This is the tale of two perceptions. One (held by the leader) is “I don’t want to overwhelm them.” The other (held by the employee) is “I am not getting the opportunity to develop. My leader holds on to things I could do or would like to do instead. Maybe my leader does not trust me?” I was talking to the president of a small organization. He had just finished one-on-ones with many people in…

When an organization holds learning events for your leaders, are they leadership development or leadership awareness or both?   My experience is that awareness is part of development; however, it is not everything. Many organizations with great intentions provide what they call leadership development, yet after attending hundreds of these, I’ve realized they’re more about introducing a subject, or leadership awareness. The real development comes when people leave the session and put what they learned into…

We know when we feel we belong somewhere. For years I have shared that most people appreciate a work environment where they believe the work they are doing fills a purpose, is worthwhile, and makes a difference. Today, I feel it takes much more than that. A person can feel all of those things and still may not feel that they belong. Belonging is that deep-down sense that “this is the right place for me.”…

As we head into the height of the holiday season, many of us are excited about taking a few days off work, spending time with our families, and enjoying fun activities and traditions. This is a good thing. We are so fortunate to get to have these meaningful experiences. But let’s take a moment to thank those who must work: physicians, nurses, healthcare staff, first responders, servers in restaurants, airline employees, military personnel, clergy members,…

We live in complex, chaotic times, and it can feel like we’re busier than we’ve ever been before. Everybody’s got a full plate. When I speak to groups and ask, “Whose plate is chock-full right now?” 100 percent of the hands go up. This is not a new response. As long as I have been doing this work, no one has ever said, “I don’t have a full plate.” Our plates have always been full, and…

A flashback is a past incident recurring vividly in the mind. When one has been around a long time, there are more situations that bring back past situations and/or experiences. Almost 20 years ago, I put together over 100 questions I had received from people and published them. The book is titled 101 Answers to Questions Leaders Ask. The goal was to be helpful to those in leadership by providing suggested ways to respond to…

The past three years have brought significant changes to organizations in both leadership and the workforce. First, there is the natural retirement of many leaders in the Baby Boomer range. But also, there have been some who chose to retire earlier than planned due to the pandemic or because of their own illness, family needs, exhaustion, or other factors. All these departures mean many positions in leadership are filled with people with less experience than is…

In my most recent work, I have been delving into that important sense of belonging. It is a critical human need. We know what it feels like when we have it and when we don’t. There is sadness when a person feels they do not belong, and magic when they do. The sooner a person feels they belong to a company or group, the more comfortable they become. The more comfortable they are, the more…

In 1996, I left the role of senior vice president of Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago, IL, for the role of administrator/president of Baptist Hospital, Inc., in Pensacola, FL. At that time, Mark Clement, the president of Holy Cross Hospital, gave me a gift. It was a letter with suggestions to help me get off to a good start at Baptist. I have regifted this to many people who were taking a new job. While…

“Less is more” is a common term; however, it is very uncommonly practiced. It seems there is a natural tendency to feel that the more actions taken, the better the results. Then there is the difficult decision of how much “less” is too much “less.” Like many things, at times, the statement can be taken too literally. Great leaders know how to find that balance. They also know how to prioritize which actions will have…