Keeping Remote Teams Engaged

ORGANIZATIONAL teams determine overall performance, shape culture, drive growth, and deliver results — or not. Today’s teams face a new reality. Never before have they encountered the changes and challenges brought on them by remote, hybrid, and in-person work environments. Add in the emergence of AI and countless other workforce and societal trends, and it’s apparent that yesterday’s approaches no longer apply to today’s realities. This time of disruption demands that organizational leaders take an honest look at their teams and how they function and then apply accurate data to inform new ideas, explore strategies, and pursue professional development to position themsel…

HOW do successful people think? The key to doing well is thinking well. It’s a way of being in the world. Becoming great means making the hard choices necessary to get you there. Performance coach Doug Hirschhorn advances eight principles in 8 Ways to Great that direct the decisions of top performers. Principle #1: Find Your “Why?” How questions bring up negative thoughts and inadequacies. “The reason most people go through life with big dreams but fail to achieve them is because they ask themselves ‘how’ before they know their ‘why.’” The why question energizes and motivates, “Knowing your ‘why’ is what’s going to get you to figure out how.” Ask yourself, “Why have I…

ORGANIZATIONS are better managed than ever before. They have been optimized for safety, security, stability, and control. But what we need going forward is dynamic and, yes, inefficient. What is needed now is some deliberate chaos. In The Illusion of Innovation, author Elliott Parker believes that the focus on capital efficiency makes companies less capable of making big innovation bets that progress society because those bets have an uncertain payoff. The problem is that managing for predictability negates learning and progress. They are optimized for the wrong outcomes—predictability, not learning. The result is the illusion of innovation and progress while sacrificing…

There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart’s controls. —Aeschylus MANY people view fear as a negative, crippling emotion. However, it can act as a potent stimulus that enhances performance if we take the time to understand – and modulate – its power. The Sweet Spot of Fear Table tennis Olympian Amy Wang has had plenty of practice performing in the face of fear. She’s won the US National Table Tennis Championships in age categories of nine, ten, eleven, and thirteen before winning multiple open women’s national titles. Wang does, indeed, get scared when playing before a large crowd or on a big international stage. “But I need some kin…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Craig Wright on the value of thinking opposite: “The more a person can exploit the contradictions of life, the greater his or her potential for genius. Great artists, poets, playwrights, musicians, comedians, and moralists embed oppositional forces in their work for dramatic, and sometimes comic, effect. Brilliant scientists and mathematicians seemingly do not go in search of contradictions but are comfortable when they find them. Transformative entrepreneurs look for contrarian solutions. If you want to better understand an o…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Michael Doctoroff on conflict: “Conflicts, when properly controlled and resolved, can be a powerful tool for developing creative business plans and objectives. Without conflict, the organization would remain in a happy state of inactivity. In a way, business is built on conflict. Conflict, you might say, is the mother of change. You see a problem and do something to remove it. After it has been eliminated, conditions are no longer the same. Through change, the organization strengthens itself and restores harmony within itsel…

THINK back to the last difficult conversation you had. What happened? Maybe you lashed out, got defensive, dodged or overexplained; possibly you lied, got passive-aggressive, or completely shut down, unable to talk. Whatever the reaction, I want you to know that it’s normal. In high-stress interactions, our walls go up, and our armor comes on and we’re ready to protect ourselves in any way we can. Most of the time in difficult interactions, we turn cold. Our bodies tense up, and we’re on the defensive. We start saying things that are hurtful and unhelpful and likely have to repair the situation with multiple conversations to get the issue resolved. This toughness that we…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Richard S. Tedlow on speaking truth to power: “The fantasy that if you get rid of the messenger, you can render the message untrue is a powerful one.” Source: Denial: Why Business Leaders Fail to Look Facts in the Face—and What to Do About It II. Todd Henry on the passion fallacy: “Instead of asking ‘What would bring me enjoyment?’ which is how many people think about following their passion, we should instead ask ‘What work am I willing to suffer for today?’ Great work requires suffering for something beyond yourself. It’…

