Toxic Positivity: When Optimism Goes Too Far
BIG IDEA: Pressuring people to ‘think positive’ can backfire. This month, we’ve been focusing on the importance of optimism in leadership. I shared how it is one of the key characteristics of accountable leaders. You can’t lead people towards a better future if you don’t believe that a better future is possible. But even optimism […]
Learning to Be More Optimistic Could Save Your Life
BIG IDEA: The power of positive thinking is backed by science. Mental health has become a critical issue as we continue to deal with the global pandemic. The stress, fear and isolation that many people around the world have experienced is creating concern about the short-term and long-term psychological impact. This is certainly a theme […]
“Let That Uncertainty Help You Grow”: Lead the Future with Jeff Desjardins
BIG IDEA: The rate of change is only accelerating. It’s not just your imagination: technological change is happening faster and faster. When we interviewed Jeff Desjardins, the editor-in-chief of Visual Capitalist and author of the book Signals: Charting the New Direction of the Global Economy, he argued, “It’s even faster than you think.” Can you […]
Leaders Must Be Optimistic About the Future
BIG IDEA: We need our leaders to be realistically optimistic right now. These are challenging times, to put it mildly. Our organizations are facing massive, historical change at a time when we all as individuals are stressed, stretched thin, and worn down by a full year of living through a pandemic. Are you an optimistic […]
Rio Tinto’s Board Demonstrates Accountability, But Was It Too Late?
When things go seriously wrong at a company, it often falls to the board to step up and hold the CEO accountable. But a board that is doing its job should be more than a last line of defense.
CEOs Must Lead on Diversity: Lead the Future with Laura Liswood
BIG IDEA: Diversity is mission-critical for business today. A lack of diversity is a critical business risk for companies today. For one thing, building diverse teams is the first step towards building innovative teams. If everyone on your team looks the same, they’re likely to all think the same, too. Diverse teams bring different perspectives […]
McKinsey’s Leadership Turnover Should Be Just the Start
A leadership change is an important first step in recovering from a reputational crisis. But real accountability requires more than just identifying a scapegoat. Let’s look at an example with McKinsey.
Tom Brady is an accountable leader: lessons for making those around you better
I have covered various examples of Tom Brady being an example of what an accountable leader looks like. Most recently, he showed up and did it again. Here are some lessons from the field on stepping up and building your team. Gut Check: Do you make those around you better? Almost a decade ago, on […]
Gut Check: Are You Aware of the Unspoken Brutal Reality of Leadership?
The last two weeks have been quite dramatic for many reasons. We have witnessed the second wave of the global pandemic spread at a ferocious pace. We have also watched President-Elect Joe Biden, and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris earn a historic win in the U.S. election. At the same time, we have also seen President […]
Gut Check: Are You Strengthening the Resilience and Resolve of Your Team?
In Cook County, Minnesota, USA, located on the shore of Lake Superior, you will find an unforgettable image. Growing out of the bare rock, on the shoreline of the lake, is a lone tree that is twisted and gnarled. In the book, In the Company of Trees, author Andrea Fereshteh shares that the tree has […]