No Margin for Character
We misunderstand and misuse the idea of character in our business culture because in business, margin drives everything. To go all business for a second, margin is the difference between a product or service’s selling price and its cost of production or to the ratio between a company’s revenues and expenses. Even if you don’t consider yourself a businessperson, that is important to understand because we, as a culture, define something’s value by its margin – by the difference between the cost we pay and the benefit we get.
8 Tips for Encouraging a Reluctant Leader
Who are the leaders or potential leaders around you who are reluctant to take on the role of “leader” or who are reluctantly in the role and might need a little support? We all know them. They are not sure they want to be the leader because they feel under-qualified, under-prepared, introverted, or may have had role models or people in their past who have minimized them or their potential. Reluctance to be the leader isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it could be a strength because they know that the stakes are high for those they lead. Here are eight quick tips for investing in these reluctant leaders.
You Can’t Manufacture Trust
Developing trust and increasing alignment and cohesion is a meaningful goal that requires deep levels of individual and collective change. It doesn’t materialize overnight. Trust is like a muscle that with work will grow in strength and endurance, but if left neglected, will atrophy. Here are five core convictions for how we approach building real, long-term trust with executive teams.
Re-Formed Leaders
This is not me jumping on the leadership bandwagon. Reform, fighting against the racism, brutal violence, and injustice against people of color that has plagued our country and world will take us making a deeper and more thoughtful investment in the current and next generation of leaders. Leading with compassion, courage, composure, thoughtfulness and a spirit of sacrifice takes incredible fortitude, preparation and support. The next leaders are our friends, family members, and children. Will we make the investment to prepare them well?
Whole Leaders in an Emotional Pandemic
A new reality is upon us. An opportunity - to be our best when it's a bit tougher to do so. The uncertainty of a biological pandemic is likely to impact everything we see, and a host of things we can’t. What we do see around us isn't only a need for further preparation in
One Month on the Job – Practicing What We Preach
Over the past 3 years I have had 12 jobs, which for a freelance writer is probably not that big of a number. I joined the Whole + intentional Leadership Development (WiLD) team to minimize the amount of hours that go into my tax return and because the team and mission seemed exciting and unusual. I have worked with other leadership development programs, however WiLD has an impact that almost looks too good to be true.
Readiness vs Talent
In the past, and even in some cases now, the process of investing in the learning and growth of your employees and leaders is often called Talent Management or Talent Development. The job titles of the leaders in these spaces are similar – Director of Talent Management isn’t uncommon. However, when it comes to actually developing your people, there are a number of different ways to approach it – and your fundamental assumptions and values matter. There are at least two options being pushed around out there, and I want to suggest that we are in desperate need of a third option.
Wild Stories in a Sensible World
When it comes to our willingness to tell the stories of our lives, there are at least three kinds of people. Those too eager to share, those who don’t know there’s anything to share, and those who hesitate to share the real story. The first group defines themselves by their edginess and outside-the-box thinking (which is inside-the-box thinking, by the way). The second group lacks the awareness that they are just as weird as the rest of us, and the third group has a different kind of challenge. It’s the challenge of navigating the world of what is “sensible” and what is “wild”. I’m most interested in this third group.