Category: Leadership

When to Coach… and When Not To

August 7, 2017 Coaching Leadership Personal Effectiveness
“How can I get my leaders to do a better job coaching their teams?” That’s a question I frequently field from the executives and HR partners I support. I hope you’ve asked that question for yourself as well, because it means developing your team is high on your radar. I’ve…

How Leaders Learn to Lead

June 5, 2017 Coaching Leadership Learning Personal Effectiveness Resilience
How do people learn to be leaders? That’s the question leadership consultant and thought leader Robert J. Thomas answered at a leadership academy event I recently helped organize. Speaking from his book Crucibles of Leadership, Thomas demonstrated that simply taking a course on leadership would do little to transform leadership abilities.…

Becoming a Coaching Leader

December 5, 2016 Coaching Leadership Management Organizational Effectiveness
We hear so much about coaching these days. Leaders need to coach more. Employees need more coaching. High performers need coaching. Low performers need coaching. As leaders, how can we know we’ve done enough? And what does a quality coaching conversation actually look like in action? Over the years, I’ve…

5 Phrases Successful Leaders Use

September 19, 2016 Communication Leadership
There’s incredible power in language. Words don’t merely convey ideas, they can change the course of history. The words you use as a leader matter too. Here are some simple but powerful phrases that set great leaders apart from the rest.

How to Be a Good Dictator (or Not)

August 15, 2016 Character Leadership Management Values
In the 16th century, political consultant (for lack of a better term) Niccolò Machiavelli’s works were published in the controversial manuscript The Prince – which is still in print today. In it, Machiavelli shared his theories on how a ruler could maintain control of his province – especially when gaining new…

Where Do We Go From Here?

February 1, 2016 Change Leadership Organizational Effectiveness
What happens after a big win? For all the focus (and press) directed at planning and executing, what comes next? Whether your team has achieved a significant goal or is looking to get back on track after a shake-up, here are some basic ways to get everyone back on course.