Making Declarations: A Simple Step to Stronger Leadership

What you declare will go a long way to determining who you will become. Many leaders have values, most have opinions, and some even have convictions. But declarations are different. A leadership declaration is a personal statement of resolve that definitively underscores a leader’s core “DNA”. As an example, when I was in my early…

Why Leaders Sometimes Need to Be Gloomy to Succeed

As a leader, should you always be an optimist? The answer is “yes”…and “no”…and “sometimes”… The reality is, there are times when a leader must be a grim-faced pessimist, while in other times it requires being a cheery-faced optimist. How do you know? Here’s a basic guideline to help you navigate this. A leader must be…

The Journey of Authentic Leadership: Turning Ideas into Meaningful Change

This article is part of my Global Leadership series; Insights from more than a decade of leadership training around the world… What does it mean to be an authentic servant leader? It means putting the needs of everyone else ahead of your own interests. And while such selflessness can be easy to say, it can…

How To Embrace Your Fear Factor To Drive Effectiveness

Whoever coined the phrase “fearless leader” must not have been a leader. Because “fear” and “leadership” go together hand in hand. Talk to any effective leader and they will tell you that fear has been a lifelong companion on their leadership journey. Anytime you push the envelope, launch a new initiative, or stake out new territory, you…