Leadership Presence Is a Myth
Few ideas have had a greater influence on leadership development than leadership presence. The phrase appears everywhere: executive coaching, succession planning, performance reviews, and leadership assessments. We’re taught that effective leadership looks a certain way. It commands attention, projects confidence, and creates followership through charisma, energy, and gravitas. I taught leadership presence myself for years, so I […]
The Four Things Leaders Should Say Before Any Major Change
There is a common narrative today that suggests that people are stubborn, inflexible, and unwilling to adapt. There is no shortage of experts willing to argue that people naturally resist change. That is why change is hard. But if that were true, human history would look very different than it does. Human beings change constantly. People become […]
What I Learned From Other TEDx Speakers
Today my TEDx talk went live and I had the great honor of having it featured on TED.com. But rather than write about my talk, I want to write about the talks I heard that day that have stuck with me. As I listened throughout the day, I found myself having the same reaction over […]
What Gets Measured Gets… Confused with Progress
“What gets measured gets done” may be one of the most influential management ideas of the modern era. It may also be one of the most counterproductive when misunderstood. Organizations today have become extraordinarily sophisticated at measuring performance while simultaneously losing visibility into whether performance is actually improving. There is a difference between a measurable objective and an […]
The Stories We Inherit vs. The Stories We Create
I took my daughter to Washington, D.C. recently, and we spent an afternoon learning about history. We watched the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and then headed over to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. At one point in the history gallery, we stopped in […]
AI as a Cost Cutter vs. a Growth Engine
Executives are being sold two stories about AI right now. One is that it will magically transform the business overnight. The other is that it is too disruptive, too risky, or too controversial to touch. Both stories can become expensive distractions. On a recent episode of CEO Daily Brief, I spoke with Nicole Mangarella from SPS about […]
Jessica Kriegel – WUSA9 – “Surrender to Lead”
When ‘They’ Take Over
We live in a culture that feeds on victimization. That’s an uncomfortable sentence. It risks sounding dismissive in a moment where many people are, in fact, navigating real constraints. Upbringing matters. Systems matter. Leadership decisions matter. Privilege is real. I believe this to be true. But something has shifted in our culture. More and more, people […]
The Problem of Safety Is Never Solved
This week, I was at a safety conference with a manufacturing company that leads its industry in safety performance. They’ve gone more than a decade without a fatality, a record no one else in their industry can match, and they have award winning safety records. For this conference, they could have done a victory lap for what they’ve accomplished. They didn’t. […]
Looks Like I Was Right to Be a Theater Major
I was a theater major. My classes included opera, Native American studies, Buddhism, set design, and a mix of subjects that had no obvious connection to each other. That’s a liberal arts education. Learning a little about a lot. It’s been seen as scattered. Not serious. There has been no clear path, no direct application, no sense that this was […]
Three Words That Cost 1 Billion Dollars
“You’re on mute.” It’s 2026. We’ve been working online for decades now. (I got my first work-from-home job in 2008). And yet we still haven’t figured out the mute button on zoom. I admit it, I just did it on Monday! First, you talk into a muted microphone and what follows is awkward silence until someone says “you’re on mute.” Then the scramble to unmute. The apology. And finally we move on. We’re so used […]
The Most Comfortable Lie About AI
I am so sick of reading LinkedIn posts talking about how “AI can never replace human empathy.” Firstly, there is nothing controversial about that idea. It’s a nothing comment. It is the safest thing you can say about AI. It reassures people. It signals humanity. And it’s already being proven wrong. People have married AI, they have AI best friends, and AI therapists. We are already getting companionship and emotional support from AI today. You can debate whether it’s real empathy, […]