Some of the most demanding work a leader does never appears on a dashboard. It does not have a KPI. It is rarely included in a job description, yet it consumes enormous amounts of mental energy. Anticipating problems before they happen, absorbing uncertainty so the team can continue functioning, reading what is […]

    One of the most frustrating experiences in professional life is being held responsible for an outcome without having enough authority to influence it. You are accountable for the result, you are expected to solve the problem, you are measured against the target but, decisions remain elsewhere. Resources are limited, priorities change without your […]

Competent people are often given more responsibility. It seems logical. They deliver. They solve problems. They can be trusted. They rarely need supervision. There is a point where competence creates an unexpected problem: the organization begins to build around the person rather than develop beyond them. The capable executive becomes the person everyone goes to. […]

There is a point in every successful career when the qualities that created your success can begin to work against you. For example: Discipline can become rigidity. Responsibility can become over-responsibility. Independence can become isolation. High standards can become perfectionism. Ambition can become an inability to stop. The difficult part is that these patterns rarely […]

Sustainable Success          For many leaders, success begins with a destination in mind. There is a position to reach, a business to build, a level of influence to establish. Ambition provides direction and achievement becomes the evidence that the effort was worthwhile. Then, somewhere along the way, the relationship with success can […]

For many leaders, success starts with a destination, a goal to achieve, a milestone to reach, or maybe a vision to bring to life. For many years, that pursuit can be exactly what gives us energy. We work harder, take on more responsibility, build the business, grow the team and keep moving forward. Then something unexpected can […]