Keeping Remote Teams Engaged

LEADERS are under tremendous pressure to stay ahead of the curve while increasing output and notching wins. The tendency is to rush from project to project, overcome hurdle after hurdle, and never stop for a breath. But truly successful leadership requires taking time for reflection between one project and the next. Rather than diminishing leaders’ effectiveness, pausing in between heightens their insight and power. In Tibetan Buddhism, in-between periods are known as “bardos.” In these intervals, the teachings tell us, “the intellect becometh ninefold more lucid.” Bardos offer us a rich opportunity to step outside our usual ways of seeing and discover fresh perspectives…

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. Ryan Holiday on social intelligence: “Our curiosity, our desire for understanding should extend not just to the person in front of us but to how people function within groups. Both because it is an endlessly fascinating topic and because it’s essential to getting things done.” Source: Wisdom Takes Work: Learn. Apply. Repeat. II. Michael J. Fanuele on inspiring others: “Passion and Reason work against each other. Passion is the energy that wants you jumping out of your seat. Reason wants you to sit and think for a little lo…

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. Performance Coach Julie Gurner on caring deeply: “You have to care deeply to be able to challenge directly, and … somebody has to know that you care deeply about who they are in their role, that you care about their performance, that this is coming from a place that’s meant to make them better. And if it’s not coming from that place, and it’s coming from a place of punishing or shaming or humiliating or dominating, it’s not a really effective thing to do. But people can take hard feedback from people that they know are in thei…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in Janaury 2026 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Intentional: How to Finish What You Start by Chris Bailey Setting goals is easy. Following through on them? A whole lot harder. It turns out, the secret to finishing what you start isn’t sheer willpower or the latest productivity hack. It’s becoming more intentional. With Intentional, bestselling author Chris Bailey distills a decade of deep research on productivity to deliver a profound, practical, and counterintuitive road map to getting things done. Forget extensive to-do lists and a never-endin…

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. Psychologist Shane Lopez on hope: “Hope keeps us in the game. With low hope, we stop interacting with the world. We pull back. Literally, we don’t show up. We just move through in a zombie-like state. We all go through periods of sustained low hope, and they don’t lead to anything good at all. But hope for the future—maybe even the distant future—is what keeps people focused and moving in a direction that makes sense for their welfare and the welfare of the organization.” Source: Decade of Change: Managing in Times of Uncertai…

Here is a selection of Posts from December 2025 that you will want to check out: From Manager to Strategist: How to Use Strategy Tools to See Your Situation Clearly by @artpetty The myth of 'just let your work speak for itself' Influence by @artpetty (Fitness Series #1) There’s an X-factor that too many good people overlook: influence born of relationships in the right places. Why Clarity Emerges From Chaos by Matt Lambert Design Is Not Dying by Bryan Chou The core value is no longer: “I made this.” It becomes: “I helped us choose this, and avoid many wrong directions.” The Destructive Power of “Microsteps” in the Wrong Direction by @PhilCooke Why Advertising on the Su…

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. Nicole Vignola on learning: “The first major underpinning of a growth mindset is that people with this mindset understand that learning is a valuable opportunity in the face of adversity. When people believe that they can improve and grow from failure and setbacks, they are more likely to engage in challenging tasks and persist through difficulty. When people know and understand that the brain is malleable and are willing to adapt to circumstance, they are likely to persist in the face of obstacles. This perseverance can enhan…

THE titles listed below, published in 2025, improve our self-awareness regarding relationships and communication the sine qua non of leadership and provide us with a wider perspective on innovation and the changes taking place around us. The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck by David Spiegelhalter (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025) How dangerous is our diet? How much of sports falls into the realm of luck? When authorities categorize a given event as “highly likely”—how likely is that, really? Whether we’re trying to decide if the benefits of a new medication are worth the chance of side effects or if artificial intelligence truly…

