Many leaders face moments when overwhelming crises or hardships are stacked against them, and they have a sinking feeling they are not up to the challenges. Let’s look at how one leader dealt with a historic worst-case scenario. As The New York Times described it, “Russian tanks were rolling over the border and Kyiv, the Ukrainian […]
Millions of Americans continue to leave their jobs voluntarily each month, forcing employers to spend a lot of time and attention on recruiting and hiring when they really need to be thinking about retention strategy. The government reported a record number of Americans, 70 million, left their jobs in 2021, including 47.8 million departures counted as voluntary. […]
Executive leaders who question the sustainability of the virtual workplace have a ready excuse for expediting an end to it as soon as possible: A healthy workplace culture relies on social interaction and impromptu meetings that happen only in person. Let’s examine this premise, because a complete reversal of the work-from-home trend seems unlikely soon, […]
The havoc that COVID-19 brought, and continues to bring, to our workplaces has tested executive leaders’ problem-solving skills and resilience. We are making shutdown decisions that affect our people’s lives and safety and the fortunes of our company in an atmosphere of remarkable uncertainty. It’s like one of those famously complicated case studies that business […]
When a business faces huge new challenges that it is not prepared for, its leader’s best tool for reassuring the workforce is to project outward calm. A leader’s optimistic, “we can do it!” attitude rallies support for whatever change or transformation is necessary to meet the new challenges. In truth, business executives often feel daunted, […]
With reports that up to 55% of employees are looking to change jobs in the next year, these are anxious times to be an employer—particularly a small employer, where the loss of an employee can be highly disruptive. This phenomenon—dubbed “The Great Resignation”—need not be a negative to your organization, and can work to your favor when […]
My book Beyond the Superhero: Executive Leadership for the Rest of Us is designed to help business leaders who are assuming a new position. It makes a strong case for actively listening to your new teammates as a critical first step to take in your new role. Since publication, I’ve been asked to go further to address a specific […]
Stepping into a new role as an executive is both exciting and challenging. How you handle this early transition can have a big impact on your long-term success. You need to hit the ground running not only with your new team but also with a larger set of stakeholders. Research shows that adopting a 90-day […]