Are You Developing Problem Reporters or Problem Solvers?

Sep 19, 2023 | Leadership Development

“I know this is terrible to say, but I don’t want Larry on my executive team. He sucks the energy out of the room. Brad, the previous director who managed Larry, was great, but Larry exhausted him! I know Larry wants to become a director and I really can’t fault his performance. It’s just him. He’ll kill the energy and culture we’ve developed as an executive team this past year and I won’t jeopardize that.” That may sound a bit dramatic, but it’s a very real issue one of my clients is dealing...

What Would We Do If…

Aug 22, 2023 | Leadership Development

I recently had the opportunity to co-facilitate a client’s exercise on stress testing their business continuity plan. It was also an opportunity for me to reiterate the importance of strong Stage 1 and Stage 2 leadership skills with these leaders. This client’s business continuity plan is in draft, so the exercise was important to not only identify gaps in the draft plan, but to also test the various teams’ ability to jump to the proposed course of action or to develop another solution if the...

Limit Your Focus and Stop the Confusion

Jul 25, 2023 | Leadership Development

A client recently shared, “My team never seems to know what to do or when to take initiative. They wait for me to tell them what to do and I’m tired of it. I can’t continue to do everyone’s job!” Does this sound familiar? You’re an experienced leader. You’ve onboarded, trained, developed, and worked with dozens of team members before but times are different. There’s way more work to do than ever before and fewer experienced people to do it, so it falls to you or it doesn’t get done. Right?...

Communicating With Executives So They Get It

Jun 20, 2023 | Leadership Development

Four times in the last two weeks, I’ve been asked to help a client or their management team hone their communication skills so they better understand one another and so their meetings and strategic planning update sessions are ‘tighter’ and more productive. In various ways each client said, “Help! We’re drowning! We’ve got too many things to do and too few people to do it all. Because we’re overwhelmed, we don’t clearly communicate what’s important. We spew words at one another as we...

Focus on Impact

May 23, 2023 | Strategic Planning

I always find it interesting that, regardless of industry, the challenges facing the executives I work with come in waves of similar issues. As I write this, several clients are coming to the end of their fiscal year. As a result, they’re reassessing budgets, strategic initiatives, productivity, profitability, and the departure of a key team member or two. Needless to say, times are - again - very busy and challenging for them. To help them navigate these challenges and debate their next...