I didn’t start out as a founder. I started out as an arms dealer. Not in the literal sense — but in the early days of Silicon Valley, I was on the front lines of sales, business development, and corporate development. I knew how to close deals, spot trends, and move fast. I was valuable but always on the periphery of the real action. I was building. I watched teams turn ideas into companies and products into platforms. After a while, it became clear — I was contributing but not creating. So I made a move. I joined Ooma as a founding executive. We set out to reinvent home phone service and take on the telcos. It was bold and ambitious and taught me what zero to one reall…

WITH THE SUPER BOWL around the corner, what can business leaders learn from elite athletes about high-level performance? Be like Roger. And Michael. And Simone. And Usain. And many others. That’s key advice for business leaders seeking to improve their impact and excel in a sustainable, long-term way that’s good for them and everyone around them. The Roger, in this case, is none other than Roger Federer, the tennis legend considered an exemplar of athleticism and sportsmanship. But underlying Federer’s and other top athletes’ outsized success is rigorous devotion to routines and practices that optimize their state of mind and body for high-level performance. This mat…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Chris Deaver and Ian Clawson on leading together: “The dark truth of success is that if we make it all about ourselves, our own egos, our individual performance, it eventually breaks down. It won’t have staying power. Most of us have experienced the reality of bosses or corporate cultures that go it alone, pushing agendas on us rather than building with us. Startups know this feeling. People running full speed toward their dreams know this feeling. But it’s fleeting. It doesn’t last if it’s not built with others, co-created.” …

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Bob Rosen on uncertainty: “Uncertainty can become our undoing if we are not open to what’s around the corner, whether new ideas and experiences or the latest resentments or disappointments. During a state of uncertainty, we must learn to be comfortable with being vulnerable. Although the idea may seem counterintuitive, vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable says you are willing to take risks, be an imperfect person, and accept reality, whatever it may be.” Source: Detach: Ditch Your Bag…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in March 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. You're the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be (and Others Need) by Sabina Nawaz as our job expands, the added pressure to perform corrupts our actions, and our increased power will blind us to the impact of those actions. Even the most well-intentioned manager can quickly become the boss nobody wants to work for. You’re the Boss is your executive coach in book form. It offers a fresh, evidence-based framework for managing pressure and power with grace and intelligence. Nawaz’s potent, proven str…

A team approach to problem-solving, informed by the process of design thinking, can be optimally effective in triggering inspiration, leading to fresh ideas that are highly responsive to stakeholders. Indeed, collaboration can be a force multiplier in an effort to reach an intended objective. However, what seems to be missing is how team members can perform successfully and work as a collaborative entity for the good of the project. Collaborative design thinking suggests a customized framework for team members and stakeholders to work together so that the process is unique and relevant for a particular challenge and the individuals involved. A project leader can adjust t…

Here is a selection of Posts from March 2025 that you will want to check out: Are you trapped in a singular story? by @workwithpassion - Alaina Love VIDEO from @artpetty: Leadership Caffeine — 60-second leadership tips: frame your day for success How Really Good People Can Be Really Ineffective by @stopyourdrama - Marlene Chism 11 Ways to Build Trust by @JonGordon11 Cultural Monoxide via @LeadershipMain VIDEO from @artpetty: Leadership Caffeine — 60-second tips: raise your questions-to-comments ratio 8 Reasons Some Leaders Disqualify Themselves and Fail to Finish Well by @BrianKDodd Write To Please Your Reader, Not Your Old English Teacher by @WallyBock How “Artifacts…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Eric Potterat on putting in the practice you need for success: “Effort is perhaps both the easiest and hardest aspect of mindset to practice. Easy because you know what needs to be done: more practicing, more studying, more exercising, more time. Hard because: more work. For some people (and many high performers) hard work is innate. They keep at it naturally; they don’t have to make themselves do it. But most of us are what I like to call “human”: we have a limit. When we reach that fork in our day when we could spend an hour…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Sébastien Page on focusing on what makes us better: “Traditional goals focus on outcomes, while mastery goals focus on process. Both are effective. It’s important to set goals for process improvements. Don’t overemphasize outcomes over process. If you don’t examine your process and the quality of your decisions, in other words, if you only focus on outcomes, you may think you’re an absolute genius. As a leader, recognize that attaining your goal does not necessarily mean you’ve made good decisions along the way.” Source: The P…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. William Vanderbloemen on complaining: “Complaining gives us a lot of positive reinforcement. It makes us think we’re smarter than the powers that be, and it helps us bond with a group. Ask anyone who is friends with their very first coworkers from decades ago. Did breakfast sandwiches in the cafeteria and half-day summer Fridays bind them? Or was it a common enemy and a mutual sense of injustice that they could vent to another about? But complaining isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It has a negative impact on your brain and, n…

