Leadership
How effectively do you resolve conflict with others?
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll...
Leadership
Communication
Is your trust factor slipping? 5 tips to increase employee trust
Trust is a key element in all human interactions. Nowhere is it more important than in a work environment. Yet, often leaders pay little...
Inspiration
Why leadership capacity is not the goal
Growing leaders grow organizations! This is something I’ve talked about and written about for many years, but my emphasis has been almost exclusively on...
Leadership
13 qualities that make for a great COO
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Communication
Quell the fear factor
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H....
Careers
3 ways leaders can help employees attract a sponsor
“Now, remember, Ben likes to shake things up; don’t be afraid to stand up to him.” This was my boss, Eric, coaching me on...
Management
The leadership lessons from the Secret Service’s struggles — an interview with author and journalist Ronald Kessler
The continued struggles of the Secret Service are a series of failures and performance lapses that have gone on for several years. One person,...
Management
The risky business of leadership development
Business success today demands careful attention to risk management. Contingency plans, redundant systems, business continuity insurance, and countless other vehicles protect organizations from the...
Communication
Lines of communication and collaboration
This post is reprinted, with permission, from the book “The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture from a Journey of 71 Million...
Communication
Don’t leave home without (fixing) this
The following is an edited excerpt from the paperback edition of “Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone,” (March 2015)...
Small Business
Why now is the time to start planning your exit strategy
Thinking about the end is never fun. Neither is planning for it. So it makes sense that business leaders would avoid planning for the...
Management
The best part of leading
Leadership is hard work. It takes making accurate decisions based often on inaccurate or incomplete data. It requires bringing about change and contending with...
Management
13 time-saving tips for continuous self-education
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Leadership
Pope Francis and the discipline to win the long game
This article was adapted from “Winning the Long Game: How Strategic Leaders Shape the Future” by Steven Krupp and Paul J.H. Schoemaker. Krupp is...
Communication
5 public speaking lessons from Frank Underwood of “House of Cards”
Netflix recently released the third season of its original production “House of Cards.” This critically acclaimed political drama is the story of Frank Underwood,...
Leadership
How to create a healthy workplace culture
When we think about the makeup of a workplace, tangible aspects often come to mind: location, office space, number of employees, revenue. However, certain...
Management
8 meeting commandants that we all need to follow
Designed by Freepik We all like to complain about meetings. Meetings are a waste of time, boring, inefficient, run too long, nothing gets accomplished,...
Inspiration
13 ways to re-energize your team
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Inspiration
The performance-values conundrum
Leading others effectively is a balancing act. A leader is charged with getting work done through others while maintaining decorum and possibly even creating...
Leadership
Evolve, not eliminate: Dos and don’ts of pivoting a company
There are many reasons why executives decide to pivot their companies, but the biggest one is by listening to customers and responding to their...
Inspiration
The high-potential ultimatum
These days you can’t go a week without hearing about the virtues of flexible schedules. They greatly reduce absenteeism and environmental impact, and spur...
Communication
Doubt: The kryptonite of public speaking
Everyone knows Superman’s great weakness: Kryptonite. It’s the one thing that’s guaranteed to suck away his strength and destroy his power. As public speakers,...
Management
14 things every employee manual should include
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Management
Lessons from 3 role models
I walked into our family room and caught my daughter and husband mid-conversation. The topics: discipline and responsibility, areas my daughter, like any 13-year-old,...
Leadership
Elemental and very essential boardroom manners
Image courtesy of Surachai at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Emily Post is one of the best known experts on etiquette and manners. But there are countless others...
Careers
The power of your leadership story
By thinking of your career as a narrative with a plot, characters, and an arc -- you can increase your awareness of yourself as a leader.
Management
4 reasons leaders need to share their knowledge
Tony Hsieh knows the value of knowledge sharing. The Zappos CEO could have kept his industry-changing standards for customer service, employee engagement, and corporate...
Inspiration
Career development vs. career advancement: Leaders need to understand both
Leaders tend to think career development and career advancement are interchangeable terms; however, these are two very different concepts.
Management
To succeed today, you need wisdom
Leaders place great emphasis on productivity, teamwork, focus and other catch-words to improve company efforts. In our race to get ahead, we may be...
Careers
Ethics and business success: A perfect marriage
There is no guarantee that doing the right thing will lead to personal success. In 30-plus years as an ethics consultant, I have seen...
Careers
Creativity: It’s what’s missing from career development
A significant investment is made each year on studies, training, portals and programs related to career development; yet, the return on this investment continues...
Leadership
Making your organization more fluid
This post is an edited excerpt from “When Millennials Take Over: Preparing for the Ridiculously Optimistic Future of Business,” (Ideapress Publishing, March 2015) by...
Communication
What “Shark Tank” teaches about the importance of communication skills
In the season 5 premiere of of “Shark Tank” (the TV show with an average of 6 million viewers), two brothers, both aspiring entrepreneurs,...
Communication
Building trust: It’s not a one-and-done deal
What role does trust play in employee engagement? It’s a fairly large one, according to this Towers Watson research. The study cites leaders’ ability...
Leadership
What’s the biggest challenge you face when leading a “rising star”?
SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll...
Communication
The power of doubt: Finding comfort in discomfort
This post is an excerpt from “The CEO Report,” by Heidrick & Struggles and Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, based on...
Communication
Telltale signs of the most transparent leaders
It’s clear that transparency in the workplace creates a better office culture, but it is also vital to organizational success. It starts with having...
Communication
Unleashing the introverted leader
About 10 years ago, I was participating in a leadership program with area principals and other organizational leaders. As part of the training, we...
Careers
Political savvy gets you the promotion you deserve
In the beginning of my corporate career, I made a conscious effort to avoid office politics. I thought it was a waste of my...
Strategy
Constructive disruption — why Google, Uber, and AirBnB win
Today’s great companies win by disrupting stale industries. That is, the great companies of the 21st century destroy the status quo in ways that...
Careers
The big secret to being a better CEO
When you’re just getting started as an entrepreneur, you’re expected to wear a lot of hats. You’re a programmer and a designer. A financial...
Communication
Ditching your smartphone can make you a more effective CEO
In a world where 1 billion people use smartphones, many can’t believe that I run a company without one. They can’t imagine life without...