Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 7, 2012
All the interesting things you say make you uninteresting to others. A rare few enthrall listeners. Don’t think of yourself as one. You know too much and have too much to say. Passion sets your tongue on fire. You can’t wait to create enthusiasm, solve problems, and share transformative insights. In a busy world brevity [.].
Kevin Eikenberry
FEBRUARY 14, 2012
Yesterday I was thinking about observation and judgement, and how it relates to effective communication and coaching. It reminded me of a particular incident that took place a few years back – an incident I had previously written about on the blog for my book Remarkable Leadership. We were driving somewhere as a family and [.].
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Eric Jacobsen Blog
FEBRUARY 10, 2012
I recommend that all leaders every so often read the What Will Matter poem by Michael Josephson. It serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of unselfishly serving and leading with character. I've highlighted in bold and in color my favorite parts of the poem: Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
Tanveer Nasser
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
These days, everyone is talking about the importance of innovation to an organization's future, but what exactly does it take to be innovative and how do we start? That's the basis of my conversation with business strategist and author Andrea Kates in this latest episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”. Andrea is the founder of the Business Genome project and has led more than 250 business innovation initiatives with a variety of organizations, including Royal Dutch Shell (Asia-Pacific), Audi, Allstate
Speaker: Chandra McCormack, CPA, MBA, NACD.DC
Technical degrees might open doors—but it’s the soft skills that keep them open. In the face of disruption, evolving workplace dynamics, and rising expectations of leadership, soft skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and presence have become core business essentials—not nice-to-haves. Inspired by stories from her father coupled with her own career journey, seasoned executive Chandra McCormack breaks down how to lead with impact, connect with purpose, and cultivate a workplace cult
Harvard Business Review
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
Why are you here? It's arguably life's most important question, but is it one you ask yourself? I recognize it's a question some people might view as self-indulgent, while others would see it primarily through a religious lens. But is there any part of an answer we could all agree on? I've found a very simple one for myself, and it's provided me in recent years with an increasingly powerful sense of clarity, inspiration and even joy.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 10, 2012
** “Managing up” means you’re thinking like those over you and adapting. Those who adapt survive and thrive. You’re asking things like: What’s the leader’s style? Where should I fit in and how can I stand out? What’s the big picture, not simply tasks? What makes the leader feel supported? How much information do they [.].
OrgDev Digest brings together the best content for management professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 17, 2012
Lies are told because they’re easier than the truth. Lies are told to help or hurt. Leaders tell lies to protect those who can’t handle the truth or manipulate those who know too much. The first lie I told at work was self-protective, most are. I told my boss I’d completed a project but I [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
Being smart enough to know you’re dumb makes learning easy. There’s a personal light bulb moment reflected in every quote that follows. Forward trajectory quotes: Any fool can start something new. It takes brilliant leaders to stop something old. My life gives testament to the power of purposeful abandonment. A little over 3 years ago, [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
** Life is a journey but you’re drifting unless you define your destination. The same is true for organizations. The first step toward success is defining it. Too eager to do: Activity seduces. Leaders easily fall into the “Let’s just go do something” trap. Activity without destination is futility. Eager to do: The choice between [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
** It’s easy to confuse and difficult to clarify. Confusion drives us toward clarity. Clarity allows us to act. I’m looking for your perspective and insights on this set of Leadership Freak quotes. Will you grab one or more and expand, correct, clarify, and/or modify it. The Sweet 16: Don’t let the stupid things others [.].
Speaker: Jeremy York
Join us for a thought-provoking exploration of the rapidly evolving HR landscape as we examine how technological innovation, regulatory changes, talent strategies, and evolving diversity approaches are reshaping the profession. This webinar will provide HR professionals with practical insights on leveraging AI and emerging technologies while maintaining compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
** Your reputation is built on being noticed for the right things in the right way by the right people. Reputation is about credibility, trust, and influence. Good reputations create opportunities. Danger: Good reputations are earned slowly and lost quickly. One major blunder outweighs many contributions. Building your reputation: Focus on results even though the [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
The most dangerous lie leaders tell themselves is, “I know.” DeBono wisely said, “Those who think they know, don’t. All leaders fall prey to this lie, yes all. How many times have you thought you knew but discovered you didn’t? You think what you think because it’s right. Right? You came to know too much because: [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 14, 2012
** There was a time when I thought my anger was about the world out there. But, anger, frustration, and complaints are first about who I am and then about other people, circumstances, and environments. Not liking my performance: There’s always room for improvement. Translation, I fell short. For example, I always see ways my [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 27, 2012
Your strengths have dark sides that limit potential, destroy achievement, and hamstring opportunities. Powerful strengths become anchors without softeners. The difference between mediocre and extraordinary success is tempering qualities. Task oriented leaders come off as people-users more interested in finishing projects than the people completing them.
Speaker: Carolyn Clark and Miriam Connaughton
Forget predictions, let’s focus on priorities for the year and explore how to supercharge your employee experience. Join Miriam Connaughton and Carolyn Clark as they discuss key HR trends for 2025—and how to turn them into actionable strategies for your organization. In this dynamic webinar, our esteemed speakers will share expert insights and practical tips to help your employee experience adapt and thrive.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 11, 2012
Image source The fringes of leadership are populated with problem-centric leaders. Leaders are born when they shift from self to others. Leaders begin leading when they shift toward solutions. The first is a beginning - the second represents success. The problem with problems: Seeing problems places you on the fringes of leadership. Somehow it feels important to point out [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 18, 2012
** It’s easier for leaders to step up and in than to step down and back. Beginnings demand stepping in; enduring, exponential success calls for stepping back. Before stepping back: Before you step back, build people who embrace organizational values. People who don’t share values always suggest wrong directions, dilute focus, and slow progress.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 13, 2012
Image source One high performance department is miserable and oppressive another is joyful and liberating. One leader has fun while another leader … All leaders get things done but the way they do things matters. John Bell, former CEO of Jacobs Suchard (Nabob, Kraft), suggested he would not do different things as much as he [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 25, 2012
Image source Leave the good ole days in the past. Enjoy memories but never try recreating experiences. Some years back, my wife and I went to an amusement park with another couple. It was the perfect storm of fun. The day was perfect. The crowds were small. We smiled, laughed, and played till it hurt. [.].
