Keeping Remote Teams Engaged

IT IS ALWAYS a challenge to change the way you think. And success can make it that much harder. In Seduced by Success, Robert Herbold observes that “whether you are talking about individuals, small groups, or large organizations, success generates the risk of falling prey to the mindset of becoming proud, to being very comfortable with your current practices, and to losing your sense of urgency.” Instead of building on your successes, you become complacent, repeating what you have always done. The “legacy of success is too often failure.” As Peter Drucker wrote, “Success always makes obsolete the very behavior that achieved it. It always creates new realities. It always…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in February 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Rethinking Work: Seismic Changes in the Where, When, and Why by Rishad Tobaccowala We have a choice. We can either be reactive and struggle to adjust to transformational events on the fly, or we can be proactive and control the narrative—reinventing work to align with the evolving environment. Futurist Rishad Tobaccowala has had a highly successful career because he has anticipated and capitalized on emerging trends. In Rethinking Work, Rishad outlines the reasons why being proactive in this era o…

Here is a selection of Posts from January 2025 that you will want to check out: Nine rules turnaround leaders can live by that don't involve 'fixing the culture' by @artpetty 4 Ways To Constantly Adapt by @JosephLalonde 5 Things Leaders Need to Quit Doing by @Mark_Sanborn It Don’t Take Much To Show A Little Love by @JohnBaldoni Success Through Synergy by @KevinPaulScott Genuine synergy rests on four essential pillars Sputnik Moments, Moonshot Visions by @jamesstrock What should our moonshot be? Minimum Levels of Stress by @morganhousel Thinking of Managing? Six reasons why you might love this role by @artpetty The Hard Truth About Mismanagement by MarleneChism @stopyou…

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. Nido Qubein on becoming a transformational leader: “Our team knows that the highest order of leadership is to tell the truth. Yet, that is just the beginning. You consciously and intentionally have to bring your business, social, spiritual, and family lives together; each plays a part in who you are as a leader. When you do, your life is like a beautiful song. Its harmony influences others, it can move people, and anyone looking at you will know what kind of person you really are.” Source: Extraordinary Transformation: An Entr…

EMPOWERMENT has turned into a buzzword that’s lost its meaning. We all know what being powerful—or, euphemistically, influential—looks like. But to be empowering—how clear is that? Worse than unclear, empowering is widely misunderstood. For forceful leaders, it’s seen as giving power away; giving power to your staff means giving up your power. It’s easy for forceful leaders to feel that granting power to others takes away from their own power or that they are somehow rendered “passive,” as one forceful leader put it. Power is simply a means to the end of getting things done. It shouldn’t matter whether it’s your power or “Other” power. You can grind grain into flour 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. Jonah Sachs on the expert’s trap: “While expertise can make us enormously efficient at playing an established game, it can also make us slower to realize when the game has changed and less able to respond to those changes. Our expert’s mind, so used to moving quickly and efficiently, tries to fit new information into old boxes so it can use its rapid processing power. ‘Oh, that’s just a new flavor of an old problem,’ our expert brain says. Too often it’s not. After all, most of the problems we face in a world of rapid change h…

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. Brian Tracy on zero-based thinking: “To simplify your life, zero-based thinking is one of the most powerful strategies you can learn and apply on a regular basis. Here’s how it works. Ask yourself, ‘Is there anything I am doing right now that, knowing what I now know, I wouldn’t get into again if I were starting over today?’” Source: Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals II. Donald Miller on creating meaning: “We build lives of meaning by stating an ambitio…

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. Retired Navy SEAL commander Rich Diviney on empathy: “A lack of empathy in any leader obviously is a huge detriment huge detriment. But too much empathy can be just as damaging. It’s hard to be productive if you’re functioning at the whim of other people’s emotions. Empathy is an invaluable tool, so long as it is properly calibrated.” Source: The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance II. Nikos Mourkogiannis on purpose: “Purpose is preparation for doing what is right and what is worthwhile. As such it creates…

HISTORICALLY, women have faced significant hurdles in employment negotiations. Here’s what we know about these barriers, plus strategies leaders can use to improve fairness in the workplace. The Barriers that Women Face In 2006, Carnegie Mellon University professor Linda Babcock and her colleagues published research showing that women tend to initiate negotiations, particularly salary negotiations, significantly less often than men do. The findings appeared to at least partially explain the enduring pay gap between men and women, which has remained frustratingly stable from 2002 to 2023. In a 2007 study, Harvard Kennedy School professor Hannah Riley Bowles, Babcock, a…

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. Coach Phil Jackson on compassion: “Compassion for all beings—not least of all oneself—is the key to breaking down barriers among people. Now, ‘compassion’ is a word not often bandied about in locker rooms. But I’ve found that a few kind, thoughtful words can have a strong transformative effect on relationships, even with the toughest men on the team.” (Blog Post) Source: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success II. Coach Tony Dungy on putting people first: “Instead of asking, how can I lead my company, my team, or my family to a…

Here is a selection of Posts from February 2025 that you will want to check out: Four Ideas to Improve Workplace Communication by @artpetty The Leadership Trap: Quick fixes by Marlene Chism @stopyourdrama Exemplar or Empire? 1 of 3 by @jamesstrock Washington and Adams Cast a Vision. 4 Leadership Lessons on Scarcity, Dominance, and Delay by @BrianKDodd CEO Coaching: Idiots at the Helm? by @toddordal 5 Ideas That Changed My Life by @SahilBloom 40 Thoughts On Turning 40 by @p_millerd Earn Your Influence by @nateschloesser How does this apply to your situation? 5 Character Qualities Leaders Must Have by @JosephLalonde Looking Under the Lamppost (On Problem-Solving) by @edb…

