Success

Still Playing Hide-and-Seek? What You’re Hiding May Be Running Your Life

By Sylvia Lafair | August 25, 2026 |

Summary: Remember playing hide-and-seek? You covered your eyes and counted to ten. Everyone ran. Someone squeezed behind the sofa. Someone crawled under the bed. And there was always that one kid who found such a brilliant hiding place that everyone eventually forgot where they were. Then came the words, “Ready or not, here I come!”…

How to Deal With a Toxic Boss: Stop Labeling the Person and Start Looking at the Pattern

By Sylvia Lafair | August 18, 2026 |

Summary: You know the feeling. Your boss walks into the meeting, and your stomach tightens. Or perhaps you have an idea, but you hesitate before speaking. Tension comes in many flavors, from yelling and passive-aggressive comments to the silent treatment. Eventually, someone says the words everyone has been thinking: “We have a toxic boss.” Maybe…

What Lin-Manuel Miranda Knows About Leadership (That Most Executives Miss)

By Sylvia Lafair | August 13, 2026 |

Summary: Imagine walking into a room and saying, “I have an idea for a Broadway musical about Alexander Hamilton.” That alone might get you some raised eyebrows. Then add, “It will use hip-hop and rap, the Founding Fathers will be played by a diverse cast, and audiences will pay hundreds of dollars to watch it.”…

You Change Your Underwear Every Day, So Why Are You Still Wearing the Same Old Patterns?

By Sylvia Lafair | August 12, 2026 |

Summary: Let’s start with a question that you don’t get asked often, if ever: When was the last time you changed your underwear? Hopefully, this morning. Most of us wouldn’t dream of wearing the same underwear day after day. We also replace worn-out socks, buy new shoes, upgrade our phones, and trade in cars that…

What Banksy Teaches Us About Leadership: When the Message Matters More Than the Messenger

By Sylvia Lafair | August 6, 2026 |

Summary: Banksy is one of the most recognized artists in the world. And yet, almost no one knows who Banksy is. While building a personal brand, chasing followers, and measuring success by visibility is the norm, Banksy has done the opposite by remaining anonymous, yet his work is discussed around the world. That isn’t just…

The Courage to Lead with Self-Awareness: The New Zealand Connection

By Sylvia Lafair | July 31, 2026 |

Summary: When people think of strong leaders, they often picture someone who is loud, commanding, and always certain. But some of the most effective leaders possess a different kind of strength. Here is what a more mature leader does. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern demonstrated that leadership begins with self-awareness. She showed the…

AI Is Getting Smarter. Are You? The Leadership Advantage AI Will Never Replace

By Sylvia Lafair | July 28, 2026 |

Summary: Artificial intelligence is evolving at breathtaking speed. It can analyze data in seconds, summarize meetings, draft presentations, predict trends, and even coach leaders through difficult conversations. Tomorrow, it will do even more. Yet one question remains: If AI keeps getting smarter, what becomes the greatest competitive advantage for leaders? Read on to find out.…

When Great Leaders Cry: What Lionel Messi Taught the World About Leadership

By Sylvia Lafair | July 23, 2026 |

Summary: Millions of people around the world watched Lionel Messi walk off the field after Argentina’s heartbreaking 1-0 extra-time loss to Spain in the World Cup Final. For just a moment, the cameras caught something that statistics never can. A tear rolled down his cheek, and that single tear may become one of the most…

What To Do When Someone Shuts Down the Conversation

By Sylvia Lafair | July 21, 2026 |

Summary: Every successful company reaches a moment when difficult conversations must happen; a new strategy, major investment, leadership change, growing financial concern, difficult employee, etc. Healthy organizations don’t avoid these conversations. Instead, they lean into them. But what happens when a person in leadership shuts the conversation down? The greatest danger in leadership isn’t disagreement;…

Pattern Intelligence: The Leadership Skill Abraham Lincoln Used Before There Was a Name For It

By Sylvia Lafair | July 16, 2026 |

Summary: Why do some leaders keep solving the same problems over and over while others seem able to transform an entire culture? The difference is often not intelligence, but pattern intelligence, or the ability to notice the invisible dynamics beneath visible behavior. It means recognizing recurring emotional, relational, and organizational patterns before they become crises.…