You’ve heard me say repeatedly in these Leading Thoughts that leading an organization is much about creating a culture within that organization. Part of your decision about the nature of that culture is determining the level of dissent you are willing to allow. We are watching today a debate in [read more]
I tell you often that Leading Thoughts is about the soft factors in leadership because the soft factors are so often what lead to success or failure. Let me offer an example I hope you never forget. I was with some executives recently who were talking about promoting a man [read more]
These Leading Thoughts are all about your growth as a leader, so I want to make an assignment that will energize that growth. In fact, it’s a type of assignment I’ve seen lead to stunning change in leaders I’ve known, often taking them to new heights in a relatively short [read more]
You know your economics and so you already know what I’m about to say. The Marxist critique of the ruling class—he called it the “class which rules”—is that it exploits the workers, that it manipulates political power for its own good, and that it oppresses the lower classes and leaves [read more]
In this Leading Thoughts, let me start with a personal story to set up some principles I want to urge on you. In addition to everything else we all dealt with in 2020, Bev and I had another layer. On the last day of February of last year, we learned [read more]
There is a truth that I urge you to apply to your life, and to also use as a lens through which to view your team. Here it is: What you hold too tightly, you deform. Our leadership roles come with many benefits. There are the titles, the privileges, the [read more]
A great many Leading Thoughts readers have asked about how to wisely navigate having family members working in the same firm. So let me tackle this sometimes troubling subject. Leaders of our generation grew up watching television shows like Bonanza or The Big Valley or, more recently, Blue Bloods. These [read more]
Emotions. We want to experience them. We want to let them soar at times. They are the natural product of all we confront in life. None of us want to be dispassionate stoics, none of us want to be unfeeling or unexpressive souls. Still, in leadership as in life, we [read more]
There is a maxim that you have likely heard time and again in these Leading Thoughts. It is at the heart of all I have to say to you and, in fact, it is at the core of my life. Here it is: You have a destiny, but your destiny [read more]
Let me state it plainly. Mental rigidity is death to great leadership. Imagination is fuel to great leadership. I’ve been watching some recent news stories through the lens of this truth and it has been inspiring and disturbing all at the same time. For example, we all saw the news [read more]