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. Joel Kurtzman on leadership: “The leader is not separate from the group he or she leads. Rather, the leader is the organization’s glue—the force that binds it together, sets its direction, and makes certain that the group functions as one. Good leaders are not outsiders who cheer on a group. They are part of that group, integrated deeply into its fabric and emotional life. Connecting with the group you lead means demonstrating you are part of the group, understand its challenges, can do its jobs, and can stand the pressure and…

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. Joe Davis on engaging the skeptics: “Have you ever been in a room, presenting an idea for change, and someone says, ‘Oh, that will never work’? Or you’ve solicited feedback as you work through your options, and you hear the ‘No, we cannot do that’? Your instinct might be to be defensive or just ignore them, but their perspective and experience, if you can embrace it, will strengthen your position. Asking for more information about why they feel the way they do, and then listening carefully to what they say, can be the best cou…

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in January 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior by Sandra Matz There are more pieces of digital data than there are stars in the universe. This data helps us monitor our planet, decipher our genetic code, and take a deep dive into our psychology. As algorithms become increasingly adept at accessing the human mind, they also become more and more powerful at controlling it, enticing us to buy a certain product or vote for a certain political candidate. Some of us say t…

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. Jack Trout on being a doer: “The best leaders know that direction alone is no longer enough. The best leaders are storytellers, cheerleaders, and facilitators. They reinforce their sense of direction or vision with words and action.” Source: The Power of Simplicity: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the Nonsense and Doing Things Right II. Jack Welch on simplicity: “For a large organization to be effective, it must be simple. Insecure managers create complexity. Real leaders don’t need clutter. People must have the self…

OUR mindset can either work for us or against us. A mind full of false narratives—false beliefs—will keep us from growing into our potential. Unchallenged, these negative beliefs will become the soundtrack we live by and keep us from moving in the direction of our best selves and change the outcome of our lives. Josh Axe identifies in Think This, Not That twelve mental barriers that obstruct personal growth and hinder success. Each comes with a critical mindshift—think this, not that—to realign our thinking and liberate us from our limiting beliefs. Mindshift 1: Create a Breakthrough by Unlimiting Your Beliefs We all have limiting beliefs like “I am not enough or not g…

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…

THE WINTER months are the perfect time for a little binge-reading. While I can’t promise that any of the titles suggested are cozy reads, they will get you fired up. Personally, I would start with Productive Failure and Mindshift. Like The Illusion of Innovation by Elliott Parker, they will get you thinking in new ways and set you up for the others. Use this list to create your own winter reading plan. Here are ten suggestions to begin the new year intentionally. On Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century by Tony Blair - (September 2024) The leadership manual Tony Blair wishes he had when he became prime minister, with personal insights and global examples that s…

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. Andrew Kakabadse, Nada Kakabadse, and Linda Davies on leading to learn: “It is clear that successful leadership is never truly mastered as it is an organic service which must be ever refreshed and refined. The changing nature and demands of the follower and the changing nature and demands of the external environment mean that even once the leader has reached a point of maximum provision for their troops in their current state, they must put some serious planning into the next likely situation they will face. There is no rest. …

THE challenges organizations face today are becoming increasingly complex, interconnected, and unpredictable. Yet, as we examine these challenges more closely, a striking realization emerges: most are rooted in connection issues. Network science heralded as the science of the 21st century, provides a groundbreaking framework for understanding connections. It uncovers profound insights into the structural and functional challenges organizations encounter, offering a transformative lens for leadership in this era of complexity. To thrive, leaders must embrace a new paradigm that prioritizes the power of connections. Let’s explore two critical domains where connections ar…

HOW do you start your day? Is it hitting snooze 4 times before you reluctantly crawl out of bed, accepting your fate of another day? Or, are you on the other side of the spectrum, waking up at 4 am in order to ‘win the day,’ hitting the gym and grabbing a quick post workout bite before most people are even awake? Maybe you are a night owl work late and take your coffee black at 2 pm. Whatever your daily routine, it may be time to look at it with a fresh pair of eyes and an intention to change something. Most people make the mistake of going big where change is concerned. The quintessential example of this is the night owl, with trouble waking up before 8 am, setting a go…

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…

STUDIES show that executive mental health is in a precarious state: 55% of CEOs in a recent 2024 study, for instance, self-reported they were having issues with their mental health. Given how private leaders tend to be about the pressures they’re under, imagine how many haven’t come forward. There’s an unspoken truth in high-level leadership: CEOs and executives bear the weight of their organizations alone, whether they admit it or not. No matter how many advisors, direct reports, or leadership partners surround them, they remain the ultimate decision-makers. Most also operate under the assumption that their primary role is to support everyone else — driving growth, ensu…

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…

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 Farson on contradictions: “Contradictory impulses to both succeed and fail can be found in every project, every work team, even every individual. Every management choice, Job offer, or new applicant can appear both appealing and unappealing. Every deal is both good and bad. That is why leadership is essentially the management of dilemmas, and why tolerance for ambiguity—coping with contradictions—is essential for leaders, and why appreciating the coexistence of opposites is crucial to the development of a different way…