Change
Summary: Most leadership programs teach skills, like how to communicate better, manage conflict, and improve engagement. All are worthwhile goals, but after more than 35 years working with leaders and organizations, I’ve learned something important—skills alone do not transform culture. Read on to see what matters even more. Dear Dr. Sylvia, My team is efficient…
Summary: At this year’s Tony Awards, something remarkable happened. At age 80, John Lithgow won another Tony Award, becoming one of the most celebrated performers of his generation. While the headlines focused on the award itself, I found myself thinking about something else. Longevity. Not simply staying in the game, but growing in the game.…
Summary: Everyone is talking about AI—how fast it is, how powerful it is, and how much work it can do. Some people are excited by it, while others are terrified. Most are trying to figure out where they fit into a future that seems to be changing by the minute. But I think we may…
Summary: Have you noticed lately how difficult it is to have an honest conversation? Whether it’s politics, workplace policies, social issues, generational differences, or organizational change, many people are walking on eggshells. Some stay silent because they’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. Others speak louder and louder because they feel unheard. The result is…
Summary: Leadership is often misunderstood. Many people assume that if a leader is nice, as in pleasant, agreeable, generous, and always trying to keep the peace, they are automatically effective. Not always. In fact, some of the most quietly frustrating workplaces are led by nice leaders. Let’s take a closer look at how this behavior…
Summary: There are moments in life when everything feels uncertain. Your company restructures. Perhaps your marriage cracks or your child pulls away. War begins, or the market collapses. You may get a difficult health diagnosis. A fire burns through your town. An election divides a family. AI changes how people work overnight. And suddenly, what…
Summary: Everywhere we turn, there’s noise, uncertainty, division, and pressure to perform. A constant low hum of anxiety that never quite shuts off. Leaders feel it. Teams feel it. Organizations live inside it. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: most leadership tools today are designed to help people cope with chaos, not transform it. Let’s go…
Summary: Every time there is another mass shooting, another child killed by a stray bullet, another family shattered in seconds, the same question rises like smoke: why does this keep happening in the United States? Here is a perspective that can lead us out of so much darkness, despair, and fear. Dear Dr. Sylvia, Why…
Summary: We’ve been sold a powerful idea that vulnerability is the key to better leadership. And to a point, it is. Thanks to the groundbreaking work of Brené Brown, leaders now understand that courage, connection, and trust require emotional honesty. But here’s the problem no one is saying out loud—vulnerability, by itself, can backfire. Here…
Summary: Let’s start with a truth that may surprise you ➜ Not all tension on a team is a problem. In fact, some of it is essential. But here’s where leaders get it wrong; they treat friction and conflict as if they’re the same thing. They’re not. And when you confuse the two, you either…