Reading Time: 5 minutesYou’re setting the tone whether you mean to or not. Every leader leaves a wake. Few of us ever turn around to look at it. Jason Kaplan’s LinkedIn post, the Ripple Effect of Leadership, crossed my feed and lingered. He described leadership the way you’d describe a stone dropped in water. Every decision, every word, […]
Reading Time: 4 minutesAs leaders, we set the emotional tone for our teams. Most of us never notice we’re doing it. A reel in my social media feed asked a question that got me thinking. Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? A thermometer reads the temperature. The thermostat changes it. The Marine Officer’s Point Landed
Reading Time: 5 minutesTypically, leadership shows up with a title attached. A captain’s armband, a corner office, a name on the door. We often wait to be named before we’ll lead. I learned otherwise on a borrowed basketball court, from a spot at the end of the bench. The kid who barely made the team I
Reading Time: 5 minutesI picked up Just the Good Stuff by Jim VandeHei, co-creator and CEO of Axios, expecting a quick read. What I got was something more: a mirror that reflects the communication habits leaders need right now, whether we admit it or not. If you’ve ever read Axios and thought, “Finally, someone respects my time,”
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuick note: In many fonts my first name, Al, looks exactly like AI. In this post, every mention of AI refers to artificial intelligence, not me… even if we do make a pretty good team. 😉 When I was choosing my Word for 2025, I started playing with an idea. Like most insights, it started
How My Inner Circle turned into Parallel Intelligence Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutesWhen I first heard Mark Miller speak at a Workvivo-sponsored event, I didn’t know much about him. Within minutes, that changed. His message was clear, his delivery authentic, and his credibility undeniable. Miller is an international bestselling author with more than 1.5 million books in print and translations in over twenty-five languages. He spent more
Reading Time: 7 minutesHave you ever reported to someone who made your job more challenging than it needed to be or was just plain difficult? Someone who oversaw communication… but didn’t communicate? Or was responsible for inclusion… but wanted to control everything and shut out diverse perspectives? Or have you ever been blindsided during your annual performance review?
Have You Ever had a Leader who was… the Problem? Read More »
Reading Time: 9 minutesAccording to a new Gallup report, 77% of employees are not engaged at work. That means three out of four are either quietly quitting or already gone in spirit. Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report paints a picture we can’t ignore. “Global employee engagement declined to 21% in 2024, with managers experiencing the
Reading Time: 8 minutesUnlocking the Power of Ambition, Goals, Objectives and Measurement It’s the start of a new year. We’re optimistic and full of energy and enthusiasm. Executives feel it too and set audaciously ambitious goals for their organizations, expecting them to cascade into your annual performance goals. Let’s be real: We’ve all had those moments where
