscars, aren’t there? I’ll spare you another one about the graciousness of the LA LA Land producers and how well they managed a whackadooodle moment. Instead, for one of the most profound...
Why Connection Matters
A couple weeks ago I wrote about connecting. In our current socio/political climate, connecting with almost anyone can seem challenging, or at times risky. But I think it’s important to remember that we don’t have to connect with every voice -- we don’t even have to...
When Confrontation ISN’T Confrontation
“I don’t like confrontation.” That is a phrase I hear remarkably often. The perception there is that to be a great leader, you have to like -- or at least welcome -- confrontation. But confrontation is hard. It’s vulnerable and scary and for too many of us we feel...
Finding Connection: Two Easy Steps
20 years ago Linda Ellis penned a beautiful poem called The Dash which reminds us that though our tombstones mark the dates of our birth and death, those dates tell nothing of who we were. It is the dash in between that represents our life. How, she asks in the end,...
