Recovering Leader

Monday’s LeaderTip: Time Sense

Patient leaders tend to delegate well and operate effectively. Patience—or lack thereof—is determined by one’s core belief about time. An impatient person will, when asked, say they feel there’s “never enough time”—and that tends to make them rush and/or be overly demanding of others. With a closer look, they are shocked to realize how much of their behavior is driven... Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: Enjoyment

When you choose to enjoy your work, you lead with greater power, and change lives for the better. Leaders who make enjoyment a high priority are energized and rewarded by their job, and inspire their people and customers at the same time. Yet believing it’s a “nice to have” and settling for less is the norm. Finding enjoyment is first... Read more →

Great Executive Presentation is a Personal Thing

It's no secret that many executives and leaders hate presenting to groups, particularly larger groups. While it used to strike abject fear in my own heart, these days I love speaking to groups, particularly when they are willing participants, and are appropriate for the topic. Even so, I'm totally fired up from taking a workshop this week with Anne Gottlieb,... Read more →

Monday’s LeaderTip: Self-criticism

Realistically assessing your own performance as a leader is an excellent practice. However, being overly critical of yourself is distracting, and, over time, can undermine your effectiveness and commitment. If you are prone to be too hard on yourself and are ready for a change, dig beneath your self-criticism and take stock of your underlying beliefs. For example, reflect on... Read more →

Presidential Race: Five Things I Need to Know About the Candidates

As the presidential election heads into the final 12 month spin cycle, there's a kind of back-to-school vibe among the candidates. Hillary's working on her relational skills, Rudy's practicing not answering his cell phone at the podium, and Fred seems to be waiting for someone to give him his lines. I'm glad some of the candidates are in school—after all,... Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: Avoid Overcomplicating

When confronted with a crisis, a leader must avoid responding in ways that further complicate the situation. It’s natural to think big problems require big solutions, and therefore to take excessive action—like launching task forces, email blasts, over-delegating, over-analyzing, or calling all-hands-on-deck meetings—even as intuition tells us that complexity is best met with simplicity. A true leader finds the few... Read more →

Case Study: Leadership Means Letting Them Know You

A Leadership Story of the Overly Self-Protected CEO Leaders hurt only themselves and their organizations when they shut down on—or never open up to—those around them. There are many reasons leaders choose to be opaque to others: For example, the desire to “not be a bull in a China Shop”; “hold off until they earn my trust”; “play it close... Read more →