Speaker: Kaitlin Ruby Carroll
Retaining top talent in 2025 means rethinking benefits. In a competitive job market, fertility benefits are more than just offerings - they are a commitment to your team’s well-being. Gain critical insights into the latest fertility benefits strategies that can help position your organization as an industry leader. Our expert will explore the unique advantages and challenges of each model, share success stories from top organizations, and offer practical strategies to make benefits decisions tha
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 19, 2012
Pride is good. For example, “Have some pride” and “Take pride in your work.” Arrogant pride, however, represents the dark, blinding, deceptive underbelly of leadership. Arrogant pride drives leaders to gather in protective huddles of pseudo-invincibility where stepping on others is smugly applauded and lifting others is foolish weakness. Filthy dark festering pride drives outrageous [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
Weak leaders smugly think, “I knew that would happen.” Cowardly leaders saying “I told you so.” Not if but how: Strong leaders tip toward courageous intervention. They don’t sit on the sidelines like cowards gloating over failures they saw coming. They turn potential failures to successes. On the other hand, interventionist leaders aren’t meddling parents [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 2, 2012
** If you aren’t concerned about ticking off the CEO, you should be. It’s easy to irritate high level leaders who operate in high pressure environments, especially if you aren’t part of the inner circle. Senior leaders expect mid-levels to prove their value and earn their place; they did. They can smell a sense of [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 1, 2012
** Don’t worry about getting noticed by senior leadership; care but don’t worry. Mike Myatt said, “Great leaders don’t need to worry about influencing the C-Suite, the C-Suite will always come to them.” Stop trying: Organizations don’t need needy people. Doug Conant remarked, “Don’t try too hard to connect with senior leadership.” Doug illustrated his [.].
Speaker: Jeremy York
2024 has tested every organization, and 2025 promises no less - the warning signs are everywhere. If you’re relying on superficial approaches to diversity, you might find yourself scrambling to catch up. Thought diversity - the fuel for new ideas, fresh perspectives, and disruptive innovation - is more than a buzzword. It's a survival strategy. And if you’re not building it into your workplace culture right now , you’re heading for trouble.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
** You must give power in order to empower? Empowerment is giving qualified people power and permission to act. Empowerment fails when leaders talk empowerment but hang on to permission or make it difficult to act. Empowered people become colleagues not employees. Transform your organization by making subordinates colleagues. Eliminate exclusive trappings of power.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 20, 2012
Encourage and exalt leaders don’t pull them down. But you may say, “Won’t arrogance destroy them.” Destruction: Leaders hungry for power are dangerous. Arrogant leaders stop listening, grow autocratic, and become self-protective narcissists. Like boxers in the ring, protect yourself at all times. Never trust them. They’ll slice you down and sacrifice stakeholder value for personal [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Brain power, skills, and success beckon leaders to believe they are better than others when they aren’t. The most repulsive lie leaders believe about themselves is the long-nose-lie, “I’m better than.” Everyone sees the long nose you look down. The insecure feel inferior around your long nose while climbers grovel for its approval. In either [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Every reason projects stall comes back to one, lack of urgency. Foggy deliverables, inadequate resources, blurred priorities, under qualified participants, and distant deadlines inevitably drain urgency. Who’s responsible: Save time, energy, and resources by settling the question of responsibility for derailed projects, quickly. Leaders are responsible, always.
Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg
Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 5, 2012
** We’ve all been there. We get fired up at a conference only to run out of steam a few days later. Regardless of how good, training won’t stick on its own. Leaders aren’t developed with occasional seminars and sporadic training. But, who has the time and who can afford it? Free simple option: Jeffery Norris, the Director [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
** It’s easy to confuse and difficult to clarify. Confusion drives us toward clarity. Clarity allows us to act. I’m looking for your perspective and insights on this set of Leadership Freak quotes. Will you grab one or more and expand, correct, clarify, and/or modify it. The Sweet 16: Don’t let the stupid things others [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 20, 2012
Encourage and exalt leaders don’t pull them down. But you may say, “Won’t arrogance destroy them.” Destruction: Leaders hungry for power are dangerous. Arrogant leaders stop listening, grow autocratic, and become self-protective narcissists. Like boxers in the ring, protect yourself at all times. Never trust them. They’ll slice you down and sacrifice stakeholder value for personal [.].
Leadership Freak
FEBRUARY 25, 2012
Image source Leave the good ole days in the past. Enjoy memories but never try recreating experiences. Some years back, my wife and I went to an amusement park with another couple. It was the perfect storm of fun. The day was perfect. The crowds were small. We smiled, laughed, and played till it hurt. [.].
Speaker: Brian Richardson
With a staggering 92% of CEOs prioritizing skill development, and 84% struggling with transformation, mastering upskilling is now more critical than ever. Drawing on extensive research and collaboration with hundreds of leading organizations, discover key hurdles and innovative best practices in workforce upskilling. You'll walk away with a deep understanding of how to build a culture of continuous learning, expert insights into assessing the current skills of your employees, and a strategic too
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