One unavoidable piece of advice today is be positive. We’re supposed to filter out supposed negativity in meetings, reports, and general conversation because we think positivity produces the results we want. Optimism is almost mandatory in some environments. As Dan Lovallo and Daniel Kahneman point out, critical feedback is discouraged and treated like disloyalty. “The […]
Archive for Leadership
How to Say No When it Counts
3 Strategies for Setting Healthy Personal Boundaries
Sometimes you just have to say no. That isn’t always easy. But there are strategies that can help say no when you need to—and save your time, energy, and sanity in the process. Motivational speaker Byron V. Garrett, my former boss at National PTA, often says that you only have twelve hours a day to […]
How to Avoid Career Stagnation
Effective leadership involves a commitment to personal development. Unless you continue to grow alongside your business, it will eventually outstrip you. Or worse, stagnate behind you. Join us to explore the three behaviors of high-growth leaders so that doesn’t happen to you.
5 Reasons Why I Read So Many Books
How Leaders Can Reap the Benefits of Serious Reading
I have always been an avid reader, but over the last few years, I’ve become much more intentional and ambitious in my reading. In 2015, I set my first challenging reading goal: to read fifty-two books in one year. By the time the year was done, the total was seventy-six. I still read at least […]
Shakespeare’s Plan for Personal Growth
What Leaders Can Learn from the Bard's Plays and Career
In deference to easily scandalized students, Cambridge University has begun adding trigger warnings to English classes that teach some of Shakespeare’s plays. That’s a shame if it deters participation. Students—and the rest of us—could all benefit from what the Bard can teach us about personal growth. Declan Fitzsimons, Adjunct Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD […]
How Our Partners Empower Our Personal Growth
New Study Reveals Link Between Self-Development and Spousal Connection
Leaders and entrepreneurs fail for a million reasons. The usual suspects include lack of cash flow, dearth of technological savvy, or insufficient planning. But according to researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, the cause behind a failure to thrive in both personal and professional settings may be much simpler to explain. At least for married folks. […]