Recovering Leader

Jailhouse Interview: Tyco's Former CEO and the 'Immaculate Deception'

After watching the CBS/60 Minutes Morley Safer jail house interview last weekend with L. Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco Industries, I found myself cringing again at a leader's simple failure to be accountable and responsible, even as he sits in jail. Age 60, Kozlowski is serving 8 to 25 in a medium-security prison near Utica, New York. He claims... Read more →

A Leadership Challenge for "The Secret" Set

For the low price of $4.95, The Secret has repackaged in a compelling way the power of positive thinking, abundance, the law of attraction, and manifesting what you desire. These are ideas that have been around for centuries, and have been written about in so many inspirational and engaging ways, particularly over the last 40 years or so. Wayne Dyer,... Read more →

Monday’s LeaderTip: Assessing Your People

An accurate assessment of your people is a key element of leadership. Personal bias or popular opinions don’t lead to sound decisions about the deployment or promotion of an individual. Instead, review their actual work using three criteria: how does the person tend to get in their own way; do they detect and correct their own errors; do their results... Read more →

Podcast: Leadership on the World Stage - Part 2 of 2

Continuing our series "Conversations on Leadership," this time with Journalist, Author, Blogger, and Political Economist David Caploe, PhD, who concludes with a look at the current situation and what may be ahead in terms of leadership on the world stage. Length: approximately 17 minutes (this is part 2 of 2). Download leadership_on_the_world_stage_part_2_of_2_final.mp3 Comments are welcome -- click on the "Comments"... Read more →

Podcast: Leadership on the World Stage - Part 1 of 2

Continuing our series "Conversations on Leadership," this time with Journalist, Author, Blogger, and Political Economist David Caploe, PhD, who presents a framework of three key qualities necessary for leadership on the world stage. Length: approximately 19 minutes (this is part 1 of 2). Download leadership_on_the_world_stage_part_1_of_2_final.mp3 Comments are welcome -- click on the "Comments" link, below. David Peck Read more →

Leadership and Collaborating Well: Clear Expectations and Working Agreements

It's no secret that many collaborative efforts fail to achieve their goals. When two or more people are trying to work together – whether it’s a duo, a committee, a business unit, or entire organizations – and are ineffective, there is almost always a conspicuous absence of explicit expectations and working agreements. By investing the time it takes to put... Read more →

Monday’s LeaderTip: Power in Vulnerability

The greatest collaborations are based on shared vulnerability. Opening your mind and heart to others enables you to match your challenges and ambitions with theirs -- and find the common ground needed to do great things together. Keep yourself guarded, and others will respond in kind -- which hinders all but superficial success. Leadership requires the courage to make yourself... Read more →

Podcast: Leaders Healing from Professional Trauma

A 20-minute conversation between Leadership Unleashed President David Peck and Dr. Gabriele Hilberg, executive coach/consultant and contributing author of Einstein's Business, on dealing with and healing from professional traumas. Download leadership_and_professional_trauma.mp3 Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: Less Effort

Telling others what to do and how to do it is often mistaken for leadership. This approach merely exhausts everyone and diminishes effectiveness. It is critical for leaders to let go of the need to control others. When you delegate outcomes rather than hand out tasks, it may feel as though you're not doing enough -- but you are actually... Read more →

Evaluate Your Leader: 20 Questions

In my opinion, the best formal tool for evaluating a leader from a 360-degree standpoint is the Leadership Circle Profile. Barring that, a lot can be gained from a good hard look at how they operate. Below are 20 questions I've developed that can provide a simple and useful high-level view. 1. Imagine someone you know and care about very... Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: Curiosity

Great leaders ask superb questions and listen with an open mind. Many -- particularly people new to management roles -- wrongly believe that having answers and sounding authoritative make for good leadership. All progress requires learning - and learning begins with curiosity. Consider the questions: "How are we getting in our own way?" and "What are the three most powerful... Read more →