Blogs
What Oprah Winfrey Learned From a Bad Boss: When Rejection Becomes a GLIMMER
Summary: What if one of the worst moments in your career actually pointed you toward the work you were meant to do? Long before Oprah Winfrey became Oprah, she was a 22-year-old television journalist who moved to Baltimore to co-anchor the evening news at WJZ-TV. Oprah has written and spoken openly about those early years.…
How to Deal With a Toxic Boss: Stop Labeling the Person and Start Looking at the Pattern
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)
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?
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
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…
Stop Calling People Toxic. Start Looking for the Patterns.
Summary: We hear these phrases everywhere. “She’s toxic.” “He’s impossible.” “Stay away from people like that.” Social media is overflowing with advice about identifying toxic people, avoiding toxic relationships, and eliminating toxic employees. Sometimes that advice is necessary. Abuse, manipulation, and repeated harmful behavior should never be ignored or tolerated. But what if the label…
The Courage to Lead with Self-Awareness: The New Zealand Connection
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
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
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
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
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.…
Freedom Is the Leadership Skill We Rarely Talk About
Summary: We often think freedom comes from changing jobs, relationships, or circumstances, but real freedom begins within. By recognizing the old patterns and stories that shape our reactions, we create space to choose a different response. That moment of self-awareness is where lasting change begins—and where we gain the freedom to lead, connect, and create…