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. L David Marquet and Michael Gillespie on focusing on our future self: “By changing our time-based point of reference, we inoculate ourselves from the present moment-biased effect of temporal discounting that we are otherwise subject to. The temporal distance reduces the importance and even the visibility of practical constraints. We do not feel them. When those practical constraints fade away, what we are left with is our ideal self. It is almost always a better human and allows us to focus on what we care most about, distinct…

SIXTY-SIX million years ago, an asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs and 75% of Earth’s species. Among the survivors was a creature that would teach us critical lessons about thriving amid disruption: the octopus. While other animals’ external armor was useless against this new threat, the octopus survived by being radically adaptable. It has a rare ability; it can edit its RNA to adjust to new conditions within hours. Today’s leaders face their own asteroid strike: artificial intelligence. And like that ancient catastrophe, AI is reshaping the business landscape with breathtaking speed. The question isn’t whether your organization will be transformed, but whether yo…

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. Paul J. H. Schoemaker on the value of scenario planning: “The purpose of developing scenarios is not to pinpoint the future, but rather to experience it. Scenario planning is not really about planning but about changing people’s mindsets to allow faster learning and smarter actions. The process of developing scenarios is one of gaining experience in a simulated future. When You feel the future deep in your bones, you gain a set of instincts that allow you to respond quickly and effectively to new challenges they unfold. The pr…

MOST leadership narratives talk about upheaval change as if it’s solely managed as a sequence: a plan, a timeline, a communication strategy, a rollout. Apply the favored change management steps, and all will be well. But when you’re inside a pending reorganization, merger, leadership removal, cultural overhaul, or sudden strategic pivot, you quickly learn something most leadership books never say: The hardest part isn’t the change. It’s the in-between. The stretch of time where what was no longer fits or exists, and what’s coming hasn’t yet taken shape, is an uncomfortable period of ambiguity, disorientation, and suspended identity for organizations, teams, and leaders …

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. Jordan Peterson on vision: “Don’t underestimate the power of vision and direction. These are irresistible forces, able to transform what might appear to be unconquerable obstacles into traversable pathways and expanding opportunities. Strengthen the individual. Start with yourself. Take care with yourself. Define who you are. Refine your personality. Choose your destination and articulate your Being. As the great nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so brilliantly noted, “He whose life has a why can bear a…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in December 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. The Seismic Shift in You: The Seven Necessary Shifts to Create Connection and Drive Results by Michelle Johnston and Marshall Goldsmith In a world more connected than ever, why are we all feeling so disconnected? Leadership expert Dr. Michelle K. Johnston reveals the hidden crisis plaguing modern workplaces: an epidemic of disconnection that’s eroding team performance, personal satisfaction, and organizational success. The Seismic Shift in You offers a transformative approach to leadership that st…

Here is a selection of Posts from November 2025 that you will want to check out: Warren Buffett Was Always a Brand Guy by Craig Shapiro @cshapiro Emotional moats are deeper than financial ones. Your Ceiling Becomes Their Starting Point: A Guide to Building Healthy Family Habits via Chasing Excellence. Why modeling health beats managing behavior — and how to actually do it. Motivation Is a Feeling. Discipline Is a Decision by @AlanSteinJr Top 10 Reasons Leaders Stop Leading: And How to Get Going Again by @DanReiland A Gratitude Question That Changed Everything via @TheDaily_Coach “What does it look like to be grateful in this?” It's the Most American Day of the Year by…

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. Adam Galinsky on sharing praise: “When we are in a position of leadership, all our words and expressions—positive and negative—get amplified. Amplify your inspiring amplifications. How? By sharing your praise of others with their leaders. When you work with someone who really excelled at a task, you can let their boss know how much you appreciated their efforts. Taking the time to write a note of praise or gratitude to one’s supervisor further amplifies the value of their contributions.” Source: Inspire: The Universal Path for…

