Part Two of a series As an effective leader, you are asking yourself that question regularly. This series is for busy professionals who want to find easier ways to improve their essential leadership skills. Below is the second set of ten statements or notions followed by a reflection and an…

Part One of a series. If you are a leader, I hope you regularly ask yourself how you can become a better leader. If not, I would question your judgment and suggest you might be more powerful and effective as an individual contributor. This series is for busy professionals who…

Have you ever sat in a room with a bunch of people after a late morning meeting and awkwardly talked about what to do next? Everyone is tentative and polite. No one wants to offend or look foolish. …

It is understandable why many typically hard-charging, busy professionals with little patience for covering the basics have given up on common sense and instead bemoan the lack of it. However, it is foolhardy, perhaps even arrogant, to take common sense for granted. First, it implies the existence of a common…

Are you in a rut, feeling stuck or aimless? Then do the opposite of what you’ve been doing. Examples: In your head, plotting and planning? Stop. Go do. Make mistakes and learn how to recover from them. Super social, asking for input, collaborating, and always celebrating with the team? Find…

Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of people distressed over not being able to find their passion. They scramble, looking for it with an urgency and panic reminiscent of someone late for an appointment searching for their car keys. Passion is not something to search for because you fear it’s lost to…

You could be leading right now, but you have convinced yourself not to. Below are seven common excuses. Identify yours, and then take action to rectify your reasoning. The world needs fresh leadership, and your justifications for sitting on the sidelines are evaporating. 1. You are not yet willing to…

Fear of disappointment is debilitating and corrosive to living the life you want. The potential for external disappointment can be especially devastating when it comes from someone you care about. You may initially act with defensive defiance, but that masks the kick in the gut you feel. …

Lack of initiative is due to an abundance of fear. True, apathy can play a role, but those who do not care are not reading this, so why spend time trying to appeal to their better judgment. It is not important to them. They can hide apathy behind proclamations of…