Here is a selection of Posts from May 2025 that you will want to check out: Disagree with the direction? Don’t just sit there – here’s what to do instead by @suzimcalpine John F Kennedy and the Art of Becoming by @jamesstrock The Importance of Leading in Small Places by @PhilCooke Memorial Day | Gratitude, Humility, Resolve by @JamesStrock National Pride, International Precarity. 3 Signs It’s Time to Recharge Your Leadership Battery by @WScottCochrane Turning Adversity Into Advantage: The Championship Mindset by @AlanSteinJr Writing a Book? You May Need Professional Help by @wallybock What Comes Next Isn’t a Product. It’s a Provocation. by Nicholas Negroponte History t…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in June 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies by Robert E. Siegel A groundbreaking blueprint for mastering “cross-pressures” in a rapidly changing world, teaching leaders to execute and innovate, think locally and globally, and project ambition and statesmanship alike—from a Stanford Business School lecturer and consultant to some of the biggest and most innovative CEOs. Part of the problem is that these challenges, while acutely felt, are rarely articulated in…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee on prisons of our own making: “When we are in a downward emotional spiral, feeling confused, unhappy, or ill at ease, we often end up playing and replaying mental ‘tapes’ that actually accentuate our negative emotions and feelings of hopelessness. When we are feeling down over a long period of time, this self-talk centers on messages that undermine us and, in turn, our power to change bad situations (‘It’s not my fault’ ‘My life will never be really happy’) or messages that weaken our sense of …

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Writer and theologian C.S. Lewis on what why small choices matter: “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise imposs…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Nick Bare on intentionality: “Lack of intentionality leads to a repetition of what is easiest.” Source: Go One More: Find the Clarity to Make Intentional, Life-Changing Choices II. Will Guidara on a point of view: “If you try to be all things to all people, it’s proof that you don’t have a point of view—and if you want to make an impact, you need to have a point of view.” Source: Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading …

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in May 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Another Way: Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last by Dave Whorton with Bo Burlingham Dave Whorton went on a journey to find a better way to build companies, a way focused on long-term stability and steady growth, funded through profitability; a way in which leaders were committed to a purpose beyond personal wealth generation, to putting their people first, and to setting up their companies to endure. He calls these companies "Evergreen." Another Way combines Whorton's inspiring story with hi…

Here is a selection of Posts from April 2025 that you will want to check out: The Opportunity Behind Every Closed Door via @TheDaily_Coach How Embracing A Low Point In Life Can Help You Grow Stronger by @LaRaeQuy A Few Short Stories by @morganhousel 3 Reasons To Challenge Outdated Assumptions by @JosephLalonde The 3 Daily Habits That Separate Champions from Everyone Else by @BrianKDodd The Top 3 Mistakes Leaders Make During Bad Days by @WScottCochrane There may be a book inside you. Should it stay there? by @wallybock Which Kind of Leader Are You? Reactors, Adapters, or Disruptors by @gavin_adams Canadian Nationalism No Longer an Oxymoron by @jamesstrock Canada is demo…