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 the value of running: “So, why run? It is versus you. You keep driving through the little pieces of pain that you’re experiencing in your legs. Those pieces go a long way to developing something inside of you. Your lungs burn when you first get started and you begin gasping for air as you attempt to move your legs faster than they can sustain. Running is humbling. Running teaches us discipline, focus, and the power of consistent action. Running builds confidence. And running creates opportunities for mental clarit…

THE new hyper-digital age will see a significant shift towards participation branding in what some regard as the Participation Age. As consumers increasingly rely on one another for feedback and input on what and where to buy products and services, the best brands invite consumers to participate in brand-building. This participation could involve a range of actions, from co-creation of product design to customer-led innovation efforts, user-generated ads and promotions, and people-powered influencer marketing programs. Notably, each of these actions has the potential to positively influence customer engagement. The participation branding approach co-creates value with cu…

In a market where clients are under pressure to do more with less, they won’t gamble on generalists. The firms and advisors who thrive are those who carve out a niche and lead it. HEADLINES expressing how AI is reshaping knowledge work are everywhere. From legal research to tax prep, technology is automating the rote tasks that used to justify armies of junior staff. Clients are noticing. A 2025 Bloomberg survey of corporate general councils found that 61 percent expect to experiment with AI-powered tools this year, and more than half say they’re scrutinizing external providers to ensure “specialized value” that machines can’t replace. This is the crux for professional e…

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. Anne-Laura Le Cunff on life as an experiment: “No matter how good your tool or deliberative your thought process, one thing never changes: There is no right choice. If you’re used to zero-sum thinking, that point of view may frustrate you. But it’s almost impossible to fail when you see everything as an experiment. In a life of experimentation, there is no wrong choice, either. A pact isn’t a destination. It’s a path you want to discover more about yourself and the world. Success and failure are fluid constructs, not fixed lab…

THE most biodiverse place on Earth isn’t found deep in the Amazon rainforest or in the heart of the ocean. It’s at the edges–where forest meets water, where mountain slopes transition to valley floors, where different ecosystems intersect and create something neither could achieve alone. These “edge effects” generate extraordinary abundance through the dynamic interaction of different systems. The same principle applies to our organizations, yet most businesses are designed to minimize exactly these kinds of productive intersections. We organize into departments, create clear reporting lines, and establish distinct territories of responsibility. While this structure prov…

THE groundwork for the modern cult of authenticity was laid in our era by philosophers like Rousseau and others of his mindset who followed him. Their idea that any constraints laid on us or attempts to conform us by society make us inauthentic. But the fact is, we find out who we are in relation to other people and the communities in which we interact. Our uninhibited self is rarely our best self. In Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead) published by Harvard Business Review Press, author Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic asks, “What if chasing authenticity was an actual trap—one that oversimplifies human complexity, disregards the necessity 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. Nick Huber on responsibility: “This might hurt. This is likely hard to swallow. It isn’t anyone else’s fault. Your life today is a direct result of your own decisions and actions. Successful people understand this and take ownership in every situation. If you cultivate resilience, you have a significant competitive advantage over most people. If you are willing to do hard things, your tolerance for discomfort will become a superpower. If you swim against the current and try something new that might lead to a different resu…

IN a world of constant change, leaders face relentless pressure to deliver results. Yet the greatest leaders know that true success is not measured only by outcomes, but also by their ability to create conditions for others to thrive and achieve the extraordinary. Of course, everyone in your organization plays an important role. But there are the very select few who show a truly exceptional talent. They are the ones who have the potential to achieve extraordinary things, who push the whole team further, under the most pressing conditions. They are the ones who are not just satisfied with the status quo on a high level. They are going the furthest, taking the risks that p…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in November 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. De-Positioning: The Secret Brand Strategy for Creating Competitive Advantage by Todd Irwin What is the brand strategy Apple, Starbucks, and other market leaders have mastered for decades, yet never name? It’s not differentiation. It’s not purpose. It’s something far more powerful, and in today’s hyper-competitive business world, it’s the only strategy that consistently wins. It’s called De-Positioning, a method that turns your competitor’s strengths into liabilities while positioning your brand as…