Last month I highlighted research about the three essential and three enabling conditions that drive up to 80% of a team’s effectiveness: Real Team, Compelling Purpose, Right People, Sound Structure, Supportive Context and Team Coaching. This month, we’ll determine if we are even talking about a real team, and how determining that the essential components of a real team exist can drive overall effectiveness. Read more

Leadership is both an art and a science. While it’s easy for leaders to focus on developing themselves through the art, familiarity with the science aspects of leadership research can greatly inform its practice. There are three essential and three enabling conditions that research shows drive up to 80% of a team’s effectiveness; Leaders can greatly enhance team performance by focusing on ensuring these six conditions are adequately in place. Read more

What did retirement look like for your parents? How about your grandparents? This piece looks at how cultural norms can influence our decisions as we contemplate what our next chapters look like. Read more

Daniel Goleman’s Legendary HBR Article, Leadership That Gets Results and the six leadership styles he outlined there have served as a guidepost for leaders in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world for over 20 years. New research urges leaders to reframe today’s VUCA world by navigating around seven leadership ‘tensions’. Read more

If you’re one of those who has stepped into retirement earlier than expected or are contemplating doing so, it pays to spend some deliberate time reflecting on what retirement looks like to you. Read more

Leadership scholars such as Bill George have written volumes about how to be an authentic leader, linking it to greater organizational effectiveness and lower stress. Leading authentically can mean different things to different people however, and it’s important for leaders to clarify what it means to them. Read more

Like managing up, we can all demonstrate leadership in a paradoxical way: By being good followers. Research demonstrates that good followers demonstrate similar qualities as good leaders, and often end up becoming leaders. Read more

Sometimes leadership means focusing on our bosses and developing ways to help them do their jobs better. ‘Managing up’ is very different from ‘sucking up’ and there are specific things we can do to lead by helping our boss do his or her job better. Read more

The American workforce continues to change, and it appears that the pandemic has accelerated that shift as people re-evaluate their personal and professional goals. Leaders can find opportunities to connect or reconnect with people by shifting to a coaching mindset and seeking to better understand what is fueling their motivation. Read more

Leading others who are returning to the physical office after COVID-19 is not easy. But I was inspired to share a powerful way to manage it after a recent discovery at home that brought back a flood of memories… Read more

Leaders can build trust and realize better results by fostering a culture of self-management. Far from the laissez-fare approach it may sound like, self-managed teams rely on leader involvement for success. Read more

The term, ‘self-care’ connotates negativity with some leaders, although research has demonstrated its value. Leaders can best take care of others when they take care of themselves – even if they need to call it something else. Read more

Leaders can feel stress if trying to solve a problem with more than one right answer using an ‘either/or’ approach. Leveraging the power of ‘And’ might lead to better results and Dr. Barry Johnson’s “Polarity Map” provides leaders with a valuable tool to manage that approach. Read more

If you’re one of the tens (hundreds?) of thousands who has transitioned to working from home for the past 10 months or so, you may be realizing some challenges in staying productive. Read more

Choosing to set out on a leadership journey is an investment that takes great effort which can result in real benefits. The good news is that leaders don't have to 'go it alone', and enlisting others to travel with us only enhances those benefits. Read more

While gratitude is a frequent topic of leadership thoughts around this time of year, I just couldn’t ignore what I’ve been observing in the clients I’m coaching as well as in my own life. While research shows that gratitude makes for a stronger leader, what I hear collectively these days is that it’s also a good time for leaders to be kind — to others and themselves. Read more