Business Leadership

Increasingly, companies have begun to create posts at the most senior level, in corporate headquarters, that have very few people reporting to them, and a huge responsibility for influencing the direction of the company.

Bold, confident, visionary leaders who take their businesses in new directions are widely admired and sought after. But when confidence balloons into the belief that a good manager can win in any situation, the business is headed for trouble.

What if all the currently overeducated women start taking over formerly male-dominated domains? Would that be so bad?

There is often a certain level of discomfort which increases productivity, but if you go beyond it productivity falls off abruptly. So the skilful leader takes risks with discomfort, but keeps the door open so he can take the temperature back down again.

In most companies, hardly a day goes by that some employees don't observe something and then reach a conclusion that negatively affects their behavior from then on.

I know what you're thinking if you're not a New York Giants fan. Here is another one of their obnoxious fans basking in the glow of a second tight a...

Here are a few ideas on how you can step up as a leader, regardless of your position or role in your company, and loosen up some of those ties that bind.

A lot has been said and written about what it means for a company or organization to be a leader. Certainly the area of sustainability offers a myriad of opportunities for organizations, companies, and individuals to carve out a niche as a leader.

I think that today we undervalue experience. Perhaps not in the go-go businesses of Silicon Valley, where there is precious little experience available. But in the mature businesses -- oil, chemicals, minerals, etc.

Leaders today need to act more like "first among equals" and work within team structures to experience heightened levels of success.

Even though you're the boss, the people on your team don't trust you. They don't. Know why? They don't trust you because they have no idea what to ...

Your team hates you. Really. They do. They hate their boss (you) but they just won't say so because they like getting paid. But when they go home at n...

What causes a team to not trust their leader? You. Yes, you. You're unpredictable and your team doesn't know what to expect from you. But, these are fixable problems.

Here's a practical tool for the skeptic or cynic in all of us: the 24x3 rule. The next time you hear an idea for the first time, or meet someone new, try to wait 24 seconds before saying or thinking something negative.

When we see an executive featured in a corporate scandal, it's usually because they became addicted to success. And sooner or later, this addiction consumed them.

I've been reading (and writing) for years about dreadful employee engagement statistics and how they thwart our attempts to produce useful output in our businesses. Unfortunately, nobody cares.

You know who they are, they're the people who can walk into a meeting and charm the socks off everyone in the room. They inevitably wind up with bigge...

Most of us have behaviors that make up what we define as "me." If we buy into our definitions, we can excuse almost any action we take by saying, "That's just the way I am!" It's when we let go of these definitions that we can do our best work.

Organizations are made up of flawed human beings -- and all of us struggle with effective communication. So what can you do to deal with a loss of volume control either in yourself or others? Let me suggest two simple steps.

Big league managers know more about 21st century leadership than many CEOs. We're living in a new era. Why are they using old metrics?

Why do I believe that despite global malaise and economic uncertainty, we will see a new era of explosive, creative entrepreneurship? For this simple reason: the next generation of business leaders have no other option.

Let's face it. Sustainable business development is a complex pursuit that can seem a tad touchy-feely in its woo-woo focus on people, planet and profit. What's going on? Could you use a little help about now?