Research from Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends determines the digital age needs a “completely new way of leading.” Completely new! Does this mean your leadership is outdated…? Perhaps. You might be thinking: ‘Wait a minute! I am a top leader. If not the top leader in my organization, someday I will be since my […]

Given the complexity and torrid change of the digital age, leaders from across organizations are increasingly gathering in cross functional teams, or pods, to solve today’s problems or to realize current possibilities. As a gathering of leaders with a variety of expertise, such as IT, finance, marketing, operations, HR, etc., I would argue that even […]

Think of your latest project… Chances are, it increasingly involves leaders from across your organization and across generations. If you are a member of an executive team or partner in a professional firm, work in a cross-functional team, lead Millennials, serve on a board, or participate in M&As and startups, you are among a group […]

In her recent article published in AHA Trustee Services, Mary K. Totten references Leading Leaders’ work as a core component of how to engage millennials in governance: “Spahn, who works with multigenerational leadership groups in several sectors, suggests boards can benefit from engaging in dialogue using a process he calls ‘curious conviction.’ This approach asks all participants […]

On a recent conference call, I was working with a team to review the importance and challenge of being present. To clear our minds and get “here,” we engaged in 30 seconds of silence at the beginning of the meeting. After the call, with a telling smile, the leader of the team noted that she had […]

Collective innovation (WE) thrives on and enhances fierce individuality (ME). This visually engaging depiction of Mohammed Ali’s poem illustrates that there is a ME in WE and a WE in ME; from different angles each contains the other. Comprised of many other elements, The Freedom Principle exhibit (where this installation resides) documents and celebrates the dynamic of individual and collective […]

For Chicagoans Only: A leadership reflection on a 30th anniversary of Chicago’s first and only African American mayor. Theme: A leader is only as strong as the followers who lead her or him. Yes … the success of a leader depends upon how well his or her followers lead her or him. Chicago, via the […]

Accelerates Innovation The Wright Brothers didn’t just invent flight. They utilized a unique communication technology. They combined conviction with curiosity and achieved extraordinary results. In his book The Wright Brothers, David McCullough illuminates the communication strategy that made their inventions possible – they regularly engaged in heated exchanges for days on end, each brother passionately advocating for his […]

Authenticity releases energy, creativity, and TRUST. Anonymity perpetuates suspicion which cultivates fear. While participating in a 360 feedback, a top executive was completing the anonymous questionnaire when he realized he had some difficult thoughts to offer—and that his colleague was in his office down the hall. He thought to himself, “What am I doing? Bill is just a few doors […]

Thriving in the marketplace today requires a diverse group of experts from across the organization to create and execute in harmony. Problem is, if a bunch of leaders attempt to work together, often you get the problem of too many chefs in the kitchen problem. The emerging question of leadership today is then, how do […]