BUILDING PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE
"Resilient" is an appropriate descriptor frequently and perhaps justifiably applied to successful people and organizations. While resilience is obviously learned or acquired from experience, the...
View ArticleUNDERSTANDING RISK: A CORE COMPETENCY OF LEADERS
Take this simple test: Which of the following has the greater risk of causing death in North America today? Being eaten by a shark or being killed by falling airplane parts? Being poisoned or having...
View ArticleDEALING WITH RESISTANCE: A LEADER'S ACHILLES' HEEL?
Perhaps the most difficult challenge for most leaders is overcoming resistance to major change initiatives from within the organization. The key to understanding resistance is to realize that it is a...
View ArticleWHAT LEADERS CAN'T BE TAUGHT
It has been my privilege over the past four decades, as an adult educator, to have met people from all walks of life who attend my various training courses and residential leadership programs. Their...
View ArticleTHE NEXT CEO: AN OFT-NEGLECTED PRIORITY
(This article was developed for and appeared in The National Post, August 10, 2010.) Two inescapable realities of business life – that every successful organization has a qualified leader at the top...
View ArticleCEOs RE-EXAMINE THEIR MODELS AND SKILLS
One of the key lessons learned from the 2008 meltdown and ensuing "Great Recession" is that the business models of most leaders were shaken to the core. And why not? The stock market fell 40% and the...
View ArticleHOW TO PROMOTE YOURSELF AND BE PROMOTED
This article was written for and appeared in The Toronto Globe & Mail, September 2/11 THE SCENARIO:I aspire to a higher level of responsibility but all too often see others with less skill being...
View ArticleCHANGE YOUR GAME OR LOSE YOUR GAME
This article was written for The Bottom Line, a publication of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, and appeared in the May / 12 issue. More than 150 years ago, in his classic treatise On...
View ArticleFINDING THE RIGHT LEADER
Organizations may be the sum of their parts but someone has to be in charge. Whether he or she is called CEO, President, Executive Director or something else, the leader is ultimately responsible for...
View ArticleTHE UNSPOKEN PART OF INNOVATION
Innovation consists of three essential components – invention, acceptance and execution. An ever expanding literature, countless training programs and extensive media coverage focus primarily on...
View ArticlePRESENCE: THE SECRET SAUCE?
THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN FOR AND PUBLISHED IN THE FINANCIAL POST, APRIL 30th, 2013 Having a career as a CEO is a risky business. Over the past decade, the rate of dismissals has increased by 300% and...
View ArticleTHE COMMANDMENTS OF "UNLEADERSHIP"
THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN FOR AND PUBLISHED IN "THE BOTTOM LINE" - JUNE, 2013. Leadership has been studied in depth for almost a century. Yet there exist no unequivocal or definitive prescriptions as...
View ArticlePower and Politics: Learn How or Lose by Default
Many aspiring executives resent the fact that they must engage in office politics to get ahead. Some view it as beneath them to do so, insisting they "just want to do their job." The fact, however, is...
View ArticleLead with Purpose – How Women Can Connect
This article was written for and published in The Financial Post – March 13, 2014. Considerable attention is devoted in the business press to the topic of women and leadership. Whether it’s Sheryl...
View ArticleLearning Brilliance – What Makes Some More Creative?
This article was written for and published in The Bottom Line, May 2014. Twentieth century dogma posited that our brains are hardwired for life. But that myth has been dispelled with the advent of...
View ArticleClosing the Gender Gap in Negotiations
Almost every action a leader takes in business today requires expertise in negotiating. That is likely why conventional wisdom tells us great leaders are good negotiators. Certainly, getting better at...
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