Reading Time: 7 minutesSome of my most influential mentors have never met me. They have no idea who I am. Still, I know them through their words and their work, and they’ve shaped the leader I’m becoming. Say the word “mentor,” and most people picture someone in their personal circle, a seasoned colleague or former boss
The Mentors I Never Knew Read More »
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe skeptic’s case for virtue-driven leadership. If I lost you at “virtues,” I get it. Say that word in a leadership meeting and watch the room. Somebody checks their texts on their phone. Another person rolls their eyes. Someone else decides this is the part of the agenda they can scan their email.
If I Lost You at Virtues Read More »
Reading Time: 6 minutesWhat I gave up to do the work I wanted In February 2001, I applied for a job with a lower title than the one I already held. I was a product support manager at the time. The posting was for a communications coordinator. My leadership supported the move because I explained the why behind
I Applied for a Demotion Read More »
Reading Time: 5 minutesWhat a 1925 lightbulb cartel and a 125-year-old bulb reveal about the light you leave behind Two days before Christmas in 1924, while the rest of Geneva strung up holiday lights, a group of executives met in that same city and decided how long your lightbulbs would last. Nobody taught me this in school, and
Reading Time: 5 minutesWhat a stubborn horse taught me about leading people A horse knows what you’re feeling before you know it yourself. Pull the reins too tight and the animal fights you. Let them hang slack and the animal decides where you’re both going. Somewhere between those two is the grip that works, and finding it is
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,
The Monday the Room Went Quiet Read More »
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
Be the Thermostat, Not the Thermometer Read More »
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
The Captain Who Wouldn’t Let Me Fail Read More »
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,”
Just the Good Stuff: A No BS Guide for Leaders Read More »
