Nathan Magnuson

5 Questions You MUST Ask Your Young Professionals if You Want to Engage Them

What’s the quality of your conversations with your young professionals? More specifically, what questions are you asking them? In my new book Stand Out!, I share that young professionals today are the leaders of tomorrow. The reason is a matter of simple mathematics. When the Baby Boomers retire, there won’t…

The Size of Your Hope

April 6, 2020 Inspiration

I had a conversation with one of my entrepreneur friends this past week. Ryan had big plans for a new software release, but needed to put the project on pause to sort out some of the final details. To bridge the time gap, he took an interim CEO role to…

What I Believe About Leadership

January 6, 2020 Personal Effectiveness

Several years ago I interviewed with a large leadership development consulting firm. Things were going as expected until the office president threw me a curve ball by asking for my point-of-view on leadership. I was stumped. I had many ideas on what good leadership looked like but I didn’t have…

7 People Every Young Professional Needs to Get Ahead

October 7, 2019 Personal Effectiveness Young Professionals

My colleague Ann challenged my thinking recently. As she transitioned into a new CEO role, she reflected, “Other people have paved a way for us to succeed in ways we probably don’t realize.” I bristled at first because I wanted to believe most of my success was self-made. (This despite…

Easy Button Leadership (EBL)

July 1, 2019 Personal Effectiveness

In my book Ignite Your Leadership Expertise, I wrote that leaders make life easier, less complicated and more fun for those around them. When I first drafted those words several years ago, I’ll admit they felt a little cheesy. But over the years, I’ve come to realize their merit all…

Leadership Lessons from My Time in the Military

April 1, 2019 Personal Effectiveness

It’s been over a decade since I returned from a year-long Army deployment to Iraq. It’s been over six years since I finished my military obligations altogether. Even though I’ve all but forgotten my initial trip to the recruiter’s office, some things will stick with me for life. From time…

Give Them Something to Believe In

January 7, 2019 Personal Effectiveness

Recently retired Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder famously crafted 16 Goals for Success which he used with his football teams over his decades of coaching. Goal #13 stated, “Expect to win… and truly believe we will.” According to Coach Snyder, one of the root causes of success was belief…

Respond to Crises with Clarity and Confidence

December 3, 2018 Personal Effectiveness

What happens when you find yourself in the midst of a crisis situation? Do you freeze up? Jump into action? Sit down to create a plan? What if you’re the person in charge? It’s the leader’s job recognize when stakes are high and respond appropriately. We don’t need to look…

The Cost of Unclear Expectations

November 5, 2018 Communication Leadership Personal Effectiveness

I’m told that one quote preachers try to live by is, “If it’s foggy in the pulpit, it’s cloudy in the pew.” In other words, as the leader and communicator, if you’re unclear about any part of your message, it’s a sure bet everyone else is as well. You don’t…

3 Ways to Pursue Productive Failure

October 1, 2018 Personal Effectiveness

Winston Churchill declared, “Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” He wasn’t the only leader who recognized the reality of failure on the journey to success. Late Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy admitted, “When you fail, you have to start all over again from a lesser…

How to Lead Former Peers

September 3, 2018 Communication Organizational Effectiveness

Have you ever received the good fortune of being promoted to the new leader of your team, only to find that life got complicated and edgy the moment you started? All of a sudden, your peers knew you as “boss” and not just their buddy. There’s a